The law in plain English
Return deadline
Under N.D. Cent. Code Section 47-16-07.1, the deposit response usually has to be sent within 30 days of the move-out timeline described by the state rule.
Required notice
North Dakota generally caps the deposit at 1 month's rent, subject to the statute's pet and risk-based exceptions, and the landlord usually has 30 days to send the refund and itemized statement before the treble-damages language becomes the leverage point.
This dispute type
Once the North Dakota deadline passes, the dispute stops being only about the deductions and becomes a deadline-compliance problem too. A landlord may still argue damage existed, but N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-07.1 sets the clock for returning the balance and explaining any amount withheld.
Penalty leverage
If the withholding was wrongful or in bad faith, the exposure allowed under the statute is: You can recover up to treble (3x) the amount wrongfully withheld, plus attorney's fees