South Dakota Eviction Laws

South Dakota notice periods for ending a tenancy and starting an eviction, each as LeaseCraft read it in the statute at the official source, with its citation and read date (most recently ).

Create a South Dakota eviction notice

Preview free$2.99/month or $19.99/year membershipCancel any time

On this page

South Dakota notice periods

Periods are as the statute states them: some are minimums, some apply unless the lease sets another. "Lease controls" means there is no statutory period; "No pre-suit notice" means none is required before filing.

SituationNotice periodSource
Unpaid rent No pre-suit notice SDCL 21-16-1(4); SDCL 21-16-2 (repealed, SL 2024 ch 75 s. 1); SDCL 21-16-7
Read
Lease violation No pre-suit notice SDCL 43-32-18; SDCL 21-16-1(7)
Read
Ending the tenancy without a chance to cure No pre-suit notice SDCL 21-16-1(7); SDCL 43-32-18(1)
Read
Ending a month-to-month tenancy 30 days SDCL 43-32-15; SDCL 43-8-8; SDCL 43-32-13
Read
Tenant staying after the lease ends No pre-suit notice SDCL 21-16-1(4)
Read
Ending a week-to-week tenancy 7 days SDCL 43-32-15
Read

What the South Dakota statute says

Unpaid rent No pre-suit notice
  • Minimum-late requirement: a forcible entry and detainer action lies when a lessee 'fails to pay his rent for three days after the same shall be due' (SDCL 21-16-1(4)).
  • The former three-day written notice to quit (SDCL 21-16-2) was REPEALED by SL 2024, ch 75, s. 1 (2024 SB 90, signed 2024-03-14); the current code page shows '21-16-2. Repealed.' No statutory pre-suit notice remains; the lease may still require one.
  • Post-filing: defendant's time to appear/plead is five days from service (21-16-7 as amended by SL 2024 ch 75 s. 2).
Lease violation No pre-suit notice
  • No statutory comply-or-quit notice: SDCL 43-32-18 lets a landlord terminate before the end of the term when the tenant uses the premises contrary to the lease or fails 'within a reasonable time after request' to make repairs the tenant is bound to make; 21-16-1(7) covers waste or any act that under the lease terms terminates it.
Ending the tenancy without a chance to cure No pre-suit notice
  • Waste, or any act/omission that under the lease terms operates to terminate the lease (21-16-1(7)); use contrary to the lease agreement (43-32-18(1)) — no statutory notice period.
Ending a month-to-month tenancy 30 days
  • SDCL 43-32-15: a hiring for an unspecified term renews unless a party gives notice of intention to terminate 'at least as long before the expiration thereof as the term of the hiring itself, not exceeding one month' — i.e. one month's notice before the end of a monthly term (statute says 'one month', recorded as 30).
  • Tenancy at will (residential): landlord's written notice to remove within a specified period of not less than fifteen days (43-8-8); two months if the tenant or an immediate family member is on active military service, with listed exceptions.
  • Landlord may modify month-to-month lease terms (including rent) on at least thirty days' written notice before the end of the month (43-32-13).
Tenant staying after the lease ends No pre-suit notice
  • A lessee who 'holds over after the termination of his lease or expiration of his term' is subject to a forcible entry and detainer action (21-16-1(4)); the statutory pre-suit notice (21-16-2) was repealed in 2024.
Ending a week-to-week tenancy 7 days
  • 43-32-15: notice as long as the term of the hiring — one week for a week-to-week hiring.

Just cause, delivery, form and local rules in South Dakota

How the notice may be delivered

SDCL 43-8-9 (notice to a tenant at will): in writing, served by delivering it to the tenant or to some person of discretion residing on the premises; or, if neither can with reasonable diligence be found, by affixing it on a conspicuous part of the premises where it may be conveniently read. No delivery method is prescribed for 43-32-15 periodic-tenancy notices; the repealed 21-16-2 (service like a summons) no longer applies.

SDCL 43-8-9 · read

Required form or contents

none found — no statutory notice form; 43-8-8 at-will notice must be in writing and specify the removal period (not less than fifteen days).

SDCL 43-8-8; 43-8-9 · read

Statewide just-cause rule

No statewide just-cause requirement

  • No just-cause requirement found; periodic and at-will tenancies end on notice under 43-32-15 / 43-8-8.

SDCL 43-32-15; 43-8-8 · read

For South Dakota landlords

  • Find the period for your situation in the table above and count it from the day the notice is delivered.
  • Deliver the notice the way South Dakota law allows and keep a record of how and when.
  • A notice is not a court order and does not by itself remove a tenant.

For South Dakota tenants

  • Compare the notice you received with the period for its situation in the table above and the date it reached you.
  • A notice is not a court order. If a case is filed, the court papers say how and by when to respond.
  • Local legal aid and tenant organizations can explain your options.

How an eviction generally proceeds

A general outline, not South Dakota law: the steps, their names and their deadlines differ by state and court. The South Dakota rules LeaseCraft has verified are the ones above.

  1. Written notice. The landlord gives the notice the situation calls for and waits out its period.
  2. Court filing. If the tenant has not paid, cured or left, the landlord files an eviction case in court.
  3. Hearing. Both sides can be heard; the tenant may raise defenses such as an improper notice.
  4. Judgment. The court decides who has the right to the property.
  5. Removal. If the court rules for the landlord, removal follows its order. A notice is not a court order and does not by itself remove a tenant.

South Dakota eviction questions

  • LeaseCraft's record holds no notice period before filing. Source: SDCL 21-16-1(4); SDCL 21-16-2 (repealed, SL 2024 ch 75 s. 1); SDCL 21-16-7. Minimum-late requirement: a forcible entry and detainer action lies when a lessee 'fails to pay his rent for three days after the same shall be due' (SDCL 21-16-1(4)). LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

  • LeaseCraft's record holds no notice period before filing. Source: SDCL 43-32-18; SDCL 21-16-1(7). No statutory comply-or-quit notice: SDCL 43-32-18 lets a landlord terminate before the end of the term when the tenant uses the premises contrary to the lease or fails 'within a reasonable time after request' to make repairs the tenant is bound to make; 21-16-1(7) covers waste or any act that under the lease terms terminates it. LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

  • 30 days, under SDCL 43-32-15; SDCL 43-8-8; SDCL 43-32-13. SDCL 43-32-15: a hiring for an unspecified term renews unless a party gives notice of intention to terminate 'at least as long before the expiration thereof as the term of the hiring itself, not exceeding one month' — i.e. one month's notice before the end of a monthly term (statute says 'one month', recorded as 30). LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

  • SDCL 43-8-9 (notice to a tenant at will): in writing, served by delivering it to the tenant or to some person of discretion residing on the premises; or, if neither can with reasonable diligence be found, by affixing it on a conspicuous part of the premises where it may be conveniently read. No delivery method is prescribed for 43-32-15 periodic-tenancy notices; the repealed 21-16-2 (service like a summons) no longer applies. Source: SDCL 43-8-9. LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

  • No statewide just-cause requirement, under SDCL 43-32-15; 43-8-8. No just-cause requirement found; periodic and at-will tenancies end on notice under 43-32-15 / 43-8-8. LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

  • 7 days, under SDCL 43-32-15. 43-32-15: notice as long as the term of the hiring — one week for a week-to-week hiring. LeaseCraft read this at the official source on 2026-09-27.

Need a South Dakota eviction notice?

Create a South Dakota eviction notice with the guided form and preview it free.

Create my document

Related South Dakota landlord-tenant guides

South Dakota security deposit laws South Dakota landlord-tenant law Eviction guides for every state

Cities and counties can add rules. LeaseCraft is not a law firm and this is not legal advice.