South Dakota Eviction Process: No Pre-Filing Notice for Late Rent Since 2024, 5 Days to Answer, and a 21-Day Deposit Deadline

A South Dakota eviction is a court case called forcible entry and detainer [1]. The process moves fast. Since 2024, state law no longer requires a three-day notice to quit before the landlord files [2], and once served, a tenant has five days to answer [3].

Step 1: Grounds, and the notice that went away

Unpaid rent. A landlord can bring an eviction case if a tenant fails to pay rent for three days after it’s due [1].

The repealed notice. Until 2024, South Dakota required three days’ written notice to quit before a landlord could file over unpaid rent or a holdover [2]. Senate Bill 90, signed March 14, 2024, repealed that requirement [2]. State law no longer requires a separate pre-filing notice for those cases, though a lease can still spell out its own notice steps.

Lease violations. A landlord can also file if the tenant commits waste on the property, or does or fails to do something that, under the lease’s own terms, ends the lease [1]. Separately, a landlord may end a lease early when a tenant uses the property in a way the lease doesn’t allow, or doesn’t make repairs the tenant is bound to make within a reasonable time after being asked [5].

Month-to-month tenancies. When the parties didn’t set a term, the rental renews automatically unless one side gives notice at least as long as the rental period, up to one month [6]. For a month-to-month tenancy, a landlord who wants to change the rent or other terms has to give written notice at least 30 days before the month ends; the tenant can then end the lease effective the first of the next month by giving notice within 15 days [7].

Step 2: The court case

Any circuit court, or a magistrate court presided over by a magistrate judge, can hear an eviction for property in its county [8]. The landlord files a written, verified complaint, served with a summons [9].

Service

A sheriff, another authorized process server or a county constable has to make at least two attempts to serve the tenant, at least one week apart and both within 30 days [9]. On the second attempt, the summons can be posted in a conspicuous place on the property, delivered to someone living there if anyone can be found, and mailed first class to the tenant at the property [9]. On the same day as the first attempt, the landlord may also publish the summons once in a legal newspaper [10].

Answering and trial

The tenant has five days from service to appear and answer, or 30 days after publication if the summons was published, whichever comes first [3]. SB 90 lengthened this from four days to five [2].

Once the tenant answers, the case can be brought to trial on two days’ notice [4]. Either side can ask for a jury [4]. The court can’t postpone the case for more than 14 days unless the tenant posts an undertaking, approved by the court, that covers the rent that comes due while the case is pending, plus costs if the tenant loses [3].

Repairs and rent

If a landlord doesn’t make repairs needed to keep the home fit to live in within a reasonable time after notice, the tenant can make the repairs and deduct the cost from rent, or move out and be released from further rent [11]. If the repairs would cost more than one month’s rent, the tenant can, after giving written notice of the reason, withhold rent and deposit it in a separate bank or savings and loan account held only for the repairs, with written proof to the landlord [11].

Step 3: Judgment and removal

If the landlord wins, the judgment is for possession, plus rent, damages and costs if the complaint asked for them [13]. The court may add reasonable attorney fees to the costs for the winning side, if that side had a licensed attorney [14]. An execution for possession can be served only in the daytime [15].

What landlords can’t do

• No lockouts or utility shutoffs. If a residential landlord unlawfully removes or excludes a tenant, or willfully interrupts electric, gas, water or another essential service, the tenant can 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 [16].
• No retaliation. A tenant can sue if the landlord raises the rent above fair market value, cuts electric, gas, water or sewer service, or gives a notice to vacate that isn’t based on a lease breach, after the tenant made a good-faith housing code complaint to a government agency, gave written notice of needed repairs, or joined a tenants’ union [17]. It’s a defense if the notice to vacate came more than 180 days after the tenant’s action, and not renewing a written lease isn’t retaliation [17]. The court may award the tenant attorney’s fees [18].
• No eviction for calling for help. A residential lease can’t allow eviction of a tenant who calls law enforcement or emergency responders over alleged domestic abuse, unlawful sexual behavior or stalking, and being a victim isn’t by itself grounds for eviction [19].
• Notice before entry. Except in an emergency, a landlord has to give reasonable notice before entering and come at reasonable times; 24 hours’ written notice is presumed reasonable unless the lease sets another method [20].

Deposits and left-behind property

• Deposit cap: a residential security deposit can’t be more than one month’s rent, unless landlord and tenant agree to more because special conditions pose a danger to the property [21].
• Return deadline: within 21 days after the tenancy ends and the landlord gets the tenant’s mailing address or delivery instructions, the landlord has to return the deposit or give a written statement of the specific reasons for keeping any part [12]. Deductions are limited to unpaid rent and other money due under the agreement, and restoring the unit to its move-in condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted [12]. The tenant can ask for an itemized accounting within 45 days after the tenancy ends [12].
• Penalty: a landlord who doesn’t follow these rules loses the right to keep any of the deposit, and bad-faith retention can bring punitive damages of up to $200 [12].
• Abandoned property: belongings worth $500 or less in total that a tenant leaves behind for 10 days after moving out are presumed abandoned, and the landlord may dispose of them [22].

Where to get help

• Legal aid: free legal help may be available if your income qualifies.
• A landlord-tenant attorney: worth a call as soon as you’re served, given the five-day deadline.