South Dakota Retaliation Law: What Counts & the Presumption Window (2026)

What counts as retaliation, and the window where the law presumes it

At a glance

• Protection window: 180 days
• Governing authority: SDCL § 43-32-27

Who this covers — and who it does not

This page covers landlord retaliation in South Dakota — what a landlord may not do after you exercise a protected right.

It does not cover commercial leases, or conduct outside the protected window described below.

What the law prohibits

SDCL § 43-32-27 — 报复是**独立诉因**：禁止房东在租客投诉住房违规、要求维修、组织租客工会后，涨租超公允市价/减服务/非违约通知搬离。

受保护行为 3 类：①善意投诉住房法规违规（health/safety）；②书面要求 43-32-9 维修；③组织/加入租客工会。

SDCL § 43-32-27 ↗

The protection window

For 180 days after a protected act, certain landlord actions are presumed retaliatory.

43-32-27：受保护行为后 **180 天**内的报复行为 → 推定报复（「通知搬离超过 180 天」是房东抗辩）。

SDCL § 43-32-27 ↗

Protected activities

What a landlord may not do

Burden of proof

180 天内报复行为 → 推定报复；超过 180 天是房东抗辩（43-32-27）。

SDCL § 43-32-27 ↗

Remedies

Exemptions and limits

通知搬离超过 180 天 → 抗辩；**不续签书面租约不算报复**（43-32-27 末句）。

SDCL § 43-32-27 ↗

Sources and how to verify them

Every figure on this page comes from the official text or a state court opinion, not from a summary. The table below lists each provision used and the date it was last checked.

Statute	Last verified	Source
SDCL § 43-32-27	2026-10-16	official text ↗
SDCL § 43-32-27(1)-(2)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
SDCL § 43-32-27(3)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
SDCL § 43-32-28, 43-32-6	2026-10-16	official text ↗

Where the official text and a secondary summary disagree, this page follows the official text and says so. Where a provision admits of more than one reading, that is flagged rather than smoothed over.

When you need a lawyer instead of a tool

A self-help guide is the right starting point for understanding your position. Get legal help if:

• You have received an eviction notice — the timeline is now court-driven
• The dispute involves discrimination, unsafe conditions or retaliation
• Your landlord has filed anything in court already
• You are unsure whether a local ordinance changes the state rule

Local legal aid organisations and tenant unions offer free help for qualifying cases. They are independent of this site — we list them because they are the right place to go, not because they link here.

More South Dakota guides

South Dakota Security Deposit Return · South Dakota Security Deposit Rules · South Dakota Eviction Process · South Dakota Rent Increase Rules · South Dakota Repairs & Habitability

→ All South Dakota tenant rights topics

Common questions