Question 1

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

No more than one month's rent unless a larger deposit is agreed because special conditions pose a danger to maintaining the premises.

Question 2

How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

Within 21 days after the tenancy ends and the landlord receives the tenant's mailing address: return the deposit or give written reasons for withholding. An itemized accounting is due within 45 days on request.

Question 3

How much notice does a landlord have to give before entering a rental in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

Reasonable notice except in emergencies; 24 hours' written notice is presumed reasonable. The notice must give the date(s), a time window during normal business hours, the purpose, and a way to reschedule.

Question 4

How much notice does a landlord need to give to raise the rent in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

Month-to-month: written notice at least 30 days before the end of the month; the tenant may then end the lease effective the first of the next month by giving notice within 15 days.

Question 5

Can a landlord charge a late fee in South Dakota, and how much?

Accepted Answer

South Dakota's landlord-tenant law (SDCL ch. 43-32, full-text search 2026-10-15) sets no late-fee cap; the lease terms control.

Question 6

What notice does a landlord have to give before evicting for unpaid rent in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

No statutory notice to quit since 2024 (SL 2024, ch. 75 repealed § 21-16-2). An eviction can be filed once rent is 3 days past due; the tenant has 5 days after service to appear.

Question 7

Can cities in South Dakota pass rent control?

Accepted Answer

Local governments may not enact, maintain or enforce any ordinance that would control the rent charged for private residential property.

Question 8

How much notice is needed to end a month-to-month tenancy in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

A tenancy with no stated term renews automatically unless either party gives notice at least as long as the rental period, up to one month. For month-to-month tenancies, that means one month's notice.

Question 9

Does a landlord have to pay interest on a security deposit in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

SDCL ch. 43-32 (full-text search 2026-10-15) does not require interest on security deposits or a separate account.

Question 10

Is a move-in or move-out inspection checklist required in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

SDCL ch. 43-32 (full-text search 2026-10-15) requires no move-in or move-out inspection or checklist.

Question 11

Is landlord retaliation illegal in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

A tenant may sue if the landlord raises rent above market value, cuts electric, gas, water or sewer service, or gives a notice to vacate that is not based on a lease breach after any of these: a good-faith code complaint to a government agency, written repair notice under § 43-32-9, or organizing or joining a tenant organization.

Question 12

Can a landlord change the locks or shut off utilities in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

If a residential landlord unlawfully removes or excludes the tenant, or willfully cuts electric, gas, water or other essential services, the tenant may seek an injunction, recover possession, or end the lease. In any case the tenant recovers 2 months' rent in damages plus return of advance rent and deposit.

Question 13

What can a tenant do if the landlord won't make repairs in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

If the landlord does not make habitability repairs within a reasonable time after notice, the tenant may repair and deduct the cost from rent, or vacate and stop owing rent. If repairs cost more than one month's rent, the tenant may give written notice and deposit withheld rent in a separate account until the repairs are made.

Question 14

What disclosures must a landlord give tenants in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

A landlord who actually knows that methamphetamine was previously manufactured on the premises must disclose that to the tenant or prospective tenant. If a tenant ends the lease under the domestic-abuse provision and gives a forwarding address, the landlord may not disclose it without the tenant's consent or a legal requirement (43-32-19.2).

Question 15

What can a landlord do with property a tenant leaves behind in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

Property worth $500 or less that is left for 10 days after the tenant moves out is presumed abandoned and may be disposed of. More valuable property must be stored, with a lien for storage costs, and may be treated as abandoned after 30 days.

Question 16

Can a tenant break a lease early for domestic violence or military service in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

A victim of domestic abuse, unlawful sexual behavior or stalking may end the lease without an early-termination penalty. The tenant must give written notice citing fear of imminent danger, with a police report, protection order or provider statement from the past 30 days. The tenant also does not owe the following month's rent. A lease also may not allow evicting a tenant who calls for help over domestic abuse, unlawful sexual behavior or stalking (43-32-18.1).

Question 17

Is there a grace period before a late fee can be charged in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

SDCL ch. 43-32 (full-text search 2026-10-15) sets no late-fee grace period or cap, so the lease controls.

Question 18

How does the eviction court process work in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

The tenant has 5 days from service to appear and plead. Continuances are limited to 14 days unless the tenant posts an undertaking for accruing rent.

Question 19

What happens if a tenant stays after the lease ends in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

If a tenant stays after the lease ends and the landlord accepts rent, the lease is presumed renewed on the same terms and for the same length of time, but not more than one year.

Question 20

Can a tenant fix something and deduct it from rent in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

If the landlord doesn't make repairs needed for habitability within a reasonable time after notice, the tenant may make the repairs and deduct the cost from rent, or move out and owe no more rent.

Question 21

Can a tenant withhold rent for repairs in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

If needed repairs cost more than one month's rent, the tenant may, after written notice stating the reason, withhold rent and immediately deposit it in a separate bank or savings and loan account used only for the repairs, giving the landlord written proof. The money goes to the landlord once repairs are made, or the tenant can use it to pay for them once enough accumulates.

Question 22

What happens to the lease when a tenant dies in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

A lease that either side can end at will is terminated by notice of a party's death. Other leases, such as fixed-term leases, are not ended by the tenant's death.

Question 23

Can a landlord refuse Section 8 or other source of income in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

South Dakota's housing discrimination law bars refusing to rent or setting different terms because of race, color, creed, religion, sex, ancestry, disability, familial status or national origin. Source of income is not on the list.

Question 24

What is the manufactured / mobile home parks rule in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

If land leased to a mobile or manufactured home owner is being developed for another use, the landowner must give at least 90 days' notice to vacate and remove the home. This does not apply to notices based on a lease breach. Code text: "if the property is developed for an alternate use, give no less than ninety days notice to vacate and remove the home from the real property."

Question 25

What is the domestic violence early termination rule in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

If a tenant or household member is a victim of domestic abuse, unlawful sexual behavior or stalking, the tenant may end the lease without an early-termination penalty by written notice citing fear of imminent danger, with supporting documentation. Code text: "the tenant may terminate the lease and vacate the rental unit without penalty for early termination on or before a specified date."

Question 26

What is the military lease termination (federal scra, all states) rule in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

Federal law that applies in every state: under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a tenant may end a residential lease after entering military service, or after getting permanent-change-of-station orders or deployment orders of at least 90 days, by delivering written notice and a copy of the orders to the landlord. For a lease with monthly rent, termination takes effect 30 days after the next rent due date following delivery of the notice. Any state-specific rule on this page also applies. Code text: "The lessee on a lease described in subsection (b) may, at the lessee's option, terminate the lease at any time after" entering military service, the date of the military orders, or the date of a stop movement order (50 U.S.C. 3955(a)(1)(A)-(C)).

Question 27

What is the pet deposits/fees & service/esa animals rule in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

A landlord may ask for reliable documentation when a tenant requests a service or assistance animal for a disability, unless the disability or need is readily apparent or already known. Statute text: "A landlord may require reliable supporting documentation be provided by a tenant of a rental dwelling unit, if the tenant asserts a disability requiring under any provision of law that a service animal or assistance animal be allowed as an accommodation on the rented premises" (SDCL 43-32-34).

Question 28

What is the rental / transient occupancy tax rule in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

South Dakota imposes a 1.5% tourism tax on gross receipts of lodging establishments and other visitor businesses, in addition to sales tax. Statute text: "There is hereby imposed a tax of one and one-half percent on the gross receipts from any lodging establishment, campground, motor vehicle rental, visitor attraction, recreational equipment rental, recreational service, spectator event, and visitor-intensive business" (SDCL 10-45D-2).

Question 29

What is the tenant buyout disclosures rule in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

The state landlord-tenant statute (SDCL ch. 43-32 (leases of real property), full-text search 2026-10-16) has no provision on tenant buyout agreements or buyout disclosures. Local ordinances or other state or federal laws may still apply.

Question 30

How much can a landlord charge for a rental application fee in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

The state landlord-tenant statute (SDCL ch. 43-32 (leases of real property), full-text search 2026-10-16) has no provision on rental application fees. Local ordinances or other state or federal laws may still apply.

Question 31

What is the rent receipts, payment methods & cash rule in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

The state landlord-tenant statute (SDCL ch. 43-32 (leases of real property), full-text search 2026-10-16) has no provision on how rent may be paid (cash, check or electronic payment). Local ordinances or other state or federal laws may still apply.

Question 32

Does a landlord have to give notice before not renewing a lease in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

If a tenant stays after the lease ends and the landlord accepts rent, the lease is presumed renewed on the same terms for the same period, up to one year. Statute text: "If a lessee of real property remains in possession thereof after the expiration of the hiring and the lessor accepts rent from him, the parties are presumed to have renewed the hiring on the same terms and for the same time, not exceeding one year" (SDCL 43-32-14).

Question 33

What is the deposit bank holding / separate account rule in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

The state landlord-tenant statute (SDCL ch. 43-32 (leases of real property), full-text search 2026-10-16) has no provision on a separate, escrow or interest-bearing account for security deposits. Local ordinances or other state or federal laws may still apply.

Question 34

What is the property manager licensing rule in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

In South Dakota, renting, managing or leasing real property for another for compensation is broker activity (SDCL 36-21A-6), which requires an active license from the real estate commission. Owners and their regular employees managing the owner's own property are exempt (36-21A-29). Statute text: "No person, unless exempted under this chapter, may offer, attempt or agree to perform, or perform any act enumerated within this chapter without an active license issued by the commission" (SDCL 36-21A-6, 36-21A-28).

Question 35

Can a landlord deny a tenant for criminal or credit history in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

South Dakota's landlord-tenant law (SDCL ch. 43-32, full-text search 2026-10-16) sets no rules on screening applicants' criminal or credit history; federal fair-housing and FCRA rules still apply.

Question 36

Does South Dakota have rent control?

Accepted Answer

South Dakota bars local rent control (SDCL 6-1-13), and its landlord-tenant chapter (ch. 43-32, full-text search) sets no state rent control or rent stabilization, so the lease terms control.

Question 37

Can a tenant sublet an apartment in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

South Dakota's landlord-tenant law (SDCL ch. 43-32, full-text search 2026-10-16) has no rule requiring landlord consent to sublet or assign; the lease terms control, and a landlord's lease remedies run against assignees (§ 43-32-20).

Question 38

Does a landlord need just cause to evict in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

A lease may not include a term allowing eviction of a tenant who calls law enforcement or emergency responders over alleged domestic abuse, unlawful sexual behavior or stalking, and being a victim is not by itself grounds for eviction. Apart from that, SDCL ch. 43-32 (full-text search) sets no general just-cause eviction requirement.

Question 39

What is the condo conversion protections rule in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

South Dakota's landlord-tenant law (SDCL ch. 43-32, full-text search 2026-10-16) has no condo-conversion tenant protections.

Question 40

What is the eviction notices for other grounds (lease violation, no-fault) rule in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

A landlord may sue to evict a tenant who holds over, commits waste, or does (or fails to do) something that ends the lease under its own terms. Chapter 21-16 (full-text search 2026-10-16) sets no separate notice period for these grounds; the former three-day notice to quit (§ 21-16-2) was repealed in 2024. Statute text: "An action of forcible entry and detainer, or of detainer only, is maintainable: (1) If a party has by force, intimidation, fraud, or stealth, entered upon the prior actual possession of real property or the occupied structure of another, and detains the same; (2) If a party, after entering peaceably upon real property or an occupied structure, turns out by force, threats, or menacing conduct, the party in possession; (3) If a party by force or by menaces and threats of violence unlawfully holds and keeps the possession of any real property, or occupied structure, whether the same was acquired peaceably or otherwise; (4) If a lessee in person or by subtenants holds over after the termination of his lease or expiration of his term, or fails to pay his rent for three days after the same shall be due; (5) If a party continues in possession after a sale of the real property or occupied structure under mortgage, execution, order, or any judicial process, after the expiration of the time fixed by law for redemption, and after the execution and delivery of a deed or instrument of ownership; (6) If a party continues in possession after a judgment in partition, or after a sale under an order or decree of a circuit court; (7) If a lessee commits waste upon the leased premises, or does or fails to perform any act which, under the terms of the lease operates to terminate the same." (SDCL § 21-16-1).

Question 41

What is the right to cure / redeem rule in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

South Dakota's eviction and landlord-tenant law (SDCL ch. 21-16 and ch. 43-32, full-text search 2026-10-16) gives tenants no statutory right to cure or to stop an eviction by paying after the case is filed; any cure depends on the lease or the landlord's agreement.

Question 42

What federal protections does a tenant have after foreclosure in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

Federal law that applies in every state: under the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (made permanent in 2018), whoever takes over a home through foreclosure must give a bona fide tenant at least 90 days' notice to vacate. A tenant with a bona fide lease signed before the notice of foreclosure (the date title passes) can stay until the lease ends, unless the unit is sold to a buyer who will live there as a primary residence; that buyer must still give the 90-day notice. Month-to-month and at-will tenants also get the 90 days. A tenancy is bona fide only if the tenant is not the borrower or the borrower's child, spouse or parent, the deal was at arm's length, and the rent is not far below market (unless it is subsidized). State or local laws with longer notice or more protection still apply, and any state-specific rule on this page also applies. Statute text: "the provision, by such successor in interest of a notice to vacate to any bona fide tenant at least 90 days before the effective date of such notice" (Pub. L. 111-22, SEC. 702(a)(1)).

Question 43

What are the Airbnb / short-term rental rules in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

In South Dakota, a whole home or cabin rented to the public by the day or week for more than 14 days a year, with no owner or manager present, is a "vacation home establishment," which counts as a lodging establishment. Operating one without a valid Department of Health license, kept by the owner and posted in a conspicuous place, is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Statute text: "It is a Class 2 misdemeanor to maintain, conduct or operate a lodging establishment, campground or food service establishment in this state unless a valid license, issued by the department, is in the possession of the owner and posted in a conspicuous place" (SDCL §§ 34-18-9, 34-18-1(7), (17)).

Question 44

Does a landlord have to provide smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

Vacation home establishments must have a smoke detector in each sleeping room, and battery units must be tested twice a year (SDCL 34-18-22.3(3)). No smoke or carbon monoxide alarm statute for ordinary long-term rentals was found in SDCL ch. 43-32 (full-text search).

Question 45

What is the warranty of habitability in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

In every residential rental, the landlord must keep the premises and common areas in reasonable repair, fit for human habitation and in good and safe working order, unless the tenant or the tenant's guests caused the disrepair.

Question 46

What disclosures must a landlord give in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

A landlord who actually knows methamphetamine was previously manufactured on the premises must disclose that to the tenant or prospective tenant. In a multi-unit building, the duty applies only to the affected unit.

Question 47

What is the scra / military lease termination rule in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

Under federal law (50 U.S.C. 3955), a servicemember may end a residential lease after entering military service or receiving qualifying orders. South Dakota extends those federal protections to National Guard members ordered to active duty by a governor or the President (SDCL 33A-2-9). Chapter 43-32 adds no separate state termination right (ch. 43-32 only, full-text search).

Question 48

What is the eviction record sealing rule in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

No state statute sealing eviction records was found in SDCL chs. 43-32 and 21-16.

Question 49

What is the tenant relocation assistance rule in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

No state statute requiring relocation assistance for tenants was found in SDCL chapter 43-32.

Question 50

What rights does a tenant have after foreclosure in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

No state statute protecting tenants after foreclosure was found in SDCL chapter 43-32.

Question 51

Do landlords need a rental license or registration in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

No state statute requiring rental registration was found in SDCL chapter 43-32.

Question 52

Can the city inspect my rental property in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

No state statute creating a rental inspection program was found in SDCL chapter 43-32.

Question 53

How much does it cost to file an eviction in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

The clerk fee statute lists no separate eviction fee. Civil cases filed for jury or court trial carry a $25 clerk fee, and issuing a writ or execution is $5. Surcharges set in other sections were not searched.

Question 54

What is the guest & occupancy limits rule in South Dakota?

Accepted Answer

SDCL ch. 43-32 (leases of real property) (official text, full-text search on 2026-10-29) has no provision on guest stays or occupancy limits. The lease terms control unless another law applies. Local ordinances or other state or federal laws may still apply.

South Dakota landlord-tenant law FAQ