South Dakota state law: no statewide host-presence STR rule

South Dakota's STR statutory framework is silent on host-presence. There is no state analog to New York City's host-presence rule (Local Law 18/2022), Honolulu's owner-occupancy 'hosted' rentals, or Santa Monica's host-presence ordinance. Whether the host must (a) reside on-site during guest stays, (b) maintain a designated local contact within a specified radius (typical local rule: 15-60 minutes from the property), (c) respond to complaints within a specified window (typical: 30-60 minutes), or (d) be reachable by phone 24/7 is set entirely by local ordinance. SDCL 9-29-1 provides the police-power hook for statutory cities, SDCL Chapter 6-12 grants charter authority to Sioux Falls/Rapid City/Watertown, and SDCL Chapter 11-2 grants zoning authority to counties in unincorporated areas. The locally adopted International Fire Code and any local life-safety regulation may impose 24/7 contact requirements indirectly through fire-marshal compliance. The South Dakota Department of Public Safety State Fire Marshal under SDCL Chapter 34-29 has authority over mass-gathering and fire-life-safety standards but does not regulate STR host-presence directly. The 2023 South Dakota Legislature considered but did not enact a statewide STR host-presence standard.

There is no state-level penalty for absentee STR operation. Where a local ordinance requires a designated local contact or response time, enforcement is by city or county code enforcement under SDCL Chapter 9-32 (municipal nuisance powers), the local STR ordinance penalty schedule (typical $100-$1,000 per violation), and potential permit revocation under the locally adopted procedures. A repeated failure to respond to nuisance complaints may also support a public-nuisance abatement action under SDCL 21-10-1 et seq.