Mount Rushmore National Memorial carved into granite in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Tiny Homes in South Dakota: Laws, Rules and Communities

Updated November 4, 2026. Some laws may have changed since then. Confirm with your city or county before you buy land or a home.

The short answer

Yes, you can live in a tiny home full time in South Dakota, on a permanent foundation and where your city or county zoning allows a house. South Dakota has no statewide building code for houses; a city may adopt the 2024 International Residential Code, the edition state law has named since July 1, 2026, and may not add rules stricter than it. On wheels, the state's vehicle law separates RVs built for seasonal use from mobile homes built for year-round living, and local zoning decides where you can live in either. South Dakota has the 21st lowest cost of living of the 50 states, no state income tax, an effective property tax rate of 1.00 percent (18th highest), and homeowners insurance averaging $3,965 a year.

On this page. Quick facts, the rules in plain words, where to start, living in South Dakota, communities and common questions.

In South Dakota, zoning is local, and so is building code review for houses. A tiny home on a permanent foundation, anchored to a base built into the ground, is a house. A tiny home on wheels, built on a trailer so it can be towed, has no category of its own in the South Dakota laws we read, so how one is treated depends on how it is built and labeled, and on your city or county.

This guide covers who sets the building code, the tiny house appendix, homes on wheels and park models, manufactured homes, ADUs, septic and wells, and what we found when we looked for communities and RV parks.

Quick facts

On a foundation (anchored to a base in the ground): a house. No statewide residential code applies. A city may adopt the 2024 International Residential Code, amend it, and may not require fire sprinklers or anything stricter than that edition.
Tiny house appendix: not adopted by the state, since there is no state residential code. In the 2024 code it is Appendix BB, and a city that adopts the code decides what it uses.
On wheels (built on a trailer): state law defines an RV as a unit its maker labels a travel trailer or park model for travel, vacation or seasonal use, a mobile home as one built for year-round living on its own chassis, and a manufactured home by its size, chassis and built-in systems. Local zoning decides where you can live in one.
Park models: state law defines a recreational park trailer as one designed mainly for temporary recreational, camping or seasonal living, on a single chassis, 400 square feet or less when set up, and certified by its maker to the ANSI A119.5 standard.
ADUs (a second, smaller home on the same lot as a house): no state ADU law that we found. Cities and counties set their own rules.
Septic (an underground system that treats wastewater where there is no city sewer): a conventional system can be built to the state rule without sending plans to the state; other systems, including composting toilets, need state approval first.

Can you live in a tiny home full time in South Dakota?

Yes, on a permanent foundation where local zoning allows a house. On wheels, it depends on your city or county.

On a foundation, a tiny home is a house. In a city that has adopted the residential code, it has to meet that code, and outside city limits you should ask the county what it requires. It also needs sewer or a septic system that meets the state rule.
On wheels, we found no South Dakota law that allows or bans living full time in one. State vehicle law describes an RV as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreational, vacation or seasonal use, and a mobile home as a unit built to be connected to utilities for year-round occupancy. Your city or county zoning decides where either can be lived in.
The state sets no minimum house size that we found. Ask your city or county whether it does.

The rules in plain words

Building code

South Dakota does not have a statewide building code for houses. SDCL 11-10-12 lets the governing body of a municipality adopt the 2024 International Residential Code for detached one and two family homes and townhouses up to three stories. A city that adopts it may amend any part of it, but it may not require a sprinkler system in a home or impose requirements stricter than the 2024 edition.

Senate Bill 129, signed March 4, 2026, moved that reference from the 2021 edition to the 2024 edition, along with the state's references to the International Building Code for other buildings and the property maintenance code. The bill has no effective date of its own, so under SDCL 2-14-16 it took effect July 1, 2026.

The state's default design standard does not reach houses. SDCL 11-10-6 makes the 2024 International Building Code the standard for buildings started after July 1, 2026 where there is no local building code ordinance, but it does not apply to homes covered by 11-10-12, to mobile or manufactured homes, or to farmsteads.

Who reviews a house outside city limits is not spelled out the same way. SDCL 11-10-12 speaks only of municipalities. Minnehaha County, for one, still applies building rules to some homes; its ADU bulletin says a detached ADU must meet the building code or the HUD code. So ask your county what code, if any, it applies to a house before you design one.

Electrical work also has state rules. The South Dakota Electrical Commission issues wiring permits and does inspections, and a homeowner who wires their own home must have the Commission's homeowner permit before starting any electrical work.

Two more state rules touch new homes. South Dakota adopted the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code as a voluntary standard for new homes (SDCL 11-10-7), and anyone building or selling a new, never lived in home must give the buyer an energy efficiency disclosure on a state form (SDCL 11-10-8). And since July 1, 2026, a city, county or township cannot require a building permit to repair, or replace with something substantially similar, doors and windows of the same size, gutters, downspouts, fascia, soffits, fence panels or posts, or nonstructural siding on a detached single-family owner-occupied home, with an exception for historic properties (SDCL 11-10-15, from Senate Bill 3 of 2026).

The tiny house appendix

The national residential code has an appendix with rules for tiny houses, often called Appendix Q. In the 2024 edition it is Appendix BB, Tiny Houses.

South Dakota has no state residential code, so the state does not adopt the appendix.
A city that adopts the 2024 International Residential Code under SDCL 11-10-12 can amend the code, so whether the appendix is part of a city's code is that city's choice.

What it means for you is that the answer is local. Ask your city building office, in writing, whether its code includes the tiny house appendix before you design or buy. Outside city limits, ask the county.

Tiny homes on wheels

South Dakota's vehicle law has four definitions that matter for a home on wheels, all in SDCL 32-3-1.

A recreational vehicle is a portable structure on a chassis "designed to be used as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreational, vacation, or seasonal uses," that its maker permanently identifies as a travel trailer or a recreational park trailer.
A recreational park trailer, often called a park model, is designed mainly to provide temporary living quarters for recreational, camping or seasonal use. It is built on a single chassis on wheels, is 400 square feet or less when set up, is certified by its maker to the ANSI A119.5 standard, and is designated a recreational park model by its maker.
A mobile home is a unit "designed and constructed to be towed on its own chassis," and designed to be connected to utilities "for year-round occupancy." It does not include a park model.
A manufactured home is a structure built on a permanent chassis and designed as a dwelling, with or without a permanent foundation, when connected to utilities, with its own plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems. It must be 8 body feet or more wide or 40 body feet or more long when towed, or 320 square feet or more when set up. It also does not include a park model.

How those definitions apply to a tiny home on wheels is not settled. A home on wheels its maker labels as an RV or park model fits the RV definition. A home on wheels built for year-round living, with no maker's RV label, reads closer to the mobile home definition, and one 8 body feet or more wide also meets the size test in the manufactured home definition. Mobile and manufactured homes have their own titling rules, and mobile homes are listed for tax with the county. We found no state law, rule or agency guidance that says which way a tiny home on wheels goes. What it means for you is that how your home was built and labeled may decide how it is titled and taxed, so ask the county treasurer and director of equalization before you buy.

Where you can live in one is a local zoning question. Rapid City, for example, rules them out as ADUs; it defines a detached ADU as a permanent dwelling on a permanent foundation that "is not a recreational vehicle." Call your city or county before you buy a home on wheels to live in.

Modular and manufactured homes

Manufactured homes built to the federal HUD code have protections in South Dakota law, but not from zoning.

A manufactured home that meets the federal standards cannot be required by the state or a city or county to meet any additional building, plumbing, heating or electrical requirements, though the State Fire Marshal may still set fire safety rules (SDCL 34-34A-16). That section does not apply to zoning or taxation.
A local building code ordinance may not apply to mobile or manufactured homes built to the HUD standards (SDCL 11-10-5).
The State Fire Marshal sets the standards for installing manufactured homes, including siting and foundation systems and anchoring against wind (SDCL 34-34A-19).

We found no South Dakota law that stops a city or county from limiting where manufactured homes can go by zoning. For a modular home, ask your city or county building office how it is permitted and inspected.

ADUs

We found no South Dakota law on ADUs. Cities and counties decide whether to allow them and on what terms, and the terms differ.

Rapid City allows one ADU with an owner-occupied single-family home in several residential districts and its general agricultural district. A detached ADU must be on a permanent foundation, must be smaller than the main home's footprint, cannot cover more than 10 percent of the lot, and is not allowed on lots under 6,500 square feet, where an ADU must be inside the main home. The lot needs three off-street parking spaces in all, and ADUs must be registered with the city.
Minnehaha County allows ADUs with a conditional use permit in zoning districts that allow single-family homes, though its bulletin says they are not yet allowed in the joint jurisdiction area around Dell Rapids. A detached ADU can be up to 50 percent of the main home's floor area and an attached one up to 75 percent, it needs two parking spaces and a permanent frost footing, and a detached ADU must meet the building code or the HUD code.
The City of Custer allows one ADU in zoning districts that list it as a permitted or conditional use, no larger than the main home, with up to two bedrooms, kept under the same ownership as the main home.

For ideas on building one, see advice for a tiny backyard ADU.

Septic and wells

Where there is no sewer, the state rule for septic systems is ARSD chapter 74:53:01, from the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

A conventional individual system may be designed and installed under the rule without sending plans to the state. Plans for other systems must be approved by the department before construction.
Composting, incinerating and chemical toilets are to be used when a water or electrical system is not available, and except for vault privies they are treated as experimental systems, so plans must be approved by the department before you install one. If you plan on a composting toilet, ask the department first.
Septic tank installers need to be certified, which means passing a written test given by the South Dakota Plumbing Commission.

For water, anyone may make reasonable domestic use of water from any source without a permit from the state Water Management Board (SDCL 46-5-8), except that a dam across a dry draw that holds back more than 25 acre-feet needs a permit. If you are buying raw land, ask the county about septic and wells before you close.

Where to start

Not sure which office covers your land? USA.gov's local government finder points to a directory of South Dakota's counties and cities, with their websites and contacts.
Call the city planning or zoning office, or the county if the land is outside city limits. Ask whether tiny homes, ADUs and homes on wheels are allowed there, and get the answer in writing.
Ask the city building office which edition of the residential code it has adopted, whether it includes the tiny house appendix, and, outside city limits, what the county requires.
If the land is not on sewer, plan a septic system that meets the state rule, and ask the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources first if you want a composting toilet or any system that is not conventional.
For a home on wheels, ask the county treasurer how it will be titled and the director of equalization how it will be taxed.
For a manufactured home, ask zoning which districts allow it and what foundation the city or county expects.
Before buying land, check deed restrictions and homeowners association rules.

Living in South Dakota

How South Dakota compares with the other 49 states on the things people weigh before a move. Figures as of November 2026.

Happiness score (WalletHub 2026). 52.61 out of 100, 24th happiest
Cost of living (MERIC, Q2 2026; U.S. average is 100). 93.5, 21st lowest
State income tax. None
Property tax, effective rate on owner-occupied homes (Tax Foundation, 2024 data). 1.00 percent, 18th highest
Homeowners insurance, average a year with $400,000 in dwelling coverage (NerdWallet 2026; U.S. average $2,490). $3,965
Health care (U.S. News). 32nd
Education (U.S. News). 9th
Average temperature, 1991 to 2020. 45.6 degrees F
Average precipitation, 1991 to 2020. 21.2 inches a year
Sunshine in Rapid City. 63 percent of possible sunshine, 111 sunny days a year

South Dakota has no state income tax, and its cost of living is below the national average, 21st lowest among the states. Its effective property tax rate is 1.00 percent. Homeowners insurance averages $3,965 a year with $400,000 in dwelling coverage, compared with a U.S. average of $2,490. U.S. News ranks South Dakota 9th in education and 32nd in health care, and WalletHub ranks it 24th happiest.

Rankings mix many factors, and statewide averages hide differences between regions. The Black Hills, the cities in the east and the prairie in between differ in land prices, local rules and whether you can get on sewer, so look at the area where you plan to live.

Tiny home communities in South Dakota

We could not confirm a South Dakota tiny home community that people can buy or lease into, on its own website, as of November 2026. The places we checked were vacation rentals, a vacation home park or a housing program for veterans. We would rather list none than send you to one that does not fit.

If you find one, check its own website, ask whether you buy or lease the lot, whether year-round living is allowed and which home types it takes, and contact it directly before you plan around it. We will add communities here as we confirm them.

RV parks that take tiny homes

Contact the park directly before you plan around it.

Tiny Town Extended Stay Campground, Spearfish. Its own site says it offers long-term and monthly stays on full hookup sites for RVs and tiny houses, with year-round winter hookups. Call to check openings.

Tours we have filmed in South Dakota

We do not have a South Dakota tour to list here yet. When we do, it will be listed here. Our tours from other states are at Tiny Home Tours by State.

Get new tours and guides

Every other Friday we send real tours, results from our audience polls, and parking and legal lessons from people living tiny. Join the Tiny Home Tours newsletter.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to live in a tiny house in South Dakota?

Yes, on a permanent foundation where local zoning allows a house, with sewer or a septic system that meets the state rule. South Dakota has no statewide building code for houses, so the code that applies is your city's, or whatever your county requires outside city limits. For a tiny home on wheels, local zoning decides.

Can I park a tiny home on wheels on my own land in South Dakota?

It depends on your city or county. We found no state law that allows or bans living full time in one. State vehicle law treats a unit its maker labels a travel trailer or park model as an RV for travel, vacation or seasonal use, and a unit built for year-round living on its own chassis as a mobile home, and it also defines a manufactured home by size, chassis and built-in systems. Which one your home is may affect how it is titled and taxed. Rapid City, for example, requires a detached ADU to be on a permanent foundation and not a recreational vehicle.

Does South Dakota use Appendix Q for tiny houses?

Not at the state level, because South Dakota has no state residential code. A city may adopt the 2024 International Residential Code, where the tiny house appendix is Appendix BB, and may amend it, so whether the appendix applies is up to each city. Ask your building office in writing.

Can I build an ADU in South Dakota?

It depends on where you live. We found no state ADU law, so cities and counties set the rules. Rapid City allows one with an owner-occupied single-family home, and a detached one must be on a permanent foundation. Minnehaha County allows them with a conditional use permit, and the City of Custer allows one no larger than the main home.

Do I need a septic permit for a tiny home in South Dakota?

If the land is not on sewer, your system has to meet the state rule, ARSD chapter 74:53:01. A conventional system can be designed and installed under the rule without sending plans to the state, but other systems, including composting toilets, need the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources to approve plans first. Ask your county what it requires too.

Sources

This page explains the rules in general terms and is not legal advice. Local rules vary. Confirm with your city or county before you buy land or a home.

Hero photo: Mount Rushmore, by Stephen Walker on Unsplash.