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prohibit the Board of Regents and institutions under its control from requiring certain students to reside in on-campus housing or purchase meal plans.

South Dakota public universities can no longer require students to live in on-campus housing or buy meal plans after their first year of attendance. This new rule applies to all institutions under the Board of Regents' control, giving upper-level students the freedom to find housing and food options off-campus if they choose.

limit the types of residential improvements for which counties, municipalities, and townships may require a permit.

Counties, cities, and townships can no longer require homeowners to get building permits before repairing or replacing certain exterior parts of single-family homes, including doors, windows, siding, gutters, fencing, and similar items—as long as replacements keep the same dimensions and aren't structural changes. Historical properties are exempted from this rule and can still require permits for these same repairs. Homeowners still need to follow all other applicable building codes and rules.

clarify documentation requirements for assistance animals in rental dwelling units.

HB1231 clarifies what counts as an "assistance animal" in rental housing by expanding the definition to include emotional support animals, service animals, and therapy animals, and specifies when landlords can require tenants to provide documentation proving they have a disability that requires such an animal. The bill also establishes exceptions—landlords cannot demand documentation if the tenant's disability is already obvious to them, and small landlords with four or fewer units in owner-occupied buildings are exempt from having to allow assistance animals.

establish provisions for homeownership through shared equity agreements.

South Dakota homebuyers will be able to enter into "shared equity agreements" where an investor contributes money toward their down payment and mortgage in exchange for a share of the home's ownership. The bill defines the rules for these arrangements, including that they only apply to single-family primary residences and require a written agreement recorded with the county. This creates a new legal framework in state law for this form of shared homeownership that didn't previously exist.

modify the blight requirements for purposes of creating a tax increment financing district.

This bill lowers the threshold for creating a tax increment financing district by reducing the required blighted area from 25% to 50% of the district's real property. Additionally, it allows districts to qualify if 50% of the property will stimulate economic development, even if less of the district is currently blighted. These changes make it easier for counties and municipalities to establish these special financing districts to fund local improvements.

restrict contracts and declarations that prohibit the use of commercial or residential property for any healthcare service in medically underserved areas or communities, or in areas with a medically underserved population under federal law.

Property owners in South Dakota can no longer use contracts or deed restrictions to ban healthcare services on their land if that land sits in a federally-designated medically underserved area or community. The bill makes such restrictions unenforceable and allows affected parties or local governments to challenge them, opening the door for clinics and medical facilities in areas where healthcare access is limited.

revise certain criteria for loans from the South Dakota housing infrastructure fund.

SB 204 expands the types of infrastructure projects eligible for loans from South Dakota's housing infrastructure fund to include land acquisition and site preparation work needed to support new housing developments. The bill also allows the Housing Development Authority to use up to one percent of loan amounts to cover its administrative costs for managing these loans.

authorize the creation of land banks.

South Dakota will allow local governments—counties, cities, school districts, and other tax-levying entities—to create nonprofit organizations called land banks to buy, manage, and rehabilitate abandoned, blighted, vacant, or tax-delinquent properties in their areas. Each land bank will be governed by a board of 5-11 members appointed through a process set by the local government that creates it. This is a new tool to help communities revitalize neglected properties and return them to productive use.