South Dakota Mold Law: Tenant Rights, Disclosure & Insurance
Does South Dakota license mold work?
None identified. No South Dakota mold assessor or mold remediator license or certification was located. South Dakota was not confirmed against a state agency page in this research (SD state sites were JavaScript-only or blocked), so this is a reasoned negative rather than an affirmatively sourced one.
Habitability: what landlords must provide
Statutory. SDCL 43-32-8 requires a residential lessor to 'keep the premises and all common areas in reasonable repair and fit for human habitation and in good and safe working order,' addressing electrical, plumbing and heating systems, with an exemption for disrepair caused by the lessee's negligence or misconduct. MOLD IS NOT NAMED in 43-32-8; mold claims proceed under the general 'fit for human habitation' standard. See also SDCL 43-32-6 (obligations of lessor of real property; tenant's remedies). (SDCL 43-32-8; see also SDCL 43-32-6)
Notice and repair timeline
Not specified as a fixed number of days. SDCL 43-32-9 conditions the tenant's remedies on the lessor's failure to repair 'within a reasonable time' after notice. Written notice stating the specific reason is required for the rent-withholding/escrow route.
Tenant remedies
Under SDCL 43-32-9: (1) Repair-and-deduct - the lessee may 'repair the same himself and deduct the expense of such repairs from the rent, or otherwise recover it from the lessor.' No dollar cap is stated for this option. (2) Vacate - the lessee may 'vacate the premises, in which case he shall be discharged from additional charges of rent or performance of other conditions' (a statutory analogue to constructive eviction). (3) Rent withholding into escrow - where necessary repairs cost more than one month's rent, the lessee may withhold rent after written notice stating the specific reason, must immediately deposit the withheld rent 'in a separate bank or savings and loan account' and give the lessor written evidence; funds stay in escrow until the lessor makes repairs or until enough accumulates for the lessee to contract and pay for the repairs.
Selling a home: mold disclosure
Yes, and mold is expressly named. SDCL 43-4-38 requires the seller to furnish the buyer a completed property condition disclosure statement before the buyer makes a written offer. SDCL 43-4-44 sets out the statutory form. Under the form's Hazardous Conditions section, 'Mold' is an enumerated item (listed alongside methane gas, lead paint, radon, radioactive materials, expansive soil, toxic materials, asbestos insulation, buried fuel tanks, methamphetamine production/use), with Yes/No columns for 'Existing Conditions' and 'Tests Performed' plus a comments field. The structural section separately asks whether the seller is aware of water penetration in walls, windows, doors, basement or crawl space, whether water-damage-related repairs have been made, and whether unrepaired water-related damage remains. SDCL 43-4-41 requires good-faith disclosure; SDCL 43-4-42 addresses liability for failure to comply; SDCL 43-4-40 addresses liability for a defect that was disclosed; SDCL 43-4-43 governs applicability. The form states it is a disclosure only and 'NOT A WARRANTY of ANY KIND.' (SDCL 43-4-38; SDCL 43-4-44 (form, 'Mold' listed under Hazardous Conditions); SDCL 43-4-40; 43-4-41; 43-4-42; 43-4-43)
Deadlines to bring a claim
Personal injury: 3 years - SDCL 15-2-14(3) (actions for personal injury; chapeau: 'the following civil actions other than for the recovery of real property can be commenced only within three years after the cause of action shall have accrued'). Real property damage: 6 years - SDCL 15-2-13(3) ('an action for trespass upon real property'). Personal property: 6 years - SDCL 15-2-13(4) ('an action for taking, detaining, or injuring any goods or chattels'). Catch-all for non-contract injuries to rights: 6 years - SDCL 15-2-13(5). The 3-year/6-year split between bodily injury and property damage is significant in mold cases where both are pled.
Insurance treatment of mold
Unverified. No South Dakota Division of Insurance bulletin, administrative rule or statute on mold coverage caps or exclusions was located from a primary source in this research.