South Dakota Lease Agreement: What to Include

A South Dakota residential lease needs to reflect this state's actual rules on security deposits, entry notice, late fees, and required disclosures — not a generic template written for a different state. The figures below come from South Dakota's residential landlord-tenant statute; where the state sets no fixed number, that's stated plainly rather than glossed over, since "the state doesn't specify" is itself something you need to know.

Security deposit

Security deposit limit: 1 month rent unless special conditions justify more. South Dakota does not require interest on held deposits. Return deadline after move-out: 14 Days; 45 Days if tenant requests itemization.

Entry notice, late fees, and rent increases

Entry notice: 24 Hours. Late fees: No statewide fixed cap; should be reasonable and stated in lease; no statewide grace period requirement. Rent increase notice for month-to-month tenancies: 30 days. (Entry notice citation: 24 hours presumed reasonable.)

Required disclosures

A South Dakota lease should include or accompany:

• • Federal lead-based paint
• • property-specific disclosures

Eviction notice for nonpayment

For nonpayment of rent, South Dakota's standard notice period is 3 days. This is the minimum notice before you can move to the next step in the eviction process — actual court timelines run longer once a case is filed. (Eviction notice citation: S.D.C.L. § 21-16-2 repealed by SB 90 — no statutory notice unless lease requires it.)

What actually distinguishes South Dakota

South Dakota caps the security deposit at: 1 month rent unless special conditions justify more.

South Dakota requires 24 hours notice before a landlord enters an occupied unit for routine, non-emergency purposes.

At 3, South Dakota's notice period for nonpayment is on the short end nationally — landlords can move to the next step quickly, but that also means less room for a paperwork mistake to cost you time.

Sources and the bottom line

The figures above reflect South Dakota's residential landlord-tenant statute as summarized on LeasePilot HQ's South Dakota landlord-tenant law page, which lists the specific sources behind each number. Security deposit rules specifically are codified at S.D. Codified Laws § 43-32-6.1 (1 month, more by mutual agreement), with the return deadline set by S.D. Codified Laws § 43-32-6.1 (14 days after forwarding address). Primary and cross-reference sources used in compiling this page:

• • https://ipropertymanagement.com/laws/security-deposits
• • https://www.justia.com/real-estate/landlord-tenant/information-for-landlords/right-of-entry/
• • https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/state-landlord-tenant-laws

State landlord-tenant law changes through legislative sessions and court decisions — treat the numbers above as a starting point, verify against South Dakota's current statute (linked above) before relying on them for an actual lease, and see LeasePilot HQ's full South Dakota landlord-tenant law summary for the complete breakdown, or generate a lease with South Dakota-specific clauses built in automatically.