Pet Deposits, Pet Rent & ESA Rules in South Dakota 2026
State pet-deposit treatment, federal Fair Housing Act assistance-animal rules, and what South Dakota landlords can and cannot ask.
South Dakota gives landlords more statutory footing on assistance animals than most states. Ordinary pets are a matter of private contract, so your lease controls whether animals are allowed, how many, and at what cost. Service animals and emotional support animals (ESAs) are different: they are not pets under the law, and federal fair-housing rules override a no-pets clause. What makes South Dakota unusual is a 2018 package of statutes, SDCL 43-32-33 through 43-32-36, that spells out exactly what documentation you may request and lets you recover damages when a tenant fakes an assistance-animal claim.
How South Dakota Treats Pet Deposits
Security deposit capped at 1 month's rent (a higher amount may be charged with consent and where there is a clearly identifiable reason). Pet deposits count toward this cap.
Pets are a lease matter; deposits are capped by statute
South Dakota has no law forcing you to accept pets. A no-pets clause is enforceable, and you may cap the number, size, or breed of animals so long as you apply the policy consistently. Where the state does step in is the deposit. Under SDCL 43-32-6.1, a residential security deposit generally may not exceed one month's rent. The same statute lets you take a larger deposit by mutual agreement where special conditions pose a danger to maintenance of the premises, and a pet is the classic special condition. In practice that supports a pet-related deposit up to about two months' rent when the tenant agrees. Whatever you collect, it is a single refundable security deposit governed by the deposit rules, and it must be accounted for within 21 days of the tenancy ending after you receive the tenant's forwarding address (SDCL 43-32-6.2). Recurring monthly pet rent sits outside the deposit statute and is negotiated in the lease.
Service animals and ESAs are not pets
Federal fair-housing law controls here, and South Dakota reinforces it. The Fair Housing Act requires you to make a reasonable accommodation to a no-pets policy for an assistance animal tied to a disability. South Dakota's own definition in SDCL 43-32-33 is deliberately broad: its term for service animal includes an emotional support animal, a therapy animal, or any assistance animal. That means you cannot brush off an ESA request by insisting it is not a true service dog. The distinction that matters for you is not the label but whether the tenant has a disability and a disability-related need for the animal. Because these are accommodations rather than pets, you may not charge a pet deposit, pet fee, or pet rent for a qualifying assistance animal, and a breed or weight limit does not apply to it.
What documentation you can require
This is where South Dakota is more landlord-friendly than the federal baseline alone. SDCL 43-32-34 lets you request documentation of the disability-related need unless the disability or the need is readily apparent or already known to you, which tracks HUD's 2020 assistance-animal guidance. When the need is not obvious, you may ask for supporting paperwork. SDCL 43-32-35 defines what that paperwork must show: it has to confirm the tenant's disability and the relationship between the disability and the requested accommodation, and it must come from a licensed health-care provider who is not in the business solely of certifying animals. That standard lets you decline the online certificate mills and generic registry cards that carry no clinical basis. Keep the request narrow, in writing, and focused on need, not on the tenant's specific diagnosis.
The South Dakota fraud penalty
Enacted in 2018, SDCL 43-32-36 gives you a remedy that most states lack. If a tenant knowingly makes a false claim of disability or need, or knowingly provides fraudulent documentation to obtain an assistance-animal accommodation, you may evict and recover civil damages not to exceed $1,000. This is a real deterrent, but it is aimed at proven fraud, not at a request you simply doubt. Denying a legitimate accommodation or over-demanding documentation exposes you to a fair-housing complaint, which carries far heavier consequences than the $1,000 you might recover. Treat the fraud statute as a backstop for clear cases, and reserve it for tenants whose documentation you can actually show is fabricated.
When you can still say no, and damage liability
An accommodation request is not automatic approval of a specific animal. You may deny or remove an assistance animal if that particular animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others, or would cause substantial physical damage to property, and no other reasonable accommodation would reduce the risk. The assessment must be individualized to the animal's actual conduct, not based on breed reputation. Separately, waiving a pet fee does not waive responsibility: the tenant remains liable for actual damage the animal causes, and you can deduct documented repair costs from the ordinary security deposit at move-out. South Dakota also carries an older human-rights provision, SDCL 20-13-23.4, on service animals for persons who are blind, deaf, or otherwise physically disabled, alongside the general reasonable-accommodation duty in SDCL 20-13-23.7.
The Cost of Mishandling a South Dakota ESA Request
The most common mistake in South Dakota ESA cases is responding with a flat denial, "no pets means no pets", instead of engaging in the interactive process. The interactive process is itself a substantive duty. A landlord who refuses to consider the request, demands more documentation than HUD permits, or imposes a pet fee on an accepted assistance animal will lose at HUD even if the underlying accommodation could have been reasonably denied on its merits.
City-Level Eviction Risk in South Dakota
Pet-related eviction filings correlate with overall landlord-tenant litigation rates. View landlord risk and tenant-law profile by city:
Sources & Methodology
- Federal Fair Housing Act: 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B); 24 C.F.R. § 100.204; 24 C.F.R. § 180.671.
- HUD guidance: HUD FHEO Notice 2020-01 (Jan 28, 2020), assistance animals as a reasonable accommodation.
- ADA service animals: 28 C.F.R. § 36.302 (Title III, public accommodations).
- South Dakota pet deposit rule: SDCL § 43-32-6.1.
Related Guides for South Dakota Landlords
This overview reflects South Dakota Codified Laws Chapter 43-32, including the 2018 assistance-animal provisions at SDCL 43-32-33 through 43-32-36 and the deposit rules at SDCL 43-32-6.1 and 43-32-6.2, read together with the federal Fair Housing Act and HUD's 2020 assistance-animal guidance. It is general information for housing providers, not legal advice; statutes and HUD guidance change, and individual accommodation decisions turn on specific facts. Confirm the current statute text on the South Dakota Legislature website and consult a South Dakota attorney before denying an accommodation or invoking the fraud penalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I charge a pet deposit in South Dakota?
Yes, for ordinary pets. SDCL 43-32-6.1 caps the residential deposit at one month's rent but allows a larger amount by mutual agreement where special conditions threaten the premises, which supports a pet-related deposit up to about two months' rent. You cannot charge any pet deposit or fee for a qualifying service animal or ESA.
Can I require a no-pets policy?
Yes. South Dakota does not require landlords to accept pets, so a consistently applied no-pets clause is enforceable. However, it does not apply to assistance animals, which the Fair Housing Act treats as a reasonable accommodation rather than a pet.
What documentation can I ask for on an ESA?
Under SDCL 43-32-34 you may request documentation unless the disability or need is readily apparent or already known. SDCL 43-32-35 requires that documentation confirm the disability and its connection to the animal, and come from a licensed health-care provider who does not exist solely to certify animals, which lets you reject online registry certificates.
What happens if a tenant fakes an ESA claim?
SDCL 43-32-36, effective in 2018, lets you evict and recover civil damages not to exceed $1,000 when a tenant knowingly makes a false disability claim or supplies fraudulent documentation. Use it only for clear, provable fraud, since wrongly denying a real accommodation risks a fair-housing complaint.
Can I ever refuse a service animal or ESA?
Yes, in narrow cases. You may deny the specific animal if it poses a direct threat to others' health or safety or would cause substantial property damage that no other accommodation can address. The decision must be based on that animal's actual behavior, not its breed or size.
Who pays if the assistance animal damages the unit?
The tenant. Waiving a pet fee does not waive damage liability. You can deduct documented, actual repair costs caused by the animal from the standard security deposit, which must be reconciled within 21 days of the tenancy ending under SDCL 43-32-6.2.
Federal authority: 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B); 24 C.F.R. § 100.204; HUD FHEO Notice 2020-01. State authority: SDCL § 43-32-6.1. Last updated October 23, 2026. For informational purposes only, not legal advice. Pet and assistance-animal questions are highly fact-specific; consult a licensed South Dakota attorney before refusing any request.