Outline of the eviction process in South Dakota

South Dakota has no residential landlord-tenant act of the URLTA type. Evictions are an action of forcible entry and detainer under SDCL chapter 21-16, filed in the circuit court or in a magistrate court presided over by a magistrate judge in the county where the property is located (§ 21-16-3). The lease rules on termination, retaliation, lockouts and abandoned property are in SDCL chapter 43-32.

The most important thing to know is that the three-day notice to quit no longer exists. 2024 Senate Bill 90 (SL 2024, ch 75) repealed § 21-16-2, which had required three days’ written notice to quit before suit, and at the same time lengthened the tenant’s time to answer from four days to five (§ 21-16-7). The act had no emergency clause, so it took effect July 1, 2024 (§ 2-14-16).

1. Grounds

Section 21-16-1 lists seven situations in which the action may be brought. The ones that matter for a residential landlord are:

• Nonpayment. The lessee “fails to pay his rent for three days after the same shall be due” (§ 21-16-1(4)). The three days is part of the ground itself, not a notice period.
• Holdover. The lessee, in person or by subtenants, holds over after the termination of the lease or expiration of the term (§ 21-16-1(4)).
• Waste or lease default. The lessee commits waste, or does or fails to perform any act which, under the terms of the lease, operates to terminate it (§ 21-16-1(7)).

Separately, § 43-32-18 lets a landlord terminate before the end of the term when the tenant uses the premises contrary to the lease or does not make repairs the tenant is bound to make within a reasonable time after request. We found no just-cause or rent control law. Not renewing a written lease at expiration is, by statute, not retaliation (§ 43-32-27).

Limits. A residential lease may not authorize eviction of a tenant for calling law enforcement or emergency responders about alleged domestic abuse, unlawful sexual behavior or stalking, and a tenant may not be evicted solely for being a victim of it (§ 43-32-18.1).

2. Notices

• Nonpayment, holdover and lease default: no statutory pre-suit notice. Since July 1, 2024 chapter 21-16 contains no notice-to-quit requirement. The court system’s landlord checklist (UJS-109) has no notice step. If your lease requires a notice or cure period, follow it: the lease terms define the default (§ 21-16-1(7)).
• Ending a tenancy with no fixed term. A hiring for an unspecified term is deemed renewed at the end of the term implied by law unless one party gives the other notice of intent to terminate “at least as long before the expiration thereof as the term of the hiring itself, not exceeding one month” (§ 43-32-15). For an ordinary month-to-month tenancy that means at least one full rental month. Give it in writing and keep proof of delivery.
• Changing rent or terms is not termination. On a month-to-month lease the landlord may modify the terms by written notice at least 30 days before the end of the month, and the tenant may then terminate effective the first day of the next month by giving notice within 15 days of receiving it (§ 43-32-13). It is a modification rule, not a termination rule.
• Tenancy at will: 15 days. A residential tenancy or other estate at will may be terminated by written notice to remove within a period of not less than 15 days (§ 43-8-8, as amended by SL 2024, ch 178). Active-duty military households get two months’ notice, with exceptions.
• How the § 43-8-8 notice is served. It must be in writing and delivered to the tenant or to some person of discretion residing on the premises. Posting is a fallback only: if neither can be found with reasonable diligence, the notice may be affixed on a conspicuous part of the premises where it may be conveniently read (§ 43-8-9).
• Federally backed or subsidized properties may also be subject to the federal CARES Act 30-day notice to vacate; confirm before filing on a covered property.

Accepting rent after the term ends. If the tenant stays after the hiring expires and you accept rent, the parties are presumed to have renewed on the same terms and for the same time, not exceeding one year (§ 43-32-14). Do not accept rent from a holdover.

Double damages need a notice. The judgment may include the damages authorized by § 21-3-8 (§ 21-16-10). That section gives double the yearly value of the property for the time of withholding against a tenant who willfully holds over after the end of the term, but only “after notice to quit has been duly given, and demand of possession made.” To keep that remedy, still serve a written notice to quit and demand possession.

3. Filing

File in the circuit court or magistrate court for the county where the property sits (§ 21-16-3). The complaint must be in writing and verified by the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s agent, or signed by the plaintiff’s attorney, and is served with a summons (§ 21-16-6). The Unified Judicial System publishes the forms: Case Filing Statement (UJS-232), Summons for Eviction (UJS-111) and Verified Complaint for Eviction (UJS-112), with a step-by-step checklist (UJS-109). The UJS-109 checklist and the UJS schedule of court costs effective July 1, 2026 list a $72 filing fee. Service fees are extra.

Entity landlords. The UJS checklist states: “If you are the Plaintiff filing on behalf of a corporation or LLC, you will need to obtain an attorney.” The checklist points to SDCL 15-39-47 for who may act as an attorney.

4. Service, the answer and trial

• Who serves. A sheriff, a person legally authorized to effect service under § 15-6-4(c), or a constable of the county (§ 21-16-6).
• Two attempts before posting. The server must make a minimum of two service attempts. The section reads: “Each attempt shall be at least one week apart and both attempts shall be within thirty days.” On the second attempt the summons may be posted in a conspicuous place on the property and delivered to a person residing there, if one can be found, and also sent by first class mail addressed to the tenant at the property (§ 21-16-6).
• Optional publication. On the day of the first attempt, the plaintiff may publish the summons once in a legal newspaper in the county or an adjacent county (§ 21-16-6.1).
• Five days to answer. The time for appearance and pleading is five days from service on the defendant, or 30 days after publication under § 21-16-6.1, whichever occurs sooner (§ 21-16-7). The UJS summons says five days “exclusive of the day of service,” and the UJS checklist says the five days exclude weekends and holidays, consistent with the civil rule for periods under eleven days (§ 15-6-6(a)). When service is completed by posting and mailing on the second attempt, the statute does not say which date starts the five days (§§ 21-16-6, 21-16-7), so confirm with the clerk before moving for default.
• No answer. You move for default judgment. The UJS packet uses a motion (UJS-113), a supporting statement (UJS-114) and a military status form (UJS-306).
• Answer filed. The case “may be brought on for trial upon two days’ notice after issue is joined” (§ 21-16-8). You serve a notice of hearing (UJS-116). A jury may be demanded (§ 21-16-8).
• Continuances. No adjournment or continuance may be for more than 14 days unless the defendant gives an undertaking, with surety approved by the court, to pay the rent that accrues plus costs if judgment goes against the defendant (§ 21-16-7).

5. Judgment and appeal

A judgment for the landlord is for delivery of possession, for rents and profits or damages (including § 21-3-8 damages) where claimed in the complaint, and for costs (§ 21-16-10). The court may tax reasonable attorney fees as costs to the prevailing party, whether or not a trial is held, if that party is represented by a licensed attorney (§ 21-16-11). Chapter 21-16 contains no right to pay and stay or to reinstate the lease after judgment.

Appeal. From magistrate court there is a right of appeal to the circuit court, which must be taken within 10 days after the attestation and filing of the judgment (§§ 15-38-22, 16-12B-16). Within that time the appellant must pay a $10 filing fee and file a cost bond of at least $100 and not less than the judgment and costs; once it is filed, proceedings in magistrate court are stayed. The bond is waived by the written consent of each appellee or an affidavit of indigency (§§ 15-38-27, 15-38-28). From circuit court, an appeal to the Supreme Court must be taken within 30 days after the judgment is signed, attested and filed and written notice of entry is given to the adverse party (§ 15-26A-6), so serve the notice of entry of judgment. An appeal does not stay enforcement unless the appellant posts a supersedeas bond in an amount and form approved by the circuit court (§ 15-26A-25). For a judgment for possession, the bond is conditioned against waste and on paying the value of use and occupation if the judgment is affirmed (§ 15-26A-28).

6. Execution and the lockout

South Dakota calls the removal order an execution for possession. Chapter 21-16 sets no waiting period after judgment. The UJS judgment form (UJS-138) provides that execution shall issue and directs the local sheriff’s department to remove the tenant and all others in possession on or after 8:00 a.m. on a date the judge fills in. An execution for possession can be served only in the daytime (§ 21-16-12).

Tenant property. Two separate rules apply. Property with a total reasonable value of $500 or less, left on residential premises for 10 days after the tenant has quit the premises, is presumed abandoned and the landlord may dispose of it (§ 43-32-25). Property worth more than $500 must be stored by the landlord, who has a lien for the costs of handling and storage, and after storing it for 30 days or more may treat it as abandoned and dispose of it (§ 43-32-26).

Self-help is prohibited. If a residential lessor unlawfully removes or excludes the tenant, or willfully diminishes services by interrupting electric, gas, water or other essential service, the tenant may sue for injunctive relief, recover possession or terminate the rental agreement, and in any case recover two months’ rent plus the return of any advance rent and deposit (§ 43-32-6).

Retaliation. A tenant has a cause of action if, after the landlord receives written notice that the tenant complained in good faith to a government agency about a building or housing code violation materially affecting health and safety, a written repair notice under § 43-32-9, or organizing or joining a tenants’ organization, the landlord raises rent above fair market value, decreases electric, gas, water or sewer service, or gives a notice to vacate not based on a breach of the lease. A notice given more than 180 days after the event is a defense (§ 43-32-27). Remedies are those in § 43-32-6, plus possible attorney’s fees (§ 43-32-28).

Recent law changes landlords should know

• Three-day notice to quit repealed; answer time now five days. 2024 SB 90 (SL 2024, ch 75), signed March 26, 2024 and effective July 1, 2024 under § 2-14-16, repealed § 21-16-2 and amended § 21-16-7 from four days to five. Nothing replaced the notice: the statute now requires only that a ground in § 21-16-1 exist before you file.
• Security deposits: 21 days. 2026 SB 4 (SL 2026, ch 179), signed February 12, 2026, amended § 43-32-24. The deposit must be returned, or the withholding explained in writing, within 21 days after termination of the tenancy and receipt of the tenant’s mailing address or delivery instructions. The prior period was two weeks. The act has no emergency clause, so it took effect July 1, 2026 (§ 2-14-16). On request, an itemized accounting is due within 45 days after termination. Noncompliance forfeits the right to withhold, and bad-faith retention carries punitive damages up to $200.
• No answer surcharge for eviction defendants. 2026 HB 1014 (SL 2026, ch 93), signed March 3, 2026, amended § 16-2-58.2 so that the $25 surcharge on a responsive pleading in circuit court is not collected in forcible entry and detainer actions.
• 2025 session. We found no enacted 2025 bill on evictions or residential leases, and the source notes on the sections cited here show no 2025 amendments.

What actually goes wrong

• Relying on old forms. A summons that gives the tenant four days is wrong.
• Filing for nonpayment before rent is three full days past due (§ 21-16-1(4)).
• Posting the summons on the first attempt, or posting without the first class mailing (§ 21-16-6).
• Miscounting the five days. Exclude the day of service and intermediate weekends and legal holidays before asking for default.
• An LLC or corporation filing through a manager instead of an attorney.
• Changing locks or shutting off utilities, or discarding property worth more than $500 before 30 days of storage.

When to bring in an attorney

An individual owner can often handle an uncontested nonpayment case with the UJS forms. Use counsel when the owner is a corporation or LLC, when the ground is a lease default other than rent, when the tenant answers, demands a jury or raises retaliation, for subsidized housing, and for any appeal. The South Dakota attorneys listed below represent landlords.

Sources

• SDCL §§ 21-16-1 to 21-16-3, 21-16-6 to 21-16-8, 21-16-10 to 21-16-12 (including repealed § 21-16-2 and its source note), and § 21-3-8, South Dakota Legislature (sdlegislature.gov).
• SDCL §§ 43-32-6, 43-32-13, 43-32-14, 43-32-15, 43-32-18, 43-32-18.1, 43-32-24 to 43-32-28; §§ 43-8-8, 43-8-9.
• SDCL §§ 2-14-16, 16-2-58.2, 15-6-6(a), 15-38-22, 16-12B-16, 15-26A-6, 15-26A-25, 15-26A-28.
• 2024 Senate Bill 90 (SL 2024, ch 75); SL 2024, ch 178; 2026 Senate Bill 4 (SL 2026, ch 179); 2026 House Bill 1014 (SL 2026, ch 93).
• South Dakota Unified Judicial System, Evictions self-help page and forms UJS-109, UJS-111, UJS-112, UJS-138; Schedule of Court Costs effective July 1, 2026.

This guide is general information about South Dakota procedure and is not legal advice. Confirm the current statute text and your court’s practice before relying on any deadline.