What changed in 2024: the notice to quit is gone
Senate Bill 90, signed March 14, 2024 (SL 2024, ch 75), repealed SDCL 21-16-2. That section used to require three days’ written notice to quit before a landlord could sue a tenant who held over or fell behind. The same bill raised the tenant’s time to answer an eviction summons from four days to five under SDCL 21-16-7.
The grounds themselves didn’t change. Under SDCL 21-16-1(4), an action is maintainable when a tenant holds over after the lease ends or “fails to pay his rent for three days after the same shall be due.” With rent due on the 1st, the case can be filed on the 5th. The state’s verified complaint form, UJS-112, has no box for a prior notice at all.
Your lease can still add a step. If it promises a written demand or cure period, give it; the judge will read the lease you attach.
Grounds and notice for other South Dakota evictions
SDCL 21-16-1 lists other grounds too, and the notice depends on which one you use.
- Lease violations: subdivision (7) covers a tenant who commits waste or does or fails to do “any act which, under the terms of the lease” ends it. SDCL 43-32-18 lets a landlord terminate early when the premises are used contrary to the lease. Your lease sets the cure or notice period.
- Month-to-month and other periodic tenancies: under SDCL 43-32-15, notice must be at least as long as the rental period, capped at one month. A monthly tenancy takes one month’s notice; a weekly one takes a week.
- Holdover after a fixed term: no further notice is needed, but accepting rent after expiration can renew the lease under SDCL 43-32-14.
- Domestic abuse limits: SDCL 43-32-18.1 bars any lease term that allows eviction because a tenant called police or emergency help about domestic abuse, unlawful sexual behavior or stalking, and bars evicting a tenant solely for being the victim.
Filing the case: court, forms and fee
File in the circuit court or a magistrate court for the county where the building sits, both of which have jurisdiction under SDCL 21-16-3. The Unified Judicial System’s checklist (UJS-109, rev. July 2026) lists three documents: the Case Filing Statement (UJS-232), the Summons (UJS-111) and the Verified Complaint (UJS-112), with a copy of the lease attached. The filing fee on that checklist is $72.
The complaint must be in writing and verified by you or your agent, or signed by your attorney (SDCL 21-16-6). Most apartment buildings are owned by an LLC, and the checklist is blunt about that: a corporation or LLC plaintiff needs an attorney.
Service: two attempts a week apart
SDCL 21-16-6 requires the sheriff, a constable or another authorized process server to make at least two attempts, each at least a week apart and both within 30 days. On the second attempt, the summons may be posted in a conspicuous place on the property, handed to a resident if one can be found, and mailed first class to the tenant at the property.
On the same day as the first attempt, SDCL 21-16-6.1 lets you publish the summons once in a legal newspaper in the county or an adjacent county. The tenant then has five days from service or 30 days from publication to appear, whichever comes first.
The tenant’s answer, the hearing and default
The tenant has five days to answer, and because SDCL 15-6-6(a) skips intermediate weekends and legal holidays in any period under 11 days, that usually means a full calendar week. The UJS forms say the same: service “does not include date of service or weekends and holidays.”
If the tenant answers, SDCL 21-16-8 lets the case be brought to trial on two days’ notice after issue is joined, and either side can ask for a jury. The court’s own Notice of Hearing form (UJS-116) tells landlords to mail it at least seven days before the hearing, so plan on that. No continuance can run more than 14 days unless the tenant posts an undertaking with surety for the rent that accrues and costs (SDCL 21-16-7).
If the tenant doesn’t answer, you file a Motion for Default Judgment (UJS-113), a Statement in Support (UJS-114) and a Statement of Military Status (UJS-306), with the caption of the Default Judgment for Eviction (UJS-117). The judge may grant it, set a hearing or deny it.
Judgment, execution and the tenant’s belongings
A judgment for the landlord awards possession, rent or damages claimed in the complaint and costs (SDCL 21-16-10). For a tenant who willfully holds over after a notice to quit and demand for possession, SDCL 21-3-8 measures damages at double the yearly value for the time withheld. The court may also tax reasonable attorney fees to a prevailing party represented by an attorney (SDCL 21-16-11).
The judgment form directs the local sheriff to remove the tenant and everyone else in possession “on or after 8:00 AM” on a date the judge fills in. You then mail the tenant the judgment and a Notice of Entry (UJS-139 or UJS-118). SDCL 21-16-12 allows execution in the daytime only.
Property left behind follows SDCL 43-32-25 and 43-32-26. Belongings worth $500 or less can be treated as abandoned after 10 days. Anything worth more must be stored, with a lien for handling and storage costs, and may be treated as abandoned after 30 days.
Lockouts, utility shutoffs and retaliation
Self-help is costly in South Dakota. If a landlord of residential property unlawfully removes or excludes a tenant, or willfully interrupts electric, gas, water or another essential service, SDCL 43-32-6 lets the tenant sue to get back in or end the lease and recover two months’ rent plus any advance rent and deposit.
SDCL 43-32-27 creates a retaliation claim when, after a good-faith housing-code complaint, a written repair request or joining a tenant union, the landlord raises rent above market, cuts utilities or serves a notice to vacate not based on a lease breach. A notice given more than 180 days after that event is a defense, and simply not renewing a written lease isn’t retaliation. Remedies are those in 43-32-6 plus attorney fees under 43-32-28.
South Dakota’s eviction chapter has no section letting a tenant end the case by paying after you file.
Federal rules that can change the timeline
If the building has a federally backed mortgage, such as a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA-insured loan, or a federal housing program, the CARES Act may apply. Section 4024(c), 15 U.S.C. 9058(c), says a tenant of a covered property can’t be required to vacate until 30 days after a notice to vacate. The 120-day moratorium ended in 2020, but the 30-day text remains and courts have split on whether it still applies. With South Dakota’s notice to quit repealed, the safer course for a covered building is to serve a 30-day notice before filing.
Before any default judgment, file the Statement of Military Status (UJS-306). The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. 3931, requires it.
South Dakota eviction timeline
Here is the full path for an uncontested nonpayment case, with the rule behind each step.
| Step | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Rent unpaid | 3 days after due date | SDCL 21-16-1(4) |
| Notice to quit | None required since 2024 (follow your lease) | SB 90 (2024); SDCL 21-16-2 repealed |
| Month-to-month termination | Notice equal to rental period, max one month | SDCL 43-32-15 |
| File summons and verified complaint | $72 filing fee | UJS-109; SDCL 21-16-6 |
| Service | 2 attempts, a week apart, within 30 days | SDCL 21-16-6 |
| Tenant’s answer | 5 days, excluding weekends and holidays | SDCL 21-16-7; 15-6-6(a) |
| Trial if answered | On 2 days’ notice; UJS form mails 7 days ahead | SDCL 21-16-8; UJS-116 |
| Continuance | Max 14 days unless tenant posts surety | SDCL 21-16-7 |
| Removal by sheriff | Date set in judgment, daytime only | UJS-138; SDCL 21-16-12 |
| Belongings over $500 | Stored 30 days, then abandoned | SDCL 43-32-26 |
Worked example: one nonpaying unit in Sioux Falls
Assume a 12-unit building in Sioux Falls with a unit renting for $1,050 a month, a $1,000 attorney flat fee, and rent due Monday, March 1, 2027. The tenant pays nothing.
The case can be filed Friday, March 5, after rent has gone unpaid for three days. Say the sheriff serves the tenant that same day. Five days to answer, skipping the weekend, ends Friday, March 12. You move for default on Monday, March 15, the judge signs, and the judgment sets removal for Tuesday, March 16. That is 15 days from the due date, which at $34.52 a day ($1,050 × 12 ÷ 365) is $518 of lost rent.
Add the $1,000 attorney fee and $72 filing fee and the fastest case costs $1,590, before sheriff’s fees or turnover. A failed first service attempt pushes the second a week out, adding at least $242 of rent.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Lost rent, 15 days at $34.52 | $518 |
| Attorney flat fee (assumed) | $1,000 |
| Filing fee (UJS-109) | $72 |
| Total, fastest uncontested case | $1,590 |
| Each extra week if service fails | $242 |
Alternatives to filing
Being able to file on day five doesn’t mean you should. A written payment plan works for a tenant with a short setback: put the dates in writing and say what happens on a missed payment. Cash for keys works when the tenant can’t catch up, because paying for a clean move-out by a fixed date can cost less than the lost rent, fees and turnover of a contested case.
Selling a South Dakota building with an eviction pending
You don’t have to finish the case to sell. Leases transfer with the building, and the buyer steps into your rights under them, so a buyer can continue a pending case, settle it or start a new one in its own name. Give the buyer the lease, ledger, complaint, proof of service and any judgment, and collect tenant estoppel certificates so the rent roll matches what tenants say they owe.
Our South Dakota landlord-tenant law guide covers deposits, entry and lease rules.
Selling your South Dakota apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units across South Dakota with tenants in place, including buildings with nonpaying tenants or cases already filed. We price the problem units into the offer, so you don’t have to see the case through first.
Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
