South Dakota Security Deposit Demand Letter — Force Your Landlord to Pay Up

South Dakota landlords must return the deposit — or a written statement of the specific reason for withholding — within two weeks of termination and receipt of your mailing address. On your request, a full itemized accounting is due within 45 days of termination (S.D. Codified Laws § 43-32-24).

Miss that obligation and the law has teeth: Total forfeiture; +$200 bad faith. The statute is blunt: a lessor who fails to comply “shall forfeit all rights to withhold any portion of such deposit.” Bad-faith retention — including skipping the statement or the accounting — adds punitive damages up to $200.

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Your Rights Under S.D. Codified Laws § 43-32-24

South Dakota's deposit law is specific. The rights worth knowing before you write:

• The deadline: 14 days from address receipt. South Dakota landlords must return the deposit — or a written statement of the specific reason for withholding — within two weeks of termination and receipt of your mailing address. On your request, a full itemized accounting is due within 45 days of termination (S.D. Codified Laws § 43-32-24).
• The penalty: Total forfeiture; +$200 bad faith. The statute is blunt: a lessor who fails to comply “shall forfeit all rights to withhold any portion of such deposit.” Bad-faith retention — including skipping the statement or the accounting — adds punitive damages up to $200.
• Itemization is mandatory. A written statement of the specific withholding reason within 14 days; a full itemized accounting within 45 days when you request it.
• Worth knowing. Deposit cap: one month's rent, more only by written agreement for special risk conditions such as pets.

What Your Landlord Can — and Can't — Keep

Legitimate deductions

• Unpaid rent you actually owe
• Cleaning needed to return the unit to its condition at move-in (minus ordinary wear)
• Repair of damage beyond normal wear and tear — holes in walls, broken fixtures, pet damage

NOT legitimate deductions

• Normal wear and tear — faded paint, minor scuffs, small nail holes, worn carpet from ordinary use
• Repainting or re-carpeting due simply to age
• Pre-existing damage that was there when you moved in
• Charges with no itemization or receipts where S.D. Codified Laws § 43-32-24 requires them

How to Write a South Dakota Security Deposit Demand Letter

An effective letter does four things: states the facts, cites S.D. Codified Laws § 43-32-24 by name, makes a specific dollar demand with a firm deadline, and spells out the consequences if the landlord doesn't comply. The demand letter pulls a double trigger: it supplies the mailing address that starts the 14-day clock, and it formally requests the 45-day itemized accounting — missing either one arms the total forfeiture. Here's how the opening of a strong one reads:

If the Letter Doesn't Work: South Dakota Small Claims

Small claims court

Most deposit cases that get this far are filed in small claims court in the county where the rental sits — no attorney required. Bring the lease, move-in/move-out photos, your dated demand letter, and proof of delivery. The demand letter matters in court: it shows the judge you gave the landlord every chance to comply with S.D. Codified Laws § 43-32-24, and it anchors the penalty math — total forfeiture; +$200 bad faith.

Your county's tenant resources

Many South Dakota counties run free tenant help lines, legal-aid clinics, or court self-help centers that will review a deposit case at no charge. Search your county name plus “tenant legal aid” — and bring the same paper trail.

Already hearing from a collection agency?

Landlords hand move-out balances to a small set of specialist collectors. If the letter is from National Credit Systems, Hunter Warfield, IQ Data International, or Source RM, we have a company-specific response guide for each — and the demand letter on this page still applies, because a landlord who missed the statutory deadline may owe you money regardless of who is calling. Any other collector: see the collection agency index and your state’s rules in the debt statute of limitations guide.