South Dakota eviction law

An eviction action may be brought once a tenant fails to pay rent for three days after it is due. Neither the eviction chapter nor the landlord and tenant chapter now prescribes a written notice to pay or quit before filing: the three-day written notice to quit the eviction chapter used to require was repealed in 2024.

SDCL § 21-16-1 (4) SDCL § 21-16-2

• Where a lease reserves a right of reentry, reentry may be made after three days' written notice of intent to reenter, but an action for possession may be brought without that notice. SDCL § 43-8-11 SDCL § 43-8-12
• An eviction action also lies when a tenant holds over after the lease ends or its term expires. SDCL § 21-16-1 (4)

You may end a lease early if the tenant uses the home, or lets it be used, in a way the lease forbids, or does not make repairs the tenant owes within a reasonable time after you ask. An eviction action is also available when the tenant does or fails to do an act that, under the lease, ends it. No statute read sets a fixed cure period.

SDCL § 43-32-18 SDCL § 21-16-1 (7)

• If the home is leased for a particular purpose and the tenant uses it for another, you may hold the tenant responsible for the safety of the premises during that use or treat the lease as rescinded. SDCL § 43-32-11
• Committing waste on the premises is also a ground for an eviction action. SDCL § 21-16-1 (7)

An eviction is an action of forcible entry and detainer, or detainer only, heard by the circuit court or a magistrate court in the county. It lies when a tenant holds over after the lease ends, fails to pay rent for three days after it is due, commits waste, or does or fails to do an act that ends the lease under its terms.

SDCL § 21-16-1 SDCL § 21-16-3

• The complaint must be in writing, verified by the landlord or the landlord's agent or signed by the landlord's attorney, and served with a summons. The sheriff, a constable or another authorized server must make at least two service attempts, at least one week apart and both within 30 days; on the second attempt the summons may be posted on the property, delivered to a resident, and mailed first class to the tenant. SDCL § 21-16-6
• On the day of the first service attempt, the landlord may also publish the summons once in a legal newspaper in the county or an adjacent county. SDCL § 21-16-6.1
• The tenant has five days from service, or 30 days after publication, whichever comes first, to appear. A continuance of more than 14 days requires the tenant to post a bond for accruing rent and costs. SDCL § 21-16-7
• The case can be set for trial on two days' notice after issue is joined. SDCL § 21-16-8
• A judgment for the landlord awards possession, plus rent and damages claimed in the complaint, and costs. SDCL § 21-16-10
• The court may add reasonable attorney fees to the costs for the prevailing party, whether or not there is a trial, if that party is represented by a licensed attorney. SDCL § 21-16-11
• An eviction cannot be joined with other claims except for rents and profits or damages. SDCL § 21-16-4
• A tenant served with papers in any proceeding to recover the home must tell the landlord immediately and hand over any written notice. SDCL § 43-32-16

If you unlawfully remove or exclude a residential tenant, or willfully cut or cause the interruption of electric, gas, water or other essential service, the tenant may sue for an injunction, recover possession, or end the lease, and in any case recover damages equal to two months' rent plus any advance rent and deposit paid.

SDCL § 43-32-6

• You must deliver the home and secure the tenant's quiet enjoyment against all lawful claimants. SDCL § 43-32-6
• An execution for possession after an eviction may be served only in the daytime. SDCL § 21-16-12 See Eviction process on the South Dakota page

Property worth $500 or less in total that a tenant leaves in the home for ten days after moving out is presumed abandoned, and you may dispose of it. Property worth more than $500 must be stored.

SDCL § 43-32-25 SDCL § 43-32-26

• You have a lien on stored property for the cost of handling and storing it, and after storing it for 30 days or more you may treat it as abandoned and dispose of it. SDCL § 43-32-26

A tenant may sue a landlord who, after certain protected events, raises the rent above fair market value, reduces electric, gas, water or sewer service, or gives a notice to vacate that is not based on a breach of the lease. The protected events are a good-faith complaint to a government agency about a building or housing code violation affecting health and safety (once the landlord receives written notice of it), the tenant's written notice of a needed repair, and the tenant organizing or joining a tenants' union or organization.

SDCL § 43-32-27

• It is a defense that the notice to vacate was given more than 180 days after the protected event. Not renewing a written lease before or when it expires is not retaliation. SDCL § 43-32-27
• A tenant who proves retaliation has the same remedies as for an illegal lockout, and the court may award reasonable attorney's fees on a verified itemized statement. SDCL § 43-32-28 SDCL § 43-32-6 See Lockouts and utility shutoffs on the South Dakota page