Security deposit return deadline in South Dakota
A South Dakota landlord has 21 days after the tenancy ends and they receive your mailing address to return a security deposit. You can ask for an itemized accounting, due within 45 days.
- Deadline
- 21 days (45 for itemized accounting on request)
- What the landlord must send
- Within 21 days the landlord must return the deposit or give a written statement of the specific reasons for keeping any of it; a full itemized accounting is due within 45 days if the tenant asks.
- If the landlord gets it wrong
- Failing to comply forfeits the right to keep any of it; bad faith can add punitive damages up to $200.
- Deposit limit
- 1 month’s rent, unless both sides agree to more for special conditions
The 21 days run from the end of the tenancy and receipt of the tenant’s mailing address or delivery instructions.
The law
S.D. Codified Laws §§ 43-32-6.1, 43-32-24. Read the statute.
Checked against the statute in October 2026. Laws change, so confirm the current rule before you rely on it.
What to do next
If the deadline has passed, or the landlord kept money without a proper list, put your request in writing. Ask for the deposit back by a specific date, and keep a copy. The free first letter in the Deposit Demand Letters kit does this for South Dakota, and the deadline calculator works out your exact date from your move-out day.
Other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Washington, D.C.
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
General information about South Dakota law, not legal advice, and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Deposit Demand Letters is a self-help template kit from Kits For That.