Short-Term Rentals in Lawrence County, SD: Deadwood Rules

Lawrence County's short-term-rental picture is set less by the county than by its cities, and Deadwood in particular runs one of the stricter regimes in the Black Hills: transient commercial use of a residential property is prohibited outright under city ordinance, with the sole exception being a narrow 14-day window tied to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Buying land or a home here to run as an Airbnb means knowing exactly which of the county's rules -- city or county, residential or commercial -- actually apply to that parcel.

This page covers what's specific to Lawrence County. For the general explanation, see the national guide.

Deadwood's default rule is a ban, not a permit system

Deadwood City Ordinance Chapter 17.53 prohibits transient commercial use of residential property for remuneration -- in plain terms, renting out a house or condo in a residential zone on a short-term basis is not a licensing question here, it's simply not allowed, with one narrow carve-out. The ordinance exempts transient commercial use of residential property for a period of fourteen days or less during the month of August, beginning four days before the official start of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and ending three days after it concludes each year. Outside that specific 18-or-so-day Rally window, a residential property owner cannot legally run it as a nightly or weekly rental. This is a materially stricter posture than the state's general short-term-rental framework, and stricter than many other Black Hills communities that license and tax STRs rather than banning them outright.

Local reporting frames the ordinance as a deliberate housing-preservation move: Deadwood, like much of the Black Hills, has faced a tension between tourist lodging demand and a limited stock of workforce housing, and the city has kept a cap on residential short-term rentals rather than loosening it as pressure has grown. Would-be Deadwood STR investors should treat the ordinance's core prohibition, not the Rally-week exception, as the operative fact for any residential-zoned parcel.

The legal path runs through commercial zoning and a Conditional Use Permit -- and other Lawrence County towns set their own rules

Deadwood does allow short-term lodging use year-round, but only through specific categories reviewed as a Conditional Use Permit (CUP), and only in the right zoning district. Bed and Breakfast Establishments may be approved by CUP in Residential, Commercial, and Commercial Highway districts. Specialty Resorts and Vacation Home Establishments, by contrast, are permitted only in the Commercial and Commercial Highway districts -- not in Residential -- meaning a house in an ordinary residential neighborhood generally cannot qualify for one of these categories no matter how the applicant frames it. Every approved CUP for these uses must show proof of South Dakota state excise tax registration with the Department of Revenue, a Lodging License from the South Dakota Department of Health, a City of Deadwood Business License, and a City of Deadwood Short-Term Rental License, and the Deadwood Planning and Zoning Commission and Board review each permit annually rather than granting it once and forgetting it.

None of this is uniform across Lawrence County. The county's other incorporated municipalities -- Spearfish, Lead, and Whitewood -- each set their own separate zoning and, potentially, their own separate short-term-rental rules independent of Deadwood's, and unincorporated county land outside all four cities falls under Lawrence County's own Planning & Zoning Department rather than any city ordinance at all. Before assuming Deadwood's ban-with-a-Rally-exception applies to a specific property, confirm which government actually has jurisdiction over that parcel -- the answer changes the entire legal picture for what you can rent out and when.

Short-Term Rentals in Lawrence County, South Dakota

Deadwood's default rule is a ban, not a permit system

The legal path runs through commercial zoning and a Conditional Use Permit -- and other Lawrence County towns set their own rules

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