# ESA Letter in Belle Fourche, SD: Construed Broadly

> SDCL 20-13-54 tells you how to read the rest of the chapter. It is one sentence, and it answers the landlord who reads 20-13-23.7 as narrowly as possible.

- Source: https://supportanimal.com/blog/south-dakota-emotional-support-animal/belle-fourche/
- Publisher: Support Animal (supportanimal.com)
- Updated: 2026-09-05
- License note: informational content; not legal or medical advice.

## Key facts

- Population: 5,855
- Households renting: 34.5%
- Typical pet deposit (as a pet): Barred as accommodation
- Typical pet rent (as a pet): $25-$40/mo for pets
- Breed/weight limits common: sometimes
- Pet fees, deposits, and breed limits with a valid ESA letter: none (FHA reasonable accommodation)

## Pierre's rent in half of Pierre's town

Belle Fourche has 847 renting households out of 2,455 occupied homes, 34.5
percent on the 2020–2024 American Community Survey five-year estimate, three
points above the 31.4 percent statewide figure and twelfth of South Dakota's
twenty largest cities.

Median gross rent is **$983**. Pierre, the state capital and more than twice
the size, is also $983. The 2024 Census estimate puts Belle Fourche at
5,855, eighteenth in the state, at the northern edge of the Black Hills
where the tourist economy meets ranch country.

A small market with individual landlords produces a specific problem: not a
policy, but a person reading a statute as narrowly as its words will bear.
The chapter has a sentence about that.

## Fifteen words

SDCL 20-13-54, in full:

> "This chapter shall be construed broadly to effectuate its purposes."

That is a **rule of construction the legislature wrote into the statute**.
Not a preamble, not a finding, not commentary. A directive about how the
rest of chapter 20-13 is to be read.

It matters in South Dakota more than it would in most states, because so
much of the accommodation argument here depends on how much weight a very
short provision can carry.

## The provision it is aimed at

The state accommodation duty is one sentence:

> "For purposes of employment, public accommodation, public service, and education or
> housing, good faith efforts shall be made to reasonably accommodate the disabled person
> unless the accommodation would impose undue hardship.", SDCL 20-13-23.7

A landlord who wants to minimise that sentence has several moves available.
It sits among the public-accommodation sections, so the housing words look
like an afterthought. It says "good faith efforts" rather than "shall
accommodate." It has an undue hardship exception. And SDCL 20-13-21.1 is
nearby, saying the chapter requires no modification of property, no
additional expense and no higher degree of care.

Each of those is a narrowing reading. SDCL 20-13-54 says that narrowing
readings are not how this chapter is to be approached.

Be precise about the weight of that. A rule of construction supports an
interpretation; it does not supply one, and no South Dakota case applying
20-13-54 to 20-13-23.7 was retrieved for this page. It is an argument with
the legislature's own instruction behind it, which is better than an
argument without one and less than a decided point.

## What broad construction does not do

It does not delete specific limits.

SDCL 20-13-21.1 names three things the chapter does not require: modifying
the property, incurring additional expenses, exercising a higher degree of
care. Those are specific exclusions, and construing the chapter broadly does
not read them out.

What broad construction argues against is **extending** them, treating a
list of three named items as though it were a general release from the
accommodation duty. That step is not in the words, and it is exactly the
kind of narrowing that 20-13-54 addresses.

Applied to a no-pets waiver the point lands cleanly. Waiving a rule modifies
no property, costs nothing, and asks for no heightened care. It is outside
the three-item list on the list's own terms, and broad construction is a
reason not to widen the list to catch it.

## The remedies section says the same thing louder

SDCL 20-13-35.1 lists the provisions carrying punitive damages under SDCL 21-3-2:

> "§§ 20-13-20 to 20-13-21.2, inclusive, 20-13-23.4, **20-13-23.7**, or 20-13-26"

and adds that "attorneys' fees and costs may be awarded to the prevailing party for housing
matters."

A legislature attaching punitive damages to a section is not treating it as
advisory. Read alongside 20-13-54's instruction, that is two separate
signals in the statute that 20-13-23.7 is meant to bind.

## And the section that needs no help

**42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B)**: the federal Fair Housing Act's reasonable-accommodation duty,
states the obligation directly rather than in one qualified sentence, and is not narrowed
by anything in the South Dakota code.

Where the state argument runs through a rule of construction, the federal
duty simply says what it says. Cite both. The state provision is local and
carries punitive damages; the federal one does not depend on how anybody
reads chapter 20-13.

## The rest of the mechanics

Charges attached to the animal come off under SDCL 20-13-20(2), disability discrimination
in "the terms, conditions, or privileges" of a rental. SDCL 43-32-6.1 caps everything the
landlord holds at one month's rent "however denominated," just under a thousand dollars at
Belle Fourche's median. SDCL 43-32-24 requires the deposit back, or written reasons, within
twenty-one days of the tenancy ending and the landlord receiving your address, with
forfeiture of the whole right to withhold for non-compliance.

Documentation: SDCL 43-32-34 lets any landlord require it unless the
disability or the disability-related need is readily apparent or already
known, and SDCL 43-32-35 sets the standard.

SDCL 20-13-31 gives 180 days from the refusal. Broad construction is a rule
about reading the chapter, not about extending its deadlines, and that
section has no discovery language in it.

## Using the rule without over-claiming it

A rule of construction is a tie-breaker, not a trump card, and it works best
when it is offered as one.

SDCL 20-13-54 does not make an unreasonable request reasonable, and it does
not create an obligation the chapter does not contain. What it does is
answer the argument that a short provision should be read for as little as
its words will bear.

So the place to raise it is not first. Raise the accommodation duty, raise
the federal Act, and keep 20-13-54 for the moment somebody suggests that
SDCL 20-13-23.7 is too slight a sentence to require anything.

**And the honest limit of it.** A tenant who arrives quoting 20-13-54 and nothing else has offered a
rule about reading rather than a reason to grant anything. The section earns its place as the reply
to a narrow reading, not as an opening. Judges construe; landlords decide, and most of them decide on
whether the request is reasonable and the documentation is real.

## What no rule of construction can supply

Start with someone you already see. Butte County has very little clinical
capacity of its own: Spearfish and Rapid City carry most of the region's
care, new-patient waits run to months, and a family practitioner managing
medication may not consider a housing accommodation their assessment to
make.

Where that is closed, a licensed evaluation is that examination arranged on
purpose: a licensed clinician decides whether a disability exists and
whether this animal answers it, then writes the determination or explains
why they will not. Both endings are real.

A statute that instructs you to read it broadly is still reading about
something. In Belle Fourche, as everywhere in South Dakota, what it is
reading about is an assessment somebody actually made.

## What Belle Fourche landlords can and cannot do

**Cannot:**
- May not require documentation at all where the disability or the disability-related need is readily apparent or already known to them, SDCL 43-32-34, second sentence.
- May not discriminate because of disability in the terms, conditions or privileges of the rental, SDCL 20-13-20(2). A pet deposit or monthly pet charge on a required accommodation is caught here.
- May not take a security deposit above one month's rent "however denominated", SDCL 43-32-6.1, so a pet fee cannot be stacked on top of a full deposit by renaming it.

**Can:**
- May require reliable supporting documentation where a tenant asserts a disability requiring an assistance animal, SDCL 43-32-34. This is an express statutory right and arguing that a South Dakota landlord may not ask is simply wrong.
- May insist the documentation confirm both the disability and the relationship between the disability and the need for the animal, and that it come from a licensed health care provider who does not operate in South Dakota solely to certify animals, SDCL 43-32-35.
- Must make good faith efforts to reasonably accommodate a person with a disability in housing, unless the accommodation would impose undue hardship, SDCL 20-13-23.7, with punitive damages available under SDCL 20-13-35.1.
- Must return the deposit or give written reasons within twenty-one days of termination, and forfeits all right to withhold anything by failing to, SDCL 43-32-24.
- May evict and claim a damage fee of up to one thousand dollars where a tenant knowingly makes a false claim of disability or knowingly supplies fraudulent documentation, SDCL 43-32-36.
- Is not required by the chapter to modify the property, incur additional expenses or exercise a higher degree of care, SDCL 20-13-21.1. Waiving a no-pets rule asks for none of those things.

## How to get an ESA letter in Belle Fourche

1. **Check that you qualify**, Answer a short screening about how your condition affects daily life in Belle Fourche. No diagnosis paperwork needed up front. (About 5 minutes: free)
2. **Connect with a licensed professional**, You are matched with a provider licensed for South Dakota clients who reviews your situation in a telehealth evaluation. (Telehealth evaluation)
3. **Complete your evaluation**, The professional evaluates whether an emotional support animal alleviates symptoms of a condition recognized in the DSM-5. Honest evaluations, not everyone qualifies. (Most of Our Applicants Qualify)
4. **Receive your signed letter**, Your letter arrives on the professional's letterhead with their license number: the documentation South Dakota landlords may lawfully request. (Typically within days of approval)
5. **Send it to your landlord**, Submit the letter with a short reasonable-accommodation request. Pet fees, pet deposits, and breed limits no longer apply to your animal in Belle Fourche. (Protection under FHA + state law)

## Conditions that can qualify for an ESA

No fixed government list exists. A licensed professional evaluates whether an animal alleviates symptoms of a DSM-5-recognized condition, commonly:

- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Major depressive disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Panic disorder
- Social anxiety disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Bipolar disorder
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Phobias with housing impact
- Chronic stress affecting daily function

## Housing help in Belle Fourche

- [City of Belle Fourche](https://www.bellefourche.org/) (city government)
- [Western South Dakota Community Action](https://www.wsdca.org/) (community action agency)
- [SD Division of Human Rights](https://dlr.sd.gov/human_rights/default.aspx) (state civil rights agency)
- [GROW South Dakota](https://www.growsd.org/) (housing nonprofit)

## Frequently asked questions

### Is there a rule about how South Dakota's human rights chapter should be read?

Yes, and it is one sentence. SDCL 20-13-54 provides: "This chapter shall be construed broadly to effectuate its purposes." A legislature that writes a rule of construction into a statute is telling courts and everyone else how the rest of it is to be approached, and a landlord reading a single section as narrowly as its words will bear is doing the opposite of what that section directs.

### Does that actually help an accommodation argument?

It supports one, and it does not decide it. SDCL 20-13-23.7 is a single sentence requiring good faith efforts to reasonably accommodate a disabled person in housing unless the accommodation would impose undue hardship. Whether a short provision like that carries a real duty is exactly the kind of question a broad-construction rule is aimed at. No South Dakota case applying 20-13-54 to 20-13-23.7 was retrieved for this page.

### What about SDCL 20-13-21.1, which cuts things out?

It is a specific list rather than a general narrowing: the chapter does not require a landlord to modify the property, incur additional expenses, or exercise a higher degree of care. Broad construction does not delete a specific limit. What it argues against is extending that list, reading three named exclusions as a general release from the accommodation duty, which is a step the words do not take.

### Which sections carry the strongest remedies in a housing case?

SDCL 20-13-35.1 makes punitive damages available under SDCL 21-3-2 for a violation of sections 20-13-20 to 20-13-21.2, 20-13-23.4, 20-13-23.7 and 20-13-26, and permits attorneys' fees and costs to the prevailing party for housing matters. The inclusion of 20-13-23.7 in that list is the clearest textual sign that the accommodation duty is meant to bind.

### Can a Belle Fourche landlord charge a pet deposit for an assistance animal?

Not where the accommodation is genuine, though no South Dakota sentence says so outright. The charge is caught instead by SDCL 20-13-20(2)'s bar on treating a disabled tenant differently in a tenancy's terms, conditions or privileges, and by the federal Fair Housing Act. SDCL 43-32-6.1 does a second job: everything held is capped at a month's rent however it is labelled, which at Belle Fourche's $983 median is just under a thousand dollars.

### Does the federal Act need a broad construction rule?

It has its own body of interpretation, and 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B) states the reasonable accommodation duty directly rather than in a single qualified sentence. Where the state argument depends on reading provisions together, the federal duty says what it says, which is a reason to cite both rather than choosing between them.

### How long do I have to file?

180 days from the refusal, under SDCL 20-13-31, filed with the Division of Human Rights in the Department of Labor and Regulation. Broad construction is a rule about how the chapter is read; it is not a rule that extends the filing period, and that section has no discovery language in it.

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Get evaluated by a licensed provider: https://my.supportanimal.com/qualify?sa_source=blog&sa_medium=blog&sa_campaign=esa-guides&sa_content=markdown&ref=blog&sa_term=south-dakota-emotional-support-animal%2Fbelle-fourche