A Senate committee advanced a bill Tuesday that would give landlords more time to return security deposits, a change supporters said reflects real-world repair delays while keeping strict tenant protections in place.
The Senate Commerce and Energy Committee voted unanimously to send Senate Bill 4 to the full Senate on the consent calendar.
Under current law, landlords must return a tenant’s security deposit within 14 days after a lease ends or provide a written explanation for any deductions. SB 4 would extend that deadline to 21 days, while preserving penalties for improper withholding.
Bill sponsor Sen. Mike Rohl, R‑Aberdeen, told lawmakers the proposal grew out of a constituent complaint and practical problems landlords face after tenants move out.
“In South Dakota you have 14 days to get a security deposit back,” Rohl said. “When a landlord has a tenant move out, and there has to be repairs made to the unit, you’re kind of at the mercy of the people doing the repairs, and you’ve got to wait for them to be able to bill you.”
Rohl emphasized that tenant protections remain intact.
“If you don’t return exactly what you were supposed to return, you actually forfeit the entire deposit, plus have punitive damages,” he said. “We don’t want to take any rights away from them.”
Supporters from the housing industry said the current deadline can be especially difficult when tenants leave behind personal property that must be handled under state law.
Denise Hanzlik, executive director of the South Dakota Multi‑Housing Association, said abandoned items can dramatically compress turnaround time.
“That gives us four days to clean it out, get the services in, get everything done, get the invoices, and get that security deposit accounting done,” she said. “That is highly unlikely to happen in that type of a scenario.”
Shawn Storhaug, owner of Brookings Property Management, said the 14‑day window can force landlords into rushed decisions that raise costs.
“With the 14 days, it forces me to make a game‑day decision,” Storhaug said. “Do I do the fast fix, which costs more money, and in the end costs my tenants more money?”
Tenant advocates also testified in support of the bill. Erik Nelson of AARP South Dakota said the proposal’s guardrails protect renters, particularly older adults on fixed incomes, by ensuring clear deadlines and penalties for noncompliance.
The committee approved SB 4 on a do‑pass vote and sent it to the full Senate without opposition.