Free South Dakota Rent Increase Notice

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South Dakota has no rent control and no cap on how much you can raise the rent, but it does set a specific rule: on a month-to-month tenancy a rent increase is a change of terms the landlord makes with at least 30 days’ written notice before the month expires (SDCL 43-32-13). The same statute lets the tenant end the lease within 15 days, and the increase may never be retaliatory (SDCL 43-32-27). Generate a clean notice below.

30-day (month-to-month) SDCL 43-32-13 / 43-32-27 South Dakota Free PDF

This South Dakota Rent Increase Notice raises the rent on a residential tenancy. South Dakota sets no rent control and no cap on the amount, but it has a specific change-of-terms rule: under SDCL 43-32-13, a landlord may modify the terms of a month-to-month lease – including the rent – by giving at least 30 days’ written notice before the month expires, to take effect at the expiration of the month. The same statute lets the tenant terminate within 15 days of the notice, and the increase may not be retaliatory under SDCL 43-32-27. Our how to raise rent guide covers the timing, and the tenant screening laws by state hub helps you place reliable tenants in the first place.

Complete the fields below to generate a South Dakota rent increase notice. The new rent and effective date must give the tenant the full statutory notice period. Service should comply with applicable South Dakota law; retain proof of service.

A South Dakota rent increase notice is the written notice a landlord gives to raise the rent on a residential tenancy. South Dakota is a market-rate state: there is no statewide rent control and no statutory cap on how much the rent can go up. A landlord may set rent at the market and raise it by any amount, as often as chosen, so long as the timing and manner of the increase follow the law. What the law does regulate is when an increase can take effect, how the notice must be given, and why the increase is being made.

The rule that governs a rent increase lives in South Dakota Codified Laws section 43-32-13, titled “Modification of lease – Written notice by landlord, effect – Termination by tenant.” In South Dakota a rent increase on a month-to-month tenancy is treated as a modification of the terms of the lease. The statute provides that in a lease from month to month the landlord may, upon giving written notice at least 30 days before the expiration of the month, modify the terms of the lease – including the rent – to take effect at the expiration of the month. Once the notice is served, it becomes part of the lease if the tenant continues to hold the premises after the month ends. The practical rule, then, is at least 30 days’ written notice before the rental month expires, with the new rent starting at the beginning of the next month. On a fixed-term lease the rent is locked for the term: it cannot be raised mid-lease unless the lease itself contains an escalation clause, and any increase takes effect at renewal.

The same statute gives the tenant a counterpart right. A tenant who does not want to accept the increased rent may terminate the lease, effective the first day of the next month, by giving the landlord notice of termination within 15 days of receiving the modification notice. That 15-day window is the tenant’s option to leave rather than pay the new rent – it is not the landlord’s notice period and does not shorten the 30 days the landlord must give. Keeping the two figures distinct matters: the landlord’s obligation is the 30-day notice before the month expires, and the tenant’s response right is the 15-day notice to terminate.

Even with proper timing, an increase can still be unlawful because of its motive. South Dakota has an anti-retaliation statute – SDCL 43-32-27 – that creates a cause of action for a tenant against a landlord of residential property, including a manufactured- or mobile-home community owner, where the landlord increases rent above fair market value, decreases electric, gas, water, or sewer services, or gives a notice to vacate not based on a lease breach, after the tenant has engaged in a protected action. Those protected actions include complaining to the landlord about an unsafe or illegal condition, complaining to a government agency about such a condition, and assembling and presenting collective views, such as through a tenants’ union. A 180-day window frames the connection between the protected action and the landlord’s conduct. A tenant who proves retaliation has the remedies in SDCL 43-32-6, and the court may award reasonable attorney’s fees under SDCL 43-32-28. Federal fair housing law and the South Dakota Human Relations Act independently bar an increase aimed at a tenant because of a protected characteristic.

Because South Dakota fixes no single required method to serve a rent-increase notice, the practical standard is provable written delivery within the notice period – and the change-of-terms notice must be in writing, so a verbal increase does not count. Personal delivery to the tenant, delivery left at the premises or posted on the door when the tenant is absent, certified mail with a return receipt, or first-class mail all work; email or text is fine only when the lease or tenant authorizes electronic notice and you document it. Whatever the method, the notice should state the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date, and the landlord should keep a signed, dated copy with proof of delivery. Our how to raise rent guide walks through the timing, and screening applicants with verified reports keeps tenancies stable so the increases you serve actually stick.

One point of honesty is worth flagging: some sources or prior drafts have referred to a 90-day notice for South Dakota rent increases. There is no 90-day rent-increase rule anywhere in South Dakota law. The figure for a month-to-month tenancy is the 30-day written notice under SDCL 43-32-13, and the only other timing figure in that statute is the tenant’s 15-day right to terminate. Put together, a clean South Dakota increase is simple but exact: confirm the tenancy is month-to-month or at renewal, treat the increase as a modification of the lease terms, give at least 30 days’ written notice before the month expires (or follow a longer period the lease sets), respect the tenant’s 15-day exit, keep the timing and motive outside the SDCL 43-32-27 retaliation bar, deliver the notice in writing with proof, and never let the increase track a tenant’s protected complaint. None of this replaces the screening you do at move-in – a tenant chosen for steady income and a clean payment history is the one most likely to absorb a lawful increase without a dispute.

• No statewide cap on the amount of a rent increase, and no rent control – South Dakota lets a landlord set rent at market and raise it by any amount with proper notice.
• 30 days’ written notice before the month expires for a month-to-month tenancy – the increase is a change of terms under SDCL 43-32-13 and takes effect at the expiration of the month.
• Written notice required — a verbal rent increase does not satisfy the change-of-terms notice; state the new rent and the effective date.
• Tenant’s 15-day exit — a tenant who does not accept the increase may terminate, effective the first day of the next month, by giving notice within 15 days (SDCL 43-32-13).
• No mid-term increase on a fixed-term lease unless the lease expressly allows it; the increase applies at renewal.
• No retaliatory increase above fair market value after a protected tenant action (SDCL 43-32-27; remedies under 43-32-28 / 43-32-6).
• No discriminatory increase based on a protected class (federal Fair Housing Act and the South Dakota Human Relations Act, SDCL ch. 20-13).

• South Dakota sets no single required method to serve a rent-increase notice, but the change-of-terms notice must be written — verbal notice does not satisfy SDCL 43-32-13.
• Personal delivery to the tenant, or delivery left at the rental premises / posted on the door if the tenant is absent.
• Certified mail with a return receipt, or U.S. first-class mail, gives a dated paper trail; allow added days for receipt when you mail.
• Email or text works only if the lease or tenant authorizes electronic notice and you document it; keep the send record either way.

• Giving less than 30 days’ written notice on a month-to-month tenancy, or setting the effective date before the month expires instead of at the expiration of the month (SDCL 43-32-13).
• Assuming a 90-day rule applies – there is no 90-day rent-increase rule anywhere in South Dakota. The figure for a month-to-month tenancy is 30 days under SDCL 43-32-13.
• Confusing the tenant’s 15-day exit window with the landlord’s notice period – the 15 days is the tenant’s option to end the lease, not the time you must give.
• Raising the rent mid-term on a fixed-term lease that does not allow it.
• Raising the rent above fair market value right after a tenant’s code complaint or tenants’-union activity — SDCL 43-32-27 treats that as retaliation.
• Relying on a verbal notice with no written record or proof of delivery.

• Read the lease first — a notice period or escalation clause there controls, and may require longer than 30 days.
• Give written notice at least 30 days before the month expires for a month-to-month tenancy, with the new rent effective at the start of the next month.
• State the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date plainly, and note the tenant’s right to give 15-day notice if they decline.
• Deliver by a method you can prove, and if the increase follows a tenant complaint, keep the rent at or near fair market value and document the basis for it.

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