Seller's Property Condition Disclosure Statement (statutory form codified in SDCL 43-4-44; current official version dated 07/2025, published by the SD Dept. of Labor and Regulation / Real Estate Commission) — South Dakota Codified Laws (SDCL) Chapter 43-4 ("Transfer of Property"), sections 43-4-37 through 43-4-44. Key sections: 43-4-37 (definitions of buyer, disclosure statement, residential real property, seller, transfer); 43-4-38 (seller must furnish a completed disclosure statement to buyer before the buyer makes a written offer; duty to issue a written amendment if seller learns of a material-fact change before closing or possession, whichever is first); 43-4-39 (buyer's right to terminate a written offer if the disclosure statement or a material amendment is delivered late -- within 3 days after in-person delivery or 6 days after mailing); 43-4-42 (liability for failure to comply -- a seller who intentionally or negligently violates the requirement is liable for the buyer's actual damages/repair costs, court may award costs and attorney fees to the prevailing party, and failure to comply does not invalidate the transfer); 43-4-44 (mandates the exact statutory text/layout of the disclosure form itself, codified verbatim by the legislature).
South Dakota is NOT a pure "caveat emptor" (buyer-beware) state for residential real estate -- it uses a statutory written-disclosure regime, and the South Dakota Supreme Court has stated caveat emptor "has been abandoned in favor of full and complete disclosure of defects of which the seller is aware." Under SDCL 43-4-37 to 43-4-44, sellers of residential real property with no more than four dwelling units in one structure must give buyers a completed, state-mandated Seller's Property Condition Disclosure Statement before the buyer makes a written offer; late delivery triggers a buyer right to terminate. The legislature codified the exact wording/layout of the form itself (unusual compared to many states, where only a general duty is statutory and the form is administratively created); the SD Real Estate Commission republishes it, and the copy on file with the Department of Labor and Regulation is dated 07/2025, confirming the framework is current through 2026. Disclosure duty is limited to defects the seller actually knows about -- a seller who truthfully completes the form is not liable for undiscovered or unknown defects, and the form explicitly states it is disclosure only, not a warranty, and recommends independent inspections. No sweeping 2025-2026 legislative overhaul of Chapter 43-4 was found; the most recent confirmed substantive legislative activity on this statute was a 2020 bill revising the seller's property condition disclosure statement (SD Legislature document HB/SB tracked as Year=2020, doc ID 65476), and the form's periodic administrative updates (current form dated 07/2025) reflect incremental refinements rather than a new disclosure regime.
No major 2023-2026 legislative overhaul of SDCL Chapter 43-4 disclosure requirements was identified in available sources. The framework (43-4-37 to 43-4-44) has been in place for years, with the most recent confirmed substantive bill activity being a 2020 measure revising the property condition disclosure statement. The official DLR/Real Estate Commission disclosure form PDF is dated "07/2025," indicating a routine administrative refresh of the form text (as authorized/required under 43-4-44) rather than a new statutory mandate -- this confirms the disclosure regime described remains the current law as of 2026. Users needing certainty on any 2026 session bill affecting this chapter should verify directly against sdlegislature.gov's bill tracker for the 2026 session, since automated fetches of that site were intermittently unavailable during this research (503 errors), and no specific 2025/2026 amendment could be independently confirmed beyond the form's revision date.
Facts on this page reflect research current as of 2026-07-05. Programs, rates, and laws change — confirm current figures with the relevant state agency before relying on them.