# ESA Letter in Watertown, SD: However Denominated

> SDCL 43-32-6.1 caps a South Dakota deposit at one month's rent whatever the lease calls it. Two words that beat the non-refundable pet fee in Watertown.

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

## Key facts

- Population: 23,492
- Households renting: 34.7%
- Typical pet deposit (as a pet): Barred as accommodation
- Typical pet rent (as a pet): $25-$40/mo for pets
- Breed/weight limits common: yes
- Pet fees, deposits, and breed limits with a valid ESA letter: none (FHA reasonable accommodation)

## The most average rental market in South Dakota

Watertown has 3,611 renting households out of 10,394 occupied homes, 34.7
percent on the 2020–2024 American Community Survey five-year estimate, above
the 31.4 percent statewide figure and eleventh of the state's twenty largest
cities by share.

Median gross rent is **$942**. The South Dakota median is $946. Four dollars
apart: Watertown is closer to the state average rent than any other city on
this site.

That ordinariness is worth stating because the charge this page is about is
ordinary too. It shows up on Watertown leases the way it shows up
everywhere, as a line item with a name chosen to sit outside the rules.

## The two words that decide it

SDCL 43-32-6.1:

> "Any deposit of money, **the function of which** is to secure the performance of a
> residential rental agreement or any part of such an agreement, shall be deemed to be a
> security deposit. A lessor of residential premises may not demand or receive a security
> deposit, **however denominated**, in an amount or value in excess of **one month's
> rent** except that a larger deposit may be agreed upon between the lessor and the lessee
> **where special conditions pose a danger to maintenance of the premises**."

Two mechanisms, and they work together.

The first sentence looks at **function**, not label. Money held to secure performance of
the rental agreement or any part of it is a security deposit, whatever the lease heading
says.

The second sentence then caps security deposits at one month's rent "**however
denominated**." So the workaround (call it a non-refundable pet fee, an animal charge, a
one-time cleaning deposit) does not create a second bucket sitting outside the cap. It
creates another security deposit, and it counts towards the same ceiling.

At Watertown's $942 median rent that ceiling is about $942 for everything
the landlord holds. A full month's deposit plus a $300 pet charge is $1,242,
and the excess is not authorised by 43-32-6.1.

## The one exception, and what it requires

The statute's route above the cap has two conditions, both of which have to
be met:

1. The larger deposit must be **agreed upon between the lessor and the lessee**.
2. There must be **special conditions** that **pose a danger to maintenance of the
   premises**.

That is not a landlord's discretionary surcharge and it is not satisfied by
the existence of an animal. It describes a circumstance, agreed to, that
threatens the upkeep of the property. Whatever it covers, a household cat is
not it.

## Be clear about what 43-32-6.1 is not

It is a **cap**. It is not a fee bar, and South Dakota has no statute that
bars a pet fee for an assistance animal in terms. That result comes from
elsewhere.

Where the animal is a genuine accommodation, the charge falls away under SDCL 20-13-20(2),
which makes it an unfair or discriminatory practice to discriminate because of disability
"in the terms, conditions, or privileges" of a rental, and under **42 U.S.C.
§ 3604(f)(3)(B)**, the federal Fair Housing Act's reasonable-accommodation duty. That is an
argument about discrimination, not a citation to a fee prohibition.

The two provisions do different jobs and both are worth knowing. 20-13-20(2)
says the charge should not be made at all. 43-32-6.1 says that even where a
charge is lawful (an ordinary pet, an ordinary tenant), it cannot be stacked
outside the cap by renaming it.

## Getting the money back

SDCL 43-32-24 was amended this year and is more specific than most states manage.

- **Twenty-one days** from termination of the tenancy and receipt of your mailing address
  or delivery instructions: the lessor must return the deposit or furnish "a written
  statement showing the specific reason for withholding" it.
- **Forty-five days**, on request: an itemised accounting.
- Withholding is limited to a closed list: amounts reasonably necessary to remedy
  defaults in rent and other funds due under an agreement, and to restore the premises to
  their condition at the commencement of the tenancy, **ordinary wear and tear excepted**.
- The sentence that matters most: a lessor who fails to comply "**forfeits all rights to
  withhold any portion of the deposit.**"
- Bad-faith retention adds punitive damages "not to exceed two hundred dollars": a small
  number, and much less useful than the forfeiture rule above it.

Give the mailing address in writing when you hand back the keys. The
twenty-one days do not start until the landlord has it.

## What stays with the landlord

Damage an approved animal actually does is inside the restoration ground in
43-32-24, and conceding that early tends to make the rest of the
conversation easier. An accommodation is permission to keep the animal
despite a rule. It is not indemnity for what the animal does to the floor.

## If Watertown says no

SDCL 20-13-31 gives 180 days from when the practice occurred, no discovery
language, with the charge going to the Division of Human Rights inside the
Department of Labor and Regulation. SDCL 20-13-35.1 then lets either side
elect a civil action within twenty days of the notice to answer, at which
point the Division loses jurisdiction and the case must be filed in court
within a year of the election.

## Reading a Watertown lease for the charge

Three line items to look for before signing, because all three count against
the same ceiling.

**A pet deposit**, plainly a deposit, plainly inside the cap.

**A non-refundable pet fee**: money held against the animal's performance under the agreement,
which is what SDCL 43-32-6.1's first sentence describes, whatever the lease calls it.

**A cleaning or "administrative" charge tied to the animal** — same analysis, and the phrase
"however denominated" was put in the statute for exactly this.

Add them to the security deposit. If the total exceeds one month's rent, the
excess needs the statute's narrow agreement-plus-danger exception, and an
ordinary household animal is not it.

**A last check before signing.** Ask, in writing, what the total is that the landlord will hold.
A single figure answers the whole question, and a landlord who supplies it has created the record you
would otherwise be assembling from three line items after the fact.

## Before any of that

Start with a clinician you already see. In a city of 23,000 serving a large
agricultural catchment, that is easier said than done: Watertown's clinical
capacity is thin relative to its role, new-patient waits run to months, and
some practices will not write housing documentation regardless of how long
you have been a patient.

Where that route is unavailable, a licensed evaluation covers the same
ground on purpose: a licensed clinician determines whether a disability
exists and whether this animal answers it, and then either records that or
explains why they cannot.

The cap in 43-32-6.1 protects a tenant who already has the accommodation.
Nothing in it gets you the accommodation, and in South Dakota that part
starts with a real assessment.

## What Watertown 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 Watertown

1. **Check that you qualify**, Answer a short screening about how your condition affects daily life in Watertown. 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 Watertown. (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 Watertown

- [City of Watertown](https://www.watertownsd.us/) (city government)
- [Inter-Lakes Community Action Partnership](https://www.interlakescap.com/) (community action agency)
- [South Dakota Housing](https://www.sdhousing.org/) (state housing authority)
- [Dakota Plains Legal Services](https://www.dpls.org/) (legal aid)

## Frequently asked questions

### My Watertown lease calls it a non-refundable pet fee, not a deposit. Does the cap still apply?

Yes. SDCL 43-32-6.1 deems "any deposit of money, the function of which is to secure the performance of a residential rental agreement or any part of such an agreement" to be a security deposit, and bars one "however denominated" above one month's rent. The label on the line item does not decide what the money is; its function does. A charge held against the animal's performance is a security deposit for the purposes of the cap.

### Can a Watertown landlord ever take more than one month's rent?

Only on the statute's own narrow terms: SDCL 43-32-6.1 permits a larger deposit "agreed upon between the lessor and the lessee where special conditions pose a danger to maintenance of the premises." Two requirements sit in that clause, actual agreement, and a special condition posing a danger. It is not a unilateral surcharge, and an ordinary household animal is not what it describes.

### So is the pet deposit for my assistance animal illegal in South Dakota?

Not by a statute with those words in it, South Dakota has none. Where the animal is a genuine accommodation the charge comes off under SDCL 20-13-20(2), which makes it an unfair or discriminatory practice to discriminate because of disability in "the terms, conditions, or privileges" of a rental, and under the federal Fair Housing Act. SDCL 43-32-6.1 does something different but useful: it stops the charge being stacked on top of a full deposit under another name.

### When do I get the deposit back?

Within twenty-one days of the tenancy ending and the landlord receiving your mailing address or delivery instructions, under SDCL 43-32-24, either the deposit itself or a written statement of the specific reason for withholding it. On request you are entitled to an itemised accounting within forty-five days. A lessor who fails to comply "forfeits all rights to withhold any portion of the deposit."

### What can actually be deducted?

A closed list. SDCL 43-32-24 confines the lessor to what is reasonably needed to make good defaults in rent and other money owed under an agreement, and to put the unit back as it stood at the start of the tenancy, ordinary wear and tear aside. Anything an approved animal genuinely damaged sits in that second category, which is worth conceding early.

### Is there a penalty if the landlord keeps it in bad faith?

There is, and it is small. SDCL 43-32-24 subjects a lessor who retains a deposit in bad faith, or who fails in bad faith to provide the written statement or itemised accounting, to punitive damages "not to exceed two hundred dollars." The more valuable remedy is the forfeiture rule in the same section, which strips the right to withhold anything at all.

### How long do I have to challenge a refusal in Watertown?

180 days from the refusal, under SDCL 20-13-31, filed with the Division of Human Rights in the Department of Labor and Regulation. There is no discovery language in the section, so the clock starts when the practice occurred rather than when you learned it was unlawful.

---

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%2Fwatertown