South Dakota Landlord-Tenant Law: The Complete 2026 Guide

South Dakota runs its rental law out of a few dozen short statutes rather than a uniform act, and in 2024 the legislature made it leaner still: the old three-day notice to quit is gone and the notice to end an at-will tenancy dropped from 30 days to 15. If your checklist predates July 2024, it's wrong in two places that matter. Everything below is checked against SDCL chapter 43-32 and the eviction chapter, 21-16, as they stand for 2026; the short form lives on our South Dakota quick-reference page.

Eight numbers that settle most South Dakota disputes

• One month's rent is the deposit ceiling; more only by written agreement when special conditions pose a danger to the premises (SDCL § 43-32-6.1).
• Two weeks to return the deposit or a written statement of why you're keeping any of it, once the tenancy ends and you have the tenant's mailing address (§ 43-32-24).
• 45 days to deliver an itemized accounting if the tenant requests one (§ 43-32-24).
• $200 in punitive damages plus forfeiture of every withholding right is the price of bad faith on deposits (§ 43-32-24).
• 24 hours' written notice is presumed reasonable before you enter (§ 43-32-32).
• 15 days' notice now ends a residential tenancy at will; most active-duty military tenants get two months (SDCL § 43-8-8, as amended 2024).
• 30 days before the month ends to change lease terms, rent included (§ 43-32-13).
• 3 days of unpaid rent opens the courthouse door, with no separate notice to quit required anymore (SDCL § 21-16-1(4)).

Deposits: the one-month ceiling and the two-week turnaround

The cap is real: a lessor may not demand or receive more than one month's rent as security, however the charge is labeled (§ 43-32-6.1). A larger deposit takes two things at once, a written agreement and special conditions that pose a danger to maintenance of the premises. A large dog might qualify; wanting extra cushion does not. Write down the condition you're relying on.

On move-out, the two-week clock starts when the tenancy has terminated and you've received the tenant's mailing address or delivery instructions. Within it, return the money or a written statement giving the specific reason for each withholding (§ 43-32-24). You may keep only what's reasonably necessary to cover unpaid rent or other amounts due, plus restoration beyond ordinary wear and tear. The fuller itemized accounting is owed only if the tenant asks, and then within 45 days.

Blow any of it and the statute strips your right to withhold a single dollar; add bad faith and a court can tack on punitive damages up to $200. The dollar figure is small, but the forfeiture isn't: it means refunding the whole deposit even when the damage was real.

Neighboring states run slower, gentler clocks: Minnesota allows three weeks and pays interest, and Iowa gives 30 days. South Dakota's fourteen days is the tightest deadline in the region, which is exactly the kind of date Rentari's compliance reminders exist to catch.

Rent, late fees, and the broken-furnace playbook

There is no rent control in South Dakota, state or local, and no statute governing late fees. The lease is the whole ballgame: name the fee, say when it starts, and keep it proportionate enough to survive a small-claims judge's eyebrow. One genuine quirk: if the lease is silent, § 43-32-12 makes rent for lodgings payable at the end of each month, not the beginning. Every competent lease overrides that default, which is precisely why "due on the 1st" needs to be in writing.

To raise rent on a month-to-month, give written notice at least 30 days before the month expires; the new terms bind a tenant who stays (§ 43-32-13). The tenant's counterweight is built into the same section: within 15 days of receiving your change notice, they can terminate effective the first of the next month.

Repair and deduct, South Dakota style

You must keep the unit in reasonable repair, fit for human habitation, with electrical, plumbing, and heating in good and safe working order, and no lease clause can waive it (§ 43-32-8). If you neglect a repair for a reasonable time after notice, the tenant may fix it and deduct the cost, or simply vacate and owe nothing further (§ 43-32-9). Where the repair costs more than a month's rent, the tenant can escrow rent in a dedicated bank account, after written notice and with proof provided to you, until the work happens. A tenant who follows that script is exercising a statute, not breaching the lease.

Entry: the 2014 statute plenty of owners never read

Since 2014, South Dakota has had an entry statute with teeth. Outside emergencies (or genuine impracticability), give reasonable notice and enter at reasonable times; 24 hours' written notice is presumed reasonable unless the lease sets an agreed alternative (§ 43-32-32). The notice itself has required contents: the date or dates, a window during normal business hours, the purpose, and a way for the tenant to ask to reschedule. A text that says "stopping by tomorrow" misses three of the four.

Eviction after the 2024 rewrite: fast became faster

The grounds sit in § 21-16-1: holding over, committing waste or breaching lease terms that operate to terminate, and the big one, failing to pay rent for three days after it's due. Two 2024 bills, both effective July 1, 2024, changed the mechanics:

• SB 90 repealed § 21-16-2, the three-day notice to quit. You may now file the forcible entry and detainer action directly once rent is three days past due. If your own lease promises a notice first, honor the contract; the statute no longer makes you.
• SB 89 cut the notice to terminate a residential tenancy at will from one month to 15 days (§ 43-8-8), with a two-month floor for tenants on active military service (and their immediate family) in most circumstances.

Once filed, the case moves at highway speed: the tenant has five days from service to appear and plead (§ 21-16-7, extended from four days by the same 2024 session), and trial can be brought on with two days' notice after issues are joined (§ 21-16-8). Courts may tax reasonable attorney's fees as costs to the prevailing party (§ 21-16-11), and the possession execution can only be served in daytime (§ 21-16-12).

The speed comes with a bright line: no self-help. Lock a tenant out or cut electric, gas, or water and § 43-32-6 hands them injunctive relief, repossession or termination, damages equal to two months' rent, and return of the deposit and prepaid rent. Retaliation is its own claim: raise rent above market, cut services, or serve a no-breach termination within 180 days of a code complaint, a § 43-32-9 repair notice, or tenant-union activity, and §§ 43-32-27 and 43-32-28 attach those same remedies plus attorney's fees.

Property left behind: under $500 total value, it's presumed abandoned after ten days and disposable; over $500, store it 30 days with a lien for handling costs first (§§ 43-32-25, 43-32-26). For contrast with a state that still runs formal 3-day and 30-day notices, see the Kansas guide.

Disclosures: one meth rule, one federal rule, and useful silence

South Dakota's only distinctive disclosure statute is blunt: if you have actual knowledge that methamphetamine was ever manufactured on the premises, you must tell tenants and prospective tenants, unit by unit in multifamily buildings (§ 43-32-30). Federal law adds the lead-based paint disclosure and pamphlet for anything built before 1978. There's no statutory owner-or-agent disclosure, but putting a notice address in the lease saves headaches later.

Two more modern statutes are worth knowing. A lease can't authorize eviction for calling police or emergency help about domestic abuse, and abuse victims have a documented early-termination right (§§ 43-32-18.1, 43-32-19.1). On assistance animals, you may require reliable supporting documentation of a non-obvious disability, and a tenant who submits fraudulent paperwork faces eviction and a damage fee of up to $1,000 (§§ 43-32-34, 43-32-36).

What 2024 changed, and what 2025-2026 didn't

SB 89 and SB 90 were the whole show, and they moved the state decisively toward speed: 15-day terminations, no pre-suit notice to quit, five days to answer. Legal aid groups flag the same facts as risks for tenants, which is worth remembering when a judge is deciding whether your paperwork was fair.

Since then, nothing: the 2025 and 2026 sessions passed no legislation that moves any number in this guide. The previous changes of comparable size were the 2019 commercial-deposit statute (§ 43-32-24.1, 60 days) and the 2014 entry statute. South Dakota's rules are stable; the 2024 pair is the recency that matters. Notice templates that match the current statutes are in our forms library.

South Dakota landlord FAQ

Can I charge a pet deposit on top of one month's rent?

Only through the § 43-32-6.1 exception: a written agreement plus special conditions that genuinely endanger maintenance of the premises. Document the condition. A "pet deposit" that pushes total security past one month without that footing is over the cap.

Do I still need a three-day notice before filing an eviction?

No. SB 90 repealed the notice-to-quit statute effective July 1, 2024. Once rent is three days past due under § 21-16-1(4), you can file, unless your lease itself promises a notice first.

How much notice do I owe to raise the rent?

Written notice at least 30 days before the end of the month on a month-to-month (§ 43-32-13). The tenant then has 15 days from receipt to reject it by terminating effective the first of the following month.

What if the tenant never gives me a forwarding address?

The two-week deposit clock doesn't start until you receive a mailing address or delivery instructions (§ 43-32-24). Don't spend the money; the duty to account survives, and the 45-day itemization applies once they ask.

Is a 15-day termination legal for every tenant?

It covers residential tenancies at will, the ordinary month-to-month arrangement, but active-duty military tenants and their immediate families generally get two months (§ 43-8-8). Fixed-term leases still run to their end date; you can't 15-day your way out of a signed year.

General information for South Dakota rental owners, not legal advice. Statutes change (2024 proved it) and courts fill the gaps, so confirm anything you rely on against the current SDCL text or a South Dakota attorney before acting.