Black Hills State University: Is a private security deposit larger than one month’s rent always unrestricted?

DIRECT ANSWER

Only the guide’s initial-deposit discussion is selected. Its obsolete two-week return deadline is explicitly excluded; current21day return statute remains the authority for that separate decision.

The retained South Dakota consumer guide describes a one-month-rent security-deposit ceiling unless special conditions threaten maintenance of the premises, with pets as an example of an additional-deposit context. Separate that refundable security from screening fees and advance rent and establish any claimed exception before committing move-in cash. This concerns the initial deposit amount, not the later statutory return deadline.