South Dakota: Rental Application and Tenant-Screening Fee Requirements
The short answer
South Dakota has no general statewide statute that specifically caps or regulates a residential rental-application, processing, credit-check, background-check, or tenant-screening fee. The current lease-of-real-property chapter and real-estate licensing chapter do not create special applicant disclosures, receipts, report copies, refunds, reusable-report acceptance, application order, or denial notices. Application terms and generally applicable law may still matter, but South Dakota supplies no dedicated statewide screening-fee process.
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This is the general rule in South Dakota. Ezel applies current South Dakota law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and coverage | No general statewide application/screening-fee statute after audit of SDCL chs. 43-32 and 36-21A; ch. 43-32 governs leases, while ch. 36-21A defines and licenses property managers and residential rental agents |
|---|---|
| Fees allowed or prohibited | No statewide provision specifically authorizes or prohibits residential application, processing, credit-check, background-check, or tenant-screening fees |
| Maximum charge and adjustment | No statewide numeric, actual-cost, reasonable-cost, customary-cost, per-applicant, per-household, or indexed ceiling in the audited statutes |
| Permitted costs and charge timing | No statewide fee-component, unit-availability, charge-when-considered, multiple-concurrent-application, or repeat-charge restriction |
| Before-screening disclosures | No special statewide application-fee, unit-availability, screening-criteria, report-source, dispute-right, reusable-report, or application-order disclosure |
| Receipt, report copy, and refund | No special statewide application-fee receipt, landlord-obtained-report-copy, unused-fee refund, or unconsidered-application refund rule |
| Applicant-supplied or reusable reports | No statewide applicant-supplied or reusable screening-report acceptance or no-fee procedure |
| Application order and adverse action | No statewide first-in-order, first-qualified, single-application, or state denial-reason notice process for rental applications |
| Remedies and stronger local rules | No application-fee-specific statutory damages or enforcement provision; audited statutes state no application-fee local-preemption clause |
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South Dakota has no special statewide fee process
The complete current South Dakota lease-of-real-property chapter, SDCL chapter
43-32, contains no rule specifically addressing a residential application,
processing, credit-check, background-check, or tenant-screening fee. The
complete Real Estate Licensing chapter, SDCL chapter 36-21A, was also audited.
It defines and regulates property managers and residential rental agents, but
does not create a tenant-facing application-fee or screening process.
Accordingly, the audited statutes create no special statewide requirement for:
- a maximum dollar amount, actual-cost formula, or annual adjustment;
- proof that a unit is available or that an application will be considered;
- advance disclosure of the fee basis, screening criteria, or report source;
- an application-fee receipt, screening-report copy, or unused-fee refund;
- acceptance of an applicant-supplied or reusable report;
- first-in-order or first-qualified processing; or
- a state-format denial or conditional-approval notice.
This is the ordinary statewide result. A particular government-assisted or
specially regulated housing program may have separate requirements outside
these general statutes.
Lease and license-law boundaries
SDCL § 43-32-1 defines leasing as a contract in which a landlord gives a tenant
temporary possession and use of real property for reward and the tenant agrees
to return it later. Chapter 43-32 then addresses subjects such as lease terms,
repairs, security deposits, termination, retaliation, entry, and service-animal
documentation. Its complete current index contains no applicant or screening-
fee section.
SDCL § 36-21A-10 defines property managers. SDCL § 36-21A-12.1 defines
residential rental agents. Section 36-21A-132 requires a licensee representing
a landlord to perform the client agreement, exercise reasonable skill and care,
account for money and property received, and comply with applicable law. Those
duties do not state an applicant-fee cap, receipt, report-copy, refund,
reusable-report, application-order, or denial-notice rule.
What trips people up
The licensing “application fee” is not a rental application fee. SDCL
§ 36-21A-49 authorizes a fee accompanying an individual's application for a
real-estate license. It does not regulate money collected from a prospective
tenant.
The licensing background check also concerns professionals. The chapter
index's criminal-background-check provision, § 36-21A-151, concerns applicants
and licensees under disciplinary investigation, not tenant screening.
General money-accounting duties do not supply the missing applicant rules.
A landlord's licensee must account for money and property received under
§ 36-21A-132, but the statute does not turn that general duty into a special
application-fee receipt, refund deadline, or report-copy procedure.
Common questions
Is there a statewide maximum rental application fee? No numeric or cost-
based cap appears in the current audited statutes.
Must the landlord refund the fee if another applicant rents the unit? The
audited statutes create no special statewide unused-fee or unconsidered-
application refund rule.
Must the landlord provide the credit or background report? The audited
statutes impose no special report-copy duty tied to an application charge.
Does South Dakota require reusable screening reports? No statewide
applicant-supplied or reusable-report acceptance procedure appears in the
audited statutes.
Statutes and sources
- SDCL chapter 43-32 — complete current Lease of Real Property chapter
audited for applicant-fee and screening rules.43-32-1 Leasing of real property defined. ... 43-32-6.1 Maximum security
deposit for residential premises ... 43-32-24 Return of security deposit
after termination of tenancy ... 43-32-32 Reasonable notice of landlord's
intent to enter ...
Official source: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/43-32.html (accessed 2026-07-21)
- SDCL § 43-32-1 — lease definition.
Leasing is a contract by which one (the lessor or landlord) gives to
another (the lessee or tenant) temporary possession and use of real
property for reward ...
Official source: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/43-32-1.html (accessed 2026-07-21)
- SDCL §§ 36-21A-10 and 36-21A-12.1 — property-manager and residential-
rental-agent definitions.
[A] residential rental agent is any person who for compensation or
consideration is associated with a real estate broker or property manager
to negotiate or attempt to negotiate the rental or leasing of residential
property ...
Official sources: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/36-21A-10.html and https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/36-21A-12.1.html (accessed 2026-07-21)
- SDCL chapter 36-21A — complete current Real Estate Licensing chapter
audited for tenant-facing application and screening rules.
36-21A-49 Application fee for individual licensure. ... 36-21A-132 Duties
and obligations of licensee representing seller or landlord. ...
Official source: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/36-21A.html (accessed 2026-07-21)
- SDCL § 36-21A-49 — professional-license application fee.
This fee shall accompany an application for individual licensure.
Official source: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/36-21A-49.html (accessed 2026-07-21)
- SDCL § 36-21A-132 — duties of a licensee representing a landlord.
[A]ny licensee representing a seller or landlord has the following duties
and obligations ... To account in a timely manner for all money and
property received ...
Official source: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/36-21A-132.html (accessed 2026-07-21)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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