South Dakota HOA Compliance
3. Compliance topics grid
1. Introduction
South Dakota takes a narrower approach to common-interest community law than states that have adopted a planned-community act. The South Dakota Condominium Act, SDCL ch. 43-15A, governs condominiums.1 For non-condominium HOAs, no single statewide planned-community statute organizes governance. Instead, three sources do the work: recorded covenants, the restrictive-contract provisions in Chapter 11-5, and nonprofit entity law when an association incorporates as a nonprofit under SDCL chs. 47-22 through 47-28.2
Appeals run from the circuit courts straight to the South Dakota Supreme Court, because the South Dakota Unified Judicial System recognizes just two court levels and routes circuit-court appeals to the Supreme Court.3 Pierre doesn't operate an HOA ombudsman or a dedicated HOA enforcement agency. Two state offices do come into play: the Real Estate Commission administers the Condominium Act and real-estate licensing,4 and the Attorney General fields general consumer complaints.5
Recent activity stays limited but specific. Lawmakers enacted measures in 2024 and 2025 that touch resale disclosure, online voting, firearm restrictions, and seller disclosure, and the Supreme Court opinions most relevant to associations address restrictive-covenant enforcement rather than association elections or budgets.6 Place South Dakota within the broader U.S. HOA landscape, and it stands out as a lighter statutory model — one where private covenants and entity law carry more operating weight than state administrative oversight.7
2. Primary statute and key resources
- South Dakota Condominium Act, SDCL ch. 43-15A. This chapter sets the state's condominium framework.8
- South Dakota Nonprofit Corporation Act, SDCL chs. 47-22 through 47-28. Incorporated associations rely on nonprofit entity law.9
- South Dakota Unified Judicial System court structure. Circuit courts try the cases, and the Supreme Court hears the appeals.10
- South Dakota Real Estate Commission. The commission administers real-estate licensing and the Condominium Act.11
- South Dakota Attorney General Consumer Complaint Form. The form provides a general consumer complaint channel, not an HOA ombudsman.12
4. South Dakota's recent regulatory landscape
Recent Legislation
South Dakota's recent legislative work hasn't rewritten HOA law. Instead, lawmakers have made surgical updates to resale disclosure, online voting, firearm restrictions, and seller disclosure forms.
SB 171 · 2025 Session Laws ch. 180 · 2025 Regular Session
This act amended SDCL 43-4-44, the residential seller's property condition disclosure form. The amendment adds questions that ask whether a local governing body has designated the property as historic and whether the property sits within an established historic district. The same form already requires sellers to disclose homeowners' and condominium association fees and special assessments, so the operational effect lands squarely at sale and resale handoff.[13]
| Property managers | Closing checklists should reference the current seller disclosure form whenever the file collects HOA fee or assessment data. |
| HOA board members | Boards may field resale questions that combine association charges with historic-property or district status. |
| Community association attorneys | The law updates a disclosure form; it does not create a new board governance statute. |
| Homeowners | The seller disclosure process may ask about association fees, special assessments, and historic status before closing. |
SB 217 · SDCL 43-4-44.1 · 2024 Regular Session
SB 217 created a direct HOA resale disclosure duty for residential real property governed by an HOA. Before a buyer makes a written offer, the seller must hand over an HOA-governance disclosure, the governing documents, the assessment amount, frequency, and purpose, and a list of special one-time assessments from the most recent three years. The act applies to transfers occurring after July 1, 2024.[14]
| Property managers | Resale packet workflows should reach the offer stage ready, not just the closing stage. |
| HOA board members | Boards should keep governing documents and assessment histories current enough to answer seller requests. |
| Community association attorneys | Form documents should account for SDCL 43-4-44.1 and its pre-offer timing. |
| Homeowners | Sellers of HOA-governed homes carry a state-law disclosure duty before a buyer makes a written offer. |
SB 118 · SDCL 11-5-10 · 2024 Regular Session
SB 118 now appears in SDCL 11-5-10, which permits an owner exercising authority under SDCL 11-5-1 to use an online management and communication platform for online voting, notwithstanding SDCL chs. 47-22 and 47-23. The provision opens online voting to qualifying restrictive-contract communities, but it doesn't override the community's own governing documents.[15]
| Property managers | Online voting records should show the platform used, the scope of the vote, and the authority relied on. |
| HOA board members | The statute permits online voting for qualifying communities, but governing documents still need review. |
| Community association attorneys | Counsel should test whether the community fits SDCL 11-5-1 before relying on SDCL 11-5-10. |
| Homeowners | Community votes may run through an online platform when the statutory authority applies. |
SB 39 · SDCL 11-5-9 · 2024 Regular Session
SB 39 now appears in SDCL 11-5-9. The statute bars an HOA from including or enforcing a governing-document provision that prohibits, restricts, or has the effect of prohibiting or restricting lawful possession, transportation, storage, or discharge of a firearm, firearm part, or firearm ammunition. Covenant reviews need to flag any firearm or ammunition language for preemption analysis.[16]
| Property managers | Enforcement templates should drop firearm or ammunition restrictions that SDCL 11-5-9 bars. |
| HOA board members | Boards should neither adopt nor enforce governing-document rules the statute makes unenforceable. |
| Community association attorneys | Covenant reviews should flag firearm and ammunition provisions for statutory preemption analysis. |
| Homeowners | HOA firearm and ammunition restrictions may not hold up when they fall within SDCL 11-5-9. |
Recent Court Rulings
South Dakota's Supreme Court hasn't reshaped HOA law from the bench. What it has done is enforce a simple rule: covenants mean what they say, and how a board acts over time matters.
Hood v. Straatmeyer
The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed a circuit-court judgment that declared a 1976 subdivision restrictive covenant void. Widespread, unchallenged violations had made enforcement inequitable. The practical lesson: long-term nonenforcement can shape the equitable remedies a court will grant in covenant litigation. Boards that ignore violations for years may find courts unwilling to back strict enforcement later.[17]
| Property managers | Covenant enforcement files should document a consistent enforcement history and known violations. |
| HOA board members | Selective or inactive enforcement can weaken a later demand for injunctive relief. |
| Community association attorneys | Remedy analysis should weigh abandonment, waiver, acquiescence, and equitable discretion. |
| Homeowners | Prior widespread violations may matter when a neighbor seeks strict covenant enforcement. |
Spring Canyon Properties, LLC v. Cal SD, LLC
The South Dakota Supreme Court held that a garden structure with overhead trusses amounted to more than a fence and violated the restrictive covenant. The court also held that the circuit court erred when it imposed an eight-foot height restriction that neither the covenant nor the ordinance contained. The practical lesson: covenant enforcement can succeed, but injunctive terms should track the governing text and not invent new limits.[18]
| Property managers | Violation notices should tie the structure or use to the exact covenant text. |
| HOA board members | Boards should avoid adding enforcement limits that the covenant or ordinance doesn't contain. |
| Community association attorneys | Proposed injunctions should match the restrictive covenant and avoid extra-textual restrictions. |
| Homeowners | A permitted fence exception may not protect a structure that functions as more than a fence. |
Regulatory Developments
South Dakota doesn't run a dedicated HOA office. The Real Estate Commission carries most of the agency role, while the Attorney General fields general consumer complaints.
South Dakota Real Estate Commission
The Real Estate Commission administers the Real Estate Licensing Act, the Timeshare Act, the Condominium Act, and the Subdivision Act, and it enforces standards for brokers, salespersons, auctioneers, property managers, residential rental agents, timeshare agents, home inspectors, and project registrations. The commission's license table lists a Property Manager license that requires 40 hours of Fundamentals of Property Management, a 75 percent exam score, and approval of the application.[19]
| Property managers | Management firms should confirm whether South Dakota property-manager licensing applies to their service model. |
| HOA board members | Boards that hire managers should separate real-estate licensing compliance from HOA governance compliance. |
| Community association attorneys | Engagement reviews should separate condominium and project registration issues from private-covenant governance issues. |
| Homeowners | State agency complaints more often travel through real-estate or consumer channels than through an HOA-specific office. |
Active Policy Debates
What South Dakota is debating isn't a comprehensive planned-community act or a new HOA agency. The action centers on the finer points: resale disclosure, covenant modification, online voting procedure, and statutory limits on private restrictions.20,21
5. Closing note
Our look at South Dakota is ongoing. We'll be here as new bills move through Pierre and as the courts weigh in on new disputes. Beyond state law, federal frameworks — the Fair Housing Act, the ADA, the FDCPA, the SCRA, and the FCC's Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule — also apply to every South Dakota association. We'll cover those federal frameworks in more detail as we build out our upcoming sections.22,23,24,25,26
Footnotes
- South Dakota Legislature, SDCL ch. 43-15A, Condominium Act ↩
- South Dakota Legislature, SDCL chs. 47-22 through 47-28; SDCL ch. 11-5 ↩
- South Dakota Unified Judicial System, Court Structure ↩
- South Dakota Real Estate Commission ↩
- South Dakota Attorney General Consumer Complaint Form ↩
- South Dakota Legislature, 2024 SB 217 Enrolled; Hood v. Straatmeyer, 2025 S.D. 12; Spring Canyon Properties, LLC v. Cal SD, LLC, 2024 S.D. 68 ↩
- South Dakota Legislature, SDCL ch. 11-5; South Dakota Real Estate Commission ↩
- South Dakota Legislature, SDCL ch. 43-15A ↩
- South Dakota Legislature, SDCL chs. 47-22 through 47-28 ↩
- South Dakota Unified Judicial System, Court Structure ↩
- South Dakota Real Estate Commission ↩
- South Dakota Attorney General Consumer Complaint Form ↩
- South Dakota Legislature, 2025 Session Laws, Chapter 180, SB 171 ↩
- South Dakota Legislature, 2024 SB 217 Enrolled; SDCL 43-4-44.1 ↩
- South Dakota Legislature, SDCL 11-5-10; 2024 SB 118 ↩
- South Dakota Legislature, SDCL 11-5-9; 2024 SB 39 ↩
- South Dakota Unified Judicial System, Hood v. Straatmeyer, 2025 S.D. 12 ↩
- South Dakota Unified Judicial System, Spring Canyon Properties, LLC v. Cal SD, LLC, 2024 S.D. 68 ↩
- South Dakota Real Estate Commission, License Types and Requirements ↩
- South Dakota Legislature, SDCL 43-4-44.1 ↩
- South Dakota Legislature, SDCL 11-5-10; SDCL 11-5-9 ↩
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Housing Act overview ↩
- ADA.gov, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended ↩
- Federal Trade Commission, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ↩
- U.S. Department of Justice, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act summary ↩
- Federal Communications Commission, Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule ↩