How to Evict a Roommate in South Dakota (and Other Household Situations)
What South Dakota law says about roommates who are not on the lease, guests who won't leave, family members, renting a room in your own home, and tenancies at will — each with the statute or official source.
Short answer: No roommate-specific statute. A forcible entry and detainer (eviction) action is available when a lessee, in person or through subtenants, holds over after the lease ends or fails to pay rent for three days after it is due. The lessee, subtenant, or party in possession must be served. A periodic hiring with no fixed term is ended by notice given at least as long before its end as the rental period, up to one month. SDCL 21-16-1(4), 21-16-6; 43-32-15
| Removing a roommate or subtenant | No roommate-specific statute. A forcible entry and detainer (eviction) action is available when a lessee, in person or through subtenants, holds over after the lease ends or fails to pay rent for three days after it is due. The lessee, subtenant, or party in possession must be served. A periodic hiring with no fixed term is ended by notice given at least as long before its end as the rental period, up to one month. Notice rule: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/43-32.html?all=true. Whether a tenant can bring the case against a roommate depends on whether the roommate is the tenant's subtenant. |
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| Guests who won't leave | No statute sets when a guest becomes a tenant. A forcible entry and detainer action is available against a person who entered the prior actual possession of another's property or occupied structure by force, intimidation, fraud, or stealth and keeps it, or who by force or threats unlawfully holds possession. Source: SDCL 21-16-1(1)-(3) |
| Renting a room in your own home (lodgers) | No separate lodger eviction statute. South Dakota's lease chapter has presumptions for 'lodgings': a hiring of lodgings for an unspecified term is presumed to last for the period used to figure the rent (weekly rent means one week), or monthly if nothing was agreed, and rent for lodgings is payable monthly at the end of each month unless agreed otherwise. Source: SDCL 43-32-4, 43-32-12 |
| Tenancy at will | South Dakota's lease statutes do not separately define tenancy at will. A hiring of real property for a term not specified by the parties renews automatically at the end of the term implied by law unless one party gives the other notice of termination at least as long before it ends as the rental period, but not more than one month. Source: SDCL 43-32-15 |
| Hotel and extended-stay guests | A hotel, campground, or RV park may eject a person from its premises (without refunding rent, per its cancellation policy) for listed reasons, including nonpayment, disorderly conduct, unlawful use, not being a registered guest, exceeding occupancy limits, obtaining the room under false pretenses, or violating posted rules, but not in violation of the state anti-discrimination law. No statute sets a number of days after which a hotel guest becomes a tenant. Enacted 2022 (SL 2022, ch 164). Source: SDCL 43-32-37 |
Never remove someone by changing the locks or taking their belongings: if the person has become a tenant, only a court can order them out. If there is violence or a threat, call 911 and ask about a protective order.
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South Dakota eviction laws · Free legal help in South Dakota · Roommate rules in other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.