Short answer: Since 2024, the South Dakota eviction process has no statutory notice to quit: Senate Bill 90 repealed the old three-day notice in SDCL 21-16-2, so a landlord can file once rent is three days late under SDCL 21-16-1(4). After service you have five days to appear and answer under SDCL 21-16-7, and trial can follow on two days’ notice.
That 2024 change removed the only statutory waiting step between late rent and a lawsuit, so older descriptions of a three-day notice no longer match the code. The court case itself, called forcible entry and detainer, is governed by SDCL chapter 21-16, while lease rules such as retaliation, lockouts and abandoned property sit in chapter 43-32. Read your summons the day it arrives.
South Dakota Eviction Process at a Glance
| Rule | South Dakota | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Notice to quit | None required (repealed 2024) | SDCL 21-16-2 |
| Nonpayment ground | Rent unpaid 3 days after due | SDCL 21-16-1(4) |
| Month-to-month ending | Notice as long as the rental period, up to one month | SDCL 43-32-15 |
| Service of summons | At least two attempts, a week apart, within 30 days | SDCL 21-16-6 |
| Answer deadline | 5 days after service | SDCL 21-16-7 |
| Trial | On 2 days’ notice after issue is joined | SDCL 21-16-8 |
| Appeal | 30 days; stay needs a supersedeas bond | SDCL 15-26A-6, 15-26A-25 |
| Lockout or utility cutoff | Two months’ rent plus advance rent and deposit | SDCL 43-32-6 |
What Happened to the Three-Day Notice
Until 2024, SDCL 21-16-2 required three days’ written notice to quit before a landlord could sue a tenant for holding over or not paying rent. 2024 Session Laws chapter 75 (Senate Bill 90), signed March 14, 2024, repealed that section outright and lengthened the answer period in § 21-16-7 from four days to five. The code now lists § 21-16-2 simply as “Repealed.”
The practical result: under SDCL 21-16-1(4), an eviction action is “maintainable” when a tenant “fails to pay his rent for three days after the same shall be due” or holds over after the lease ends. The first formal paper you receive may be the court summons. Your lease may still promise a warning notice, so check it; a lease term can give you more than the statute does.
Grounds Other Than Rent
Lease violations
Under SDCL 43-32-18, a landlord may end a lease early if you use the premises in a way the lease forbids or fail to make repairs you are responsible for within a reasonable time after being asked. Section 21-16-1(7) also allows an eviction when a tenant commits waste or does something the lease says ends it. South Dakota’s statutes set no fixed cure period for lease violations; any cure right comes from your lease.
Ending a month-to-month tenancy
A rental with no fixed term renews automatically unless one side gives notice at least as long as the rental period, capped at one month, under SDCL 43-32-15. For a monthly tenancy, that means a month’s notice. A landlord who wants to change terms of a month-to-month lease must give written notice at least 30 days before the month ends, per SDCL 43-32-13. Staying after a valid termination is a holdover under § 21-16-1(4).
Filing and Service
Any circuit court or magistrate court in the county can hear the case, per SDCL 21-16-3. The landlord files a written, verified complaint, which must be served with a summons.
SDCL 21-16-6 requires the sheriff, a constable or another authorized server to make at least two service attempts, each at least one week apart, with both within 30 days. On the second attempt, the summons may be posted in a conspicuous place, handed to someone living there if anyone is found, and mailed first class to you at the property. If the summons was posted after only one attempt, ask a lawyer whether service was valid.
Answering in Five Days
Your appearance and answer are due five days after service, under SDCL 21-16-7. Do not wait for a hearing notice before responding; file a written answer with the clerk of the court named on the summons and keep a copy.
Defenses to raise
- Rent was not three days late, or you paid or tendered it.
- Defective service under § 21-16-6.
- Retaliation. SDCL 43-32-27 gives you a claim if the landlord serves a notice to vacate not based on a lease breach after receiving written notice of your good-faith code complaint, after you gave written notice of a needed repair under § 43-32-9, or after you joined a tenants’ union. It is a defense for the landlord if the notice came more than 180 days after that event, and non-renewal of a written lease is not retaliation. Remedies and possible attorney fees appear in § 43-32-28.
- Domestic violence. SDCL 43-32-18.1 bars lease terms allowing eviction for calling police or emergency help about domestic abuse, unlawful sexual behavior or stalking, and does not authorize eviction solely because you or a household member is a victim.
- Repairs. If you followed § 43-32-9’s repair procedures, including the written-notice and rent-deposit steps for larger repairs, raise them to explain any withheld rent.
- Discrimination. The South Dakota Human Relations Act, SDCL 20-13-20, prohibits housing discrimination on grounds including creed and ancestry.
Trial and Judgment
Once issue is joined, either side may bring the case to trial on two days’ notice, per SDCL 21-16-8, and a jury can be demanded. You cannot get a continuance longer than 14 days unless you post an undertaking with surety, approved by the court, covering rent that accrues and costs if you lose, under § 21-16-7.
If the landlord wins, SDCL 21-16-10 provides judgment for possession plus rents, damages and costs claimed in the complaint. The court may also award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing side when it is represented by a lawyer, under § 21-16-11, so a tenant who wins with counsel can recover fees too. Chapter 21-16 contains no right to cure by paying after judgment.
Execution, Removal and Your Property
Chapter 21-16 does not set a waiting period between judgment and the execution for possession. It does say, in SDCL 21-16-12, that an execution for possession may be served only in the daytime. Ask the clerk at judgment when the sheriff will act, because it can be very soon.
Belongings left behind are covered by chapter 43-32. Property worth $500 or less in total that stays in the unit ten days after you leave is presumed abandoned and may be thrown out, under SDCL 43-32-25. Property worth more must be stored by the landlord, who holds a lien for handling and storage costs and may dispose of it after 30 days, per § 43-32-26.
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Appeals and Stays
An appeal from a circuit court judgment must be filed within 30 days after the signed judgment is filed and written notice of entry is given, under SDCL 15-26A-6. Filing an appeal does not by itself stop the eviction. Under SDCL 15-26A-25, enforcement continues unless you post a supersedeas bond in an amount and form the circuit court approves, or otherwise qualify for a stay under § 15-6-62.
Lockouts and Shutoffs
If a landlord unlawfully removes or excludes you, or willfully interrupts electricity, gas, water or another essential service, SDCL 43-32-6 lets you seek an injunction, sue to get back in, or end the lease. In any of those cases you recover damages equal to two months’ rent, plus return of advance rent and your deposit.
Worked Example: A Brookings Rent Case
Dylan rents a Brookings apartment for $875, due on the 1st of each month. His lease promises no late notice. He misses October rent, and by October 4, rent has been unpaid three days, so his landlord files a verified complaint on October 5.
A deputy tries to serve him on October 6 but finds no one home. On the second attempt, October 13, the deputy posts the summons on his door and the landlord mails a copy, as § 21-16-6 allows. Dylan’s five days to answer end October 18. He files an answer on October 16 stating that he reported a gas leak to the city in writing in September. With two days’ notice, trial could be held as early as October 20. If he loses, the sheriff can serve the execution during daylight hours shortly afterward.
Roughly three weeks separate the missed rent from a possible removal.
South Dakota Eviction Timeline
| Stage | Fastest | Typical |
|---|---|---|
| Rent late before filing | 3 days | 3 to 10 days |
| Service | First attempt succeeds | About 1 week (two attempts) |
| Answer | 5 days | 5 days |
| Trial | 2 days’ notice after answer | Up to about 2 weeks with a continuance |
| Total to judgment | About 2 weeks | 3 to 5 weeks |
Help, Diversion and Records
Neither chapter 21-16 nor chapter 43-32 creates a right to appointed counsel or a mandatory mediation program. Because the answer window is only five days, contact legal aid immediately when you are served; LSC’s directory lists the programs that serve South Dakota. If you settle, get the terms in writing and ask that the case be dismissed, and see our guide to dealing with an eviction record for why the wording matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a South Dakota landlord still have to give a three-day notice?
No. Senate Bill 90 repealed SDCL 21-16-2 in 2024, so the statute no longer requires any notice to quit before filing for nonpayment or holdover. Your lease may still require one.
How soon after rent is late can my landlord file?
Under SDCL 21-16-1(4), once rent has gone unpaid for three days after it was due.
How long do I have to respond to the summons?
Five days from service under SDCL 21-16-7, a deadline lengthened from four days by the 2024 law.
Can I delay the trial?
Only up to 14 days unless you post an undertaking with surety covering accruing rent and costs, under SDCL 21-16-7.
What happens to belongings I leave behind?
Items worth $500 or less can be disposed of after ten days under SDCL 43-32-25; more valuable property must be stored and can be disposed of after 30 days under § 43-32-26.
Your next step: write down the date you were served, count five days, and file your answer with the clerk before that deadline while you contact legal aid. This guide is general information rather than legal advice, and LSC’s get legal help finder is the fastest route to a South Dakota legal aid office. Related: eviction rules across the states, South Dakota security deposit law, landlord retaliation and how evictions work.