South Dakota residential lease agreement

South Dakota's landlord and tenant chapter does not limit or regulate application or screening fees.

SDCL ch. 43-32

• If an applicant asks for a disability accommodation involving an assistance animal, see the documentation rules under fair housing. SDCL § 43-32-34 See Fair housing on the South Dakota page

It is illegal for an owner or anyone acting for an owner to refuse to rent, set different terms, or advertise a preference because of race, color, creed, religion, sex, ancestry, disability, familial status or national origin. A landlord must also allow a disabled person, at that person's expense, reasonable modifications needed to use the home fully.

SDCL § 20-13-20

• Where reasonable, you may condition a modification on the tenant agreeing to restore the home at move-out, reasonable wear and tear excepted. SDCL § 20-13-20 (4)
• The refusal, terms and modification rules do not apply to a building with living quarters for no more than two families living independently if the owner lives in one of them. That exception does not remove subdivision (3)'s advertising restriction. Review any independent federal or other applicable duties before relying on an exemption. SDCL § 20-13-20
• A landlord may ask for reliable documentation when a tenant claims a disability requiring an assistance or service animal, but not when the disability or the disability-related need is readily apparent or already known. Documentation must confirm the disability and its relationship to the requested accommodation, and come from a licensed health care provider who does not operate in South Dakota solely to certify such animals. SDCL § 43-32-34 SDCL § 43-32-35
• A finding that a person knowingly made a false disability claim for an animal or knowingly supplied fraudulent supporting documentation can support eviction under this section. Its damage fee of up to $1,000 is tied to the lessee providing fraudulent disability documentation; an unverified suspicion does not establish these conditions. SDCL § 43-32-36

A landlord who actually knows that methamphetamine was manufactured on the premises must disclose it to the tenant or anyone who may become a tenant. In a building with two or more units, the duty applies only to the unit where the landlord knows it happened.

SDCL § 43-32-30

• No other disclosure section appears in the landlord and tenant chapter. Federal rules, such as the lead-based paint disclosure for older housing, were not read for this page. SDCL ch. 43-32

South Dakota's landlord and tenant chapter does not require a flood disclosure to tenants.

SDCL ch. 43-32

• The only disclosure the chapter requires is the methamphetamine disclosure. SDCL § 43-32-30 See Required disclosures on the South Dakota page

South Dakota's landlord and tenant chapter does not require a landlord to disclose the owner's or manager's name and address to the tenant.

SDCL ch. 43-32

• A tenant's attornment to a stranger is void without the landlord's consent or a court judgment. SDCL § 43-32-17

A residential security deposit may not be more than one month's rent. Any money whose purpose is to secure the tenant's performance under the rental agreement counts as a security deposit, whatever it is called.

SDCL § 43-32-6.1

• A larger deposit is allowed only if landlord and tenant agree to it where special conditions pose a danger to maintenance of the premises. SDCL § 43-32-6.1

Within 21 days after the tenancy ends and you receive the tenant's mailing address or delivery instructions, return the deposit or give the tenant a written statement of the specific reasons for keeping any part of it. You may keep only what is reasonably needed to cover unpaid rent and other money due under an agreement, and to restore the home to its condition at the start of the tenancy, ordinary wear and tear excepted.

SDCL § 43-32-24

• If the tenant asks, give an itemized accounting of any deposit withheld within 45 days after the tenancy ends. SDCL § 43-32-24
• A landlord who does not follow the section loses the right to withhold any part of the deposit. SDCL § 43-32-24
• Keeping a deposit in bad faith, or failing in bad faith to give the written statement or itemized accounting, can bring punitive damages of up to $200. SDCL § 43-32-24
• The 21-day period comes from a 2026 amendment; older guides give two weeks. SDCL § 43-32-24

South Dakota's landlord and tenant chapter does not require a separate deposit account or interest on a residential deposit.

SDCL ch. 43-32

• The tenant's protection is the return deadline and the forfeiture rule for a landlord who does not comply. SDCL § 43-32-24 See Deposit return on the South Dakota page

The landlord and tenant chapter does not require a move-in checklist or condition report. Deductions are measured against the home's condition at the start of the tenancy, so a dated record of that condition is your evidence.

SDCL ch. 43-32 SDCL § 43-32-24

• The tenant must keep the home, appliances and other leased property in good condition and repair damage caused by the tenant's negligent, willful or malicious conduct or that of people under the tenant's control. SDCL § 43-32-10

The landlord and tenant chapter sets no limit on late fees and no grace period. A late fee is a matter of the lease, so state the amount and when it applies in writing.

SDCL ch. 43-32

• When there is no agreement or usage to the contrary, rent for lodgings is due monthly at the end of each month and other rents quarterly at the end of each quarter. SDCL § 43-32-12
• An eviction for unpaid rent can be filed once rent is three days past due. SDCL § 21-16-1 (4) See Notice for unpaid rent on the South Dakota page

The landlord and tenant chapter does not set a returned check fee. A general South Dakota law lets a merchant or place of business that posts a conspicuous notice on its premises (or, if it regularly extends credit, prints one on its customer statements) that returned checks carry a fee collect reasonable collection costs from the writer of a check returned for a closed account, insufficient funds or insufficient credit.

SDCL § 57A-3-421 SDCL ch. 43-32

• Those costs are considered reasonable if they do not exceed $60 plus any applicable sales tax. SDCL § 57A-3-421
• The section speaks of checks and other drafts. Whether it reaches a landlord collecting rent is not answered by its text, and no section read sets a fee for a returned electronic payment. SDCL § 57A-3-421

In a month-to-month lease, you may change the rent or other terms by written notice given at least 30 days before the end of the month. The new terms take effect at the end of the month if the tenant stays.

SDCL § 43-32-13

• A tenant who receives the notice may end the lease effective the first day of the next month by giving notice of termination within 15 days of receiving it. SDCL § 43-32-13
• During a fixed term, the lease itself decides whether rent can change; the chapter sets no cap on the amount. SDCL ch. 43-32 See Rent control and local rules on the South Dakota page
• Raising rent above fair market value after certain tenant complaints can be retaliation. SDCL § 43-32-27 See Retaliation on the South Dakota page

Except in an emergency or where it is impracticable, give the tenant reasonable notice of your intent to enter and enter only at reasonable times. Twenty-four hours' written notice is presumed reasonable unless the lease sets other methods or times the two of you agreed on.

SDCL § 43-32-32

• The notice must give the date or dates of entry, a period during normal business hours, the purpose of the entry and a way for the tenant to ask to reschedule. SDCL § 43-32-32

Keep the home and all common areas in reasonable repair, fit for human habitation and in good and safe working order during the lease, and keep the electrical, plumbing and heating systems in good and safe working order. The duty does not cover disrepair caused by the negligent, willful or malicious conduct of the tenant or people under the tenant's control.

SDCL § 43-32-8

• The parties cannot waive or change this duty in the lease, but the landlord may agree that the tenant does specified repairs or maintenance in place of rent. SDCL § 43-32-8
• The tenant must repair damage caused by the tenant's own negligent, willful or malicious conduct or that of people under the tenant's control. SDCL § 43-32-10

If you do not make needed repairs within a reasonable time after notice, the tenant may make the repairs and deduct the cost from rent or recover it from you, or move out and be released from further rent and other obligations.

SDCL § 43-32-9

• If the repairs would cost more than one month's rent, the tenant may, after written notice stating the specific reason, withhold rent and deposit it at once in a separate bank or savings and loan account used only for the repairs, giving you written evidence of the deposit. SDCL § 43-32-9
• The money is released to you once you make the repairs, or the tenant uses it when enough has built up to pay for them. SDCL § 43-32-9
• A tenant may also end the lease if you do not, within a reasonable time after a written request, put the home in good condition or repair it as you are obliged to. SDCL § 43-32-19 (1)
• A written repair notice under this section is one of the events that can make later action against the tenant retaliation. SDCL § 43-32-27 (2) See Retaliation on the South Dakota page

South Dakota's landlord and tenant chapter has no rule on locks, rekeying or security devices.

SDCL ch. 43-32

• Unlawfully removing or excluding a tenant carries the two months' rent remedy. SDCL § 43-32-6 See Lockouts and utility shutoffs on the South Dakota page

No section of South Dakota's landlord and tenant chapter mentions smoke alarms. Fire and building codes, which may, were not read for this page.

SDCL ch. 43-32

• The general duty to keep the home fit and in good and safe working order still applies. SDCL § 43-32-8 See Repairs and habitability on the South Dakota page

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

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

A tenancy for a term the parties did not specify renews at the end of each period unless one side gives notice of termination at least as long before the end of the period as the period itself, but never more than one month. For a month-to-month tenancy that means one month's notice before the month ends.

SDCL § 43-32-15

• A separate section lets a landlord end a residential tenancy at will with written notice giving the tenant at least 15 days to leave. Whether an arrangement is a tenancy at will or a periodic tenancy is a legal question; giving a full month's notice meets both periods. SDCL § 43-8-8
• If the tenant, or the tenant's spouse or minor child, is on active military service, a tenant at will is entitled to two months' notice, unless the tenant has engaged in sustained disruptive, illegal, destructive or negligent conduct or a material breach, or the property was sold or passed to the landlord's estate. SDCL § 43-8-8
• A notice to end a tenancy at will must be in writing and delivered to the tenant or a person of discretion living there; if neither can be found with reasonable diligence, it may be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises. SDCL § 43-8-9
• Only after the notice period has run may the landlord reenter or go to court to recover possession. SDCL § 43-8-10
• If the tenant stays after a lease ends and you accept rent, the lease is presumed renewed on the same terms for the same time, up to one year. SDCL § 43-32-14

A lease ends when its term expires, by mutual consent, or if the tenant acquires a better title to the home than the landlord's. A tenant may end it early if the landlord does not, within a reasonable time after a written request, secure the tenant's quiet possession or make repairs the landlord owes, or if most of the home, or the part that was the main reason for renting it, is destroyed through no ordinary negligence of the tenant.

SDCL § 43-32-22 SDCL § 43-32-19

• A tenant who, or whose household member, is the victim of alleged domestic abuse, unlawful sexual behavior or stalking may end the lease and move out without an early termination penalty by written notice that the termination is due to fear of imminent danger. SDCL § 43-32-19.1
• The notice must attach a police report signed, a protection order issued, or a licensed health care provider's signed documentation of an examination, within the 30 days before the notice. SDCL § 43-32-19.1
• That tenant owes no early termination fee and no rent for the month after the month the tenant moves out. SDCL § 43-32-19.1
• You may not share a forwarding address or other contact information such a tenant gives you, except with the tenant's consent or as the law requires. SDCL § 43-32-19.2
• A lease may not allow eviction because a tenant called for help from law enforcement or emergency responders over such an incident, and a tenant may not be evicted solely for being a victim. SDCL § 43-32-18.1
• You may end a lease early for a use the lease forbids or for repairs the tenant owes and does not make. SDCL § 43-32-18 See Notice for lease violations on the South Dakota page
• A lease that one party may end at will ends when the other party is notified of that party's death or incapacity; other leases do not end on death or incapacity. SDCL § 43-32-23

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

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

South Dakota's small claims procedure is a simple, informal and inexpensive way to decide contract and tort claims of up to $12,000, not counting allowable costs or attorney fees. It is an alternative to a regular lawsuit, not a requirement.

SDCL § 15-39-45 SDCL § 15-39-45.1 SDCL § 15-39-46

• Punitive damages are generally not available in small claims, but the exceptions include the lockout remedy and the deposit penalty. SDCL § 15-39-45
• One of several partners or joint plaintiffs acting for all, an officer or manager of a corporation, or a member or manager of a limited liability company may represent the business, and a bona fide assignee of a claim may bring it. SDCL § 15-39-47

South Dakota's landlord and tenant chapter does not limit how much rent may be charged or raised. No state statute found on the Legislature's site expressly bars or allows local rent control, and the whole code was not searched, so whether a city or county could adopt it is not settled here.

SDCL ch. 43-32

• Raising rent above fair market value after certain tenant actions can be retaliation. SDCL § 43-32-27 See Retaliation on the South Dakota page
• A home rule city or county may not enact private or civil law governing civil relationships except as incident to one of its independent powers, and its ordinances may be stricter than state law but not weaker. SDCL § 6-12-6 (1) SDCL § 6-12-5