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Free South Dakota Rental Application

Use our South Dakota Rental/Lease Application to screen tenants before renting your property.

Updated January 31, 2023

If you are a landlord or property owner, you need to offer a lease agreement to people who can reliably pay rent without damaging your property.

That is why you need to have a strong South Dakota rental application you can use. 

At the same time, you must ensure you understand and respect the rights of your applicants. That is where our South Dakota rental application form can be helpful.

Learn more about South Dakota rental law below, and use our template to streamline your process. 

Table of Contents

South Dakota Rental Application Statistic/Specifics

According to statistics published by the State of South Dakota, people filed 31 housing discrimination complaints between 2014 and 2016.

This is a potentially serious issue for South Dakota landlords, and property owners must make sure they do not violate the rights of their applicants or renters.

South Dakota Rental Application Information for Landlords

Landlords must look into the backgrounds of all of their applicants.

Some of the most important pieces of information property owners must collect include: 

  • Employment Status: Landlords want tenants that can consistently pay their rent on time. That is why asking for current employment is necessary. Landlords might even want to contact their applicants’ supervisors for references. 
  • Prior Rental History: Property owners should also ask about prior rental history. Landlords need to see if the applicants were reliable renters in the past.
  • Credit History: Running a credit check is essential because landlords need to know if their applicants can pay their bills on time. 

South Dakota Rental Application Information for Tenants

Residents in South Dakota also need to know their rights.

A few important points to keep in mind include the following: 

  • Application Fee: There is no maximum amount a landlord can charge for an application fee, but landlords should ensure they charge an amount approximate to the cost of processing the rental application. Charging too much money could scare off applicants. 
  • Security Deposit: Landlords are permitted to require a security deposit, but the deposit cannot be greater than one month’s rent. Landlords are not required to provide a receipt for that deposit, but it is generally a good idea to have written payment records.
  • No Discrimination: In South Dakota, landlords are not permitted to ask questions about gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religion, or national origin. 

Federal Law and South Dakota Rental Applications

Under the Federal Fair Housing Act, there are several types of questions that are not permitted. They include:

  • Race, color, or national origin
  • Gender identity or sexual orientation
  • Religious beliefs 
  • Family status or marital status, particularly questions about children
  • Disability

Authorization for Background Check

Conducting credit and criminal background checks helps protect you from potential problems if you offer a lease contract to someone with bad credit or prior criminal activity.

Landlords need an applicant’s permission to run some background checks.

You can either include a consent statement on your lease application or use our background authorization check form to obtain permission.

How to Search Eviction Records

  1. Navigate to the South Dakota Unified Judicial System Law Help website
  2. Perform a UJS Public Access Record Search (PARS)
  3. Log in, register, or search as a guest
  4. Pay a $20 fee to search your applicant’s information

If you decide to decline an application based on the results of a background check or eviction records search, send a rental application rejection letter.

Other Resources for Landlords

How to Write a Rental Application

As you put together your South Dakota rental application, some of the information you should ask for include: 

  • Basic identifying information of each applicant.
  • A detailed prior rental history.
  • Information on finances and employment history.
  • A few prior references
  • Questions on smoking history, pets, or anything that might be pertinent to your property

Sample South Dakota Rental Application Form

Use our South Dakota rental application form to streamline the process and ensure you do not overlook any important information. 

south dakota rental application