South Dakota Month-to-Month Lease: One Month's Notice to End

By Steve Levine · Updated November 3, 2026

Short answer: A South Dakota month to month lease renews each month unless one side gives notice at least as long as the rental period, capped at one month, under SDCL § 43-32-15. To change the rent or terms instead, the landlord serves written notice at least 30 days before the month ends, and you then have 15 days to give notice ending the tenancy under § 43-32-13.

South Dakota’s rental rules come from a nineteenth-century civil code, and some of the wording shows it: leases are “hirings,” and landlords are “lessors.” The substance is practical, though, and one rule stands out. A landlord’s notice changing your rent can become part of your lease automatically if you simply stay.

South Dakota month to month lease rules at a glance

Rule	South Dakota	Statute
Notice to end a periodic tenancy	As long as the rental period, not more than one month	SDCL § 43-32-15
Landlord changes rent or terms	Written notice at least 30 days before the month expires	SDCL § 43-32-13
Tenant’s response to a change	May terminate by notice within 15 days of receiving it	SDCL § 43-32-13
Holdover after a lease with rent accepted	Presumed renewed on the same terms, up to one year	SDCL § 43-32-14
Tenancy at will	At least 15 days’ notice from landlord	SDCL § 43-8-8
Retaliation defense window	Notice to vacate more than 180 days after the protected event is a defense	SDCL § 43-32-27

How a monthly tenancy arises

South Dakota’s code assumes that a rental with no agreed term keeps renewing. Section 43-32-15 says a hiring “for a term not specified by the parties is deemed to be renewed” at the end of the term implied by law unless one side gives notice. If you pay monthly with no end date, written or spoken, you have a month-to-month tenancy that rolls over automatically.

Leases that run out work differently here than in many states. Under § 43-32-14, if you stay after a lease ends “and the lessor accepts rent,” the parties “are presumed to have renewed the hiring on the same terms and for the same time, not exceeding one year.” In other words, staying on after a one-year lease and having your rent accepted can create a presumption of another full year, not a month-to-month tenancy. It is only a presumption, so a written agreement to go monthly controls. Our month-to-month vs fixed-term lease guide covers the trade-offs.

Ending the tenancy: notice equal to the rent period

Section 43-32-15 ties notice to the length of the “hiring itself, not exceeding one month.” For a month-to-month tenancy, that means one month’s notice before the end of a monthly period. For a week-to-week tenancy, it means one week. The rule applies to both landlord and tenant, and it does not grow with the length of your stay.

The statute does not say the termination notice must be written, but put it in writing anyway. A dated letter with a copy you keep is the only reliable proof that a full month passed.

Tenancies at will

Some arrangements are tenancies at will rather than monthly tenancies. For those, § 43-8-8 lets a landlord end the tenancy with notice, served as § 43-8-9 prescribes, to leave within a stated period of at least 15 days. The section provides a longer notice period when the tenant or an immediate family member is on active military service.

Rent increases: the notice becomes the lease

SDCL § 43-32-13 is South Dakota’s most distinctive month-to-month rule. In any month-to-month lease, the landlord may, “upon giving notice in writing at least thirty days before the expiration of the month, modify the terms of the lease to take effect at the expiration of the month.”

The next sentence gives that notice real force. Once served, it “shall of itself operate and be effectual to create and establish as a part of the lease the terms, rent, and conditions specified in the notice, if the tenant shall continue to hold the premises after the expiration of the month.” Staying is acceptance. No signature is needed.

You have an exit. The tenant “may terminate his lease effective the first day of the next month by providing notice of termination to the landlord within fifteen days of receipt” of the modification notice. That 15-day response window is shorter than the usual one-month termination notice, and it starts when you receive the landlord’s notice, not when the change takes effect.

Section 43-32-13 sets no limit on the amount. The size of an increase comes into play under the retaliation rule below, which reaches increases “above fair market value.” Test a notice against these rules with the rent increase checker.

Worked example: a Rapid City renter

Kayla rents a Rapid City apartment month-to-month for $1,050, due on the 1st. On October 28, 2026, her landlord hands her a written notice raising the rent to $1,125 at the end of November. That is more than 30 days before November expires, so the notice meets § 43-32-13.

Kayla has until November 12, 2026, 15 days after receiving the notice, to tell the landlord she is terminating. If she does, the statute makes her termination effective “the first day of the next month.” If she says nothing and stays into December, the $1,125 rent becomes part of her lease by operation of the notice itself.

Suppose instead her landlord wants her out. Under § 43-32-15, the landlord would need to give at least one month’s notice before the end of a monthly period, so a notice delivered October 28 could end the tenancy at the end of November. If Kayla held over, the landlord could bring an eviction action under SDCL § 21-16-1(4), which covers a tenant who “holds over after the termination of his lease.” Work out dates with the notice deadline calculator.

Retaliation and lockouts

Under § 43-32-27, you may have a claim if, after a protected “special event,” the landlord raises rent above fair market value, cuts electric, gas, water or sewer service, or gives you a notice to vacate that is not based on a lease breach. The special events are a good-faith code complaint the landlord learned of in writing, written notice to the landlord of a condition needing repair under § 43-32-9, and organizing or joining a tenants’ union.

Two limits matter on a monthly tenancy. It is a defense that the notice to vacate came more than 180 days after the special event, and the statute says the failure to renew a written lease “is not retaliation.” When retaliation is proven, § 43-32-28 gives you the remedies of § 43-32-6, including damages equal to two months’ rent plus the return of advance rent and deposit, and the court may award attorney’s fees. Section 43-32-6 also applies if a landlord locks you out or interrupts essential utilities. See our landlord retaliation guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

My South Dakota landlord sent a rent increase notice. Do I have to sign anything?

No. Under § 43-32-13, a properly served written notice becomes part of the lease if you stay past the end of the month. If you do not accept it, send your termination notice within 15 days of receiving the increase notice.

I stayed after my one-year lease ended and kept paying. Am I month-to-month?

Not automatically. Section 43-32-14 presumes the lease renewed “on the same terms and for the same time, not exceeding one year” once the landlord accepts rent. Get the new arrangement in writing to avoid a dispute over whether you are bound for another year.

How much notice does a weekly tenant get?

One week. Section 43-32-15 requires notice as long as the term of the hiring, up to a maximum of one month.

Is non-renewal of my lease ever retaliation in South Dakota?

Section 43-32-27 says failing to renew a written lease before or at its expiration “is not retaliation.” A notice to vacate during a monthly tenancy, not based on a breach and given within 180 days of a protected complaint, can still support a claim.

Where do I learn about my deposit?

See our South Dakota security deposit law guide.

Your next step: write the date you received any landlord notice on the notice itself, and mark the 15th day after it on your calendar, because that is your deadline to reject a change. Compare other states on our month-to-month lease laws by state page. This guide is general information, not legal advice; for free help, use LSC’s get legal help page.

Sources

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