Published 2026-09-25 · 9 min read

South Carolina Landlord-Tenant Law 2026: The Plain-English Guide

South Carolina runs landlord-friendly rules inside a tenant-protective enforcement shell: no cap on security deposits, a fast 5-day nonpayment track, and no statewide rent control — but deposit penalties of up to three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney's fees, and evictions only through magistrate court on a formal rule to vacate or show cause. The governing law is the South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (SCRLTA), Title 27, Chapter 40 (1986 Act No. 336). Ejectment procedure sits in Title 27, Chapter 37; the civil-rights layer is the Fair Housing Law, Title 31, Chapter 21.

Three warnings, because the earlier version of this page got them wrong or left them vague. First, the deposit clock does not run from termination and possession alone: § 27-40-410(a) runs the 30 days from the later of termination, delivery of possession, and demand by the tenant — and the treble-damages penalty is subsection (b), not (C); subsection (c) is the separate differing-standards rule for landlords renting more than four adjoining units. Second, South Carolina has no general repair-and-deduct right — § 27-40-630(c) says so expressly — but the same section does let a tenant procure a failed essential service and deduct its actual and reasonable cost. Third, the retaliation section, § 27-40-910, contains no lookback window at all: it bars specified retaliation after two specified kinds of complaint, and a tenant raising retaliation as a defense must notify the landlord in writing within ten days after service of the Rule to Vacate or Show Cause (§ 27-40-910(f)).

South Carolina landlords: compare your state's rules against all 50 at once — the 50-State Landlord Law Dataset (CSV + JSON) ($29) puts every state's deposit, eviction, and rent rules side by side.

South Carolina at a glance

The clocks table

South Carolina landlord-tenant law is mostly clocks. Here is every deadline in this guide in one place:

How the South Carolina stack is built

Four layers do the work. Chapter 40 — the SCRLTA itself — is the substantive core: definitions (§§ 27-40-210 to 27-40-240), agreement terms (§§ 27-40-310 to 27-40-340), deposits and landlord obligations (§§ 27-40-410 to 27-40-450), tenant obligations (§§ 27-40-510 to 27-40-540), tenant remedies (§§ 27-40-610 to 27-40-660), landlord remedies (§§ 27-40-710 to 27-40-800), and retaliation (§ 27-40-910). Chapter 37 — Ejectment of Tenants — is the procedure: grounds (§ 27-37-10), the rule (§ 27-37-20), service (§ 27-37-30), warrant and writ (§§ 27-37-40, 27-37-100), jury trial (§§ 27-37-60, 27-37-80), appeal and bond (§§ 27-37-120, 27-37-130), and execution (§ 27-37-160). Chapter 21 of Title 31 is the civil-rights layer. The lease and the courts fill the remaining space: Chapter 40 leaves deposit amounts, late-fee amounts, and rent-increase amounts to the agreement, and circuit and magistrate courts exercise concurrent jurisdiction over conduct governed by the chapter (§ 27-40-130(a)) — which is why so many remedy sections offer a choice of "magistrate's or circuit court."

Three principles run underneath. Good faith governs every duty and every condition-precedent act (§ 27-40-220), defined as honesty in fact (§ 27-40-210(5)). Note the numbers, which summaries scramble: § 27-40-320 gives effect to an unsigned agreement; § 27-40-330 is prohibited provisions; neither is good faith. Unconscionability: a court may refuse to enforce, sever, or limit an unconscionable provision (§ 27-40-230). No separation of rent from maintenance (§ 27-40-340).

Scope matters first. Chapter 40 does not govern institutional residence incidental to detention or services, occupancy under a contract of sale, fraternal-organization occupancy, transient hotel/motel occupancy, employee occupancy conditional on employment, condominium or cooperative occupancy, primarily agricultural occupancy, time-sharing occupancy, or shelter residence (§ 27-40-120).

How much can a South Carolina landlord charge as a security deposit, and when must it be returned?

The deposit rules are covered in full on the companion page: South Carolina security deposit law. This summary is consistent with that page in every particular, including the subsection numbering — the penalty is § 27-40-410(b).

What counts as a deposit: § 27-40-410(a) and § 27-40-210(18)

Section 27-40-410 governs property or money held by the landlord as security, and prepaid rent alongside it — the penalty reaches a failure to return "any prepaid rent or security/rental deposit." A security deposit is a monetary deposit held to secure full and faithful performance of the lease, as provided in § 27-40-410 (§ 27-40-210(18)). Relabelling does not help: money held as security is within the section whatever the lease calls it, and prepaid rent is no loophole.

The cap: there is none in the statute

Section 27-40-410 sets no maximum deposit amount: it regulates the return, the deductions, the notice, and the penalty — it never limits what may be collected and never says the amount must be "reasonable." (An earlier version attributed a reasonableness limit to the section; the word does not appear in it, and the claim is removed.) The amount is disciplined instead by the market, unconscionability (§ 27-40-230), and subsection (c)'s disclosure rule. One to two months' rent is the working norm, but that is practice, not law. The section also imposes no interest and no separate-account requirement — enforcement is entirely at the back end, in the penalty.

The return deadline: § 27-40-410(a) — the later of three events

On termination of the tenancy, property or money held as security must be returned, less amounts properly withheld (below), and any deduction must be itemized by the landlord in a written notice to the tenant, together with the amount due, if any, within thirty days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession and demand by the tenant, whichever is later.

Parse that clock carefully — it is the most misquoted deadline in South Carolina landlord law. There are three triggers, not two: (1) termination, (2) delivery of possession, and (3) demand by the tenant — and the 30 days run from whichever is latest. A tenant who delivers possession but never demands the deposit has not, on the text, started the final leg — but do not build a practice on that: demand is cheap to make and hard to prove never happened. Run the itemization from termination and possession and treat any later demand as already answered.

The tenant's side of the machinery is the forwarding address, which the tenant shall provide in writing (§ 27-40-410(a)). Ask for it in writing at the move-out walkthrough and keep the request in the file. Use our Security Deposit Deadline Finder to diary the date, and build the list from the deductions guide.

Permitted deductions: a shorter list than you think

The statute authorizes withholding for exactly two categories (§ 27-40-410(a)):

• accrued rent; and
• damages which the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with § 27-40-510 — the tenant's statutory maintenance duties.

That is the whole list. The earlier version added "unpaid utilities" and "cleaning costs" as free-standing categories; they are not in the section. Such charges are withholdable only insofar as they are accrued rent under the agreement or damages from § 27-40-510 noncompliance — e.g., a unit left not "reasonably clean" (§ 27-40-510(2)). Ordinary wear and tear is not noncompliance. Every deduction must appear in the itemized written notice — a lump-sum "damages: $600" line is precisely what a court trebles. Photo-document every unit at move-in and move-out, and require a signed condition inventory even though the statute does not mandate one; see our move-in/move-out inspection checklist.

The penalty: § 27-40-410(b) — three times the amount wrongfully withheld

If the landlord fails to return any prepaid rent or security deposit with the notice required by subsection (a), the tenant may recover the property and money in an amount equal to three times the amount wrongfully withheld and reasonable attorney's fees (§ 27-40-410(b)). Three points decide cases: the subsection is (b) — the earlier version cited "(C)," which is the differing-standards rule below; the trebling runs on the amount wrongfully withheld, and the fee provision makes even small withholdings economical to litigate; and subsection (d) preserves other damages, so (b) is not the ceiling on exposure.

The forwarding-address shield: § 27-40-410(a), second half

If the tenant fails to provide the forwarding address in writing, the tenant is not entitled to damages under this subsection — the (b) treble remedy — provided the landlord (1) had no notice of the tenant's whereabouts and (2) mailed the written notice and amount due, if any, to the tenant's last known address. Both conditions are the landlord's to prove. The shield rewards a documented mailing; it does not reward silence. Mail the itemization regardless, and keep the proof.

The multi-unit rule: § 27-40-410(c) — more than four adjoining units, differing standards

If a landlord (1) rents more than four adjoining dwelling units on the premises, and (2) imposes different standards for calculating security deposits required of different tenants on the premises, then prior to the consummation of the rental agreement the landlord shall either post in a conspicuous place on the premises, or at the place at which rental is paid, a statement clearly indicating the standards by which the deposits are calculated, or provide each prospective tenant with a statement setting forth the standards.

The sanction is precise, and narrower than "your deduction rights shrink": if the landlord fails to comply as to a tenant, the difference between that tenant's deposit and the lowest deposit required of any other tenant of a comparable unit is not subject to deductions for § 27-40-510 damage. In dollars: lowest comparable deposit $1,000, this tenant charged $1,500, standards never posted — the $500 difference sits outside your damage deductions entirely and must come back regardless of the damage ledger. The fix costs nothing: post or hand out the standards before signing.

Transfer of the property: § 27-40-410(e) and § 27-40-450

Subject to § 27-40-450, the holder of the landlord's interest at the time of termination is bound by § 27-40-410 (§ 27-40-410(e)) — a buyer takes the deposit obligations with the building. The seller's exit (§ 27-40-450(a)): a good-faith sale to a bona fide purchaser relieves the seller for events after written notice of the conveyance, except that he remains liable for security under § 27-40-410 unless the security is transferred to the purchaser and the tenant is notified in writing a reasonable time after the transaction. Handle deposits, ledgers, and the tenant notice at closing; a silent closing leaves the seller holding treble-damages risk on money he no longer holds.

A worked deposit example

Rent is $1,400 a month; you hold a $1,400 deposit. Termination, delivery of possession, and the tenant's written demand all complete on Monday, March 2, 2026 — the later trigger — so the itemized notice and balance are due within 30 days after March 2: Wednesday, April 1, 2026. You document $250 of accrued rent and $180 of § 27-40-510 damage — $430 in deductions:

• Deposit held: $1,400
• Itemized deductions: $430
• Balance due with the written itemization, by Wednesday, April 1, 2026: $970

Miss April 1, or send the money without the notice, and the exposure is three times $970 — $2,910 — plus attorney's fees, before subsection (d)'s other damages. Run every move-out against the Security Deposit Deadline Finder.

When is rent due in South Carolina, and what late fees and increases are allowed? (§ 27-40-310)

When rent is due: § 27-40-310

Rent is payable without demand or notice at the time and place agreed. Unless otherwise notified in writing, it is payable at the dwelling unit, at the beginning of any term of one month or less and otherwise in equal monthly installments at the beginning of each month, and is uniformly apportionable from day to day (§ 27-40-310(c)). Absent agreement, the tenant pays fair-market rental value (§ 27-40-310(b)); absent a definite term, the tenancy is week-to-week for a weekly-paying roomer, month-to-month otherwise (§ 27-40-310(d)). "Rent" as defined includes late charges, excluding security deposits and other charges (§ 27-40-210(11)).

There is no 5-day grace period — there is a 5-day termination trigger

Landlord guides routinely call § 27-40-710(B)'s five days a "grace period." It is not one. The statute does not suspend late fees or the rent obligation during them; it says that if rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay within five days from the date due, the landlord may terminate, provided the notice condition (below) is met. The five days are the fuse on the termination remedy. See how to handle late rent.

Late fees: no statutory cap — verified absence

South Carolina law sets no statutory cap on late fees and no grace period before one may be charged — a verified absence after reading Chapter 40 in full. What disciplines a fee instead: the agreement must provide for it ("rent" includes late charges, § 27-40-210(11), but a silent lease gives no fee to fall back on); good faith (§ 27-40-220); unconscionability review (§ 27-40-230) — a fee grossly disproportionate to the rent invites it; and the prohibited-provisions list (§ 27-40-330(a)), whose penalties (§ 27-40-330(b), below) are severe. State the fee clearly, keep it proportionate, and document the due date.

Rent increases and rent control: the narrow, verified negative

There is no statewide rent control law in South Carolina, and no express preemption section was verified in Title 27, Chapter 40. That is the accurate statement, and it is deliberately narrower than "South Carolina bans rent control": a full read of the codified chapter finds no section capping the amount of an increase and no section forbidding a locality from regulating rents. Bills proposing a "South Carolina Rent Control Act" — most recently H. 3346 in the 2025–2026 session, which would have added § 27-39-370 capping increases at seven percent plus the consumer price index with a 90-day notice rule — have been introduced and not enacted; the codified text contains no § 27-39-370. Do not comply with, or rely on, a bill.

Because Chapter 40 sets no notice period for a rent increase as such, the operative notice is the periodic-tenancy termination notice: an increase on a month-to-month tenancy is delivered in practice by written notice at least 30 days before the termination date specified under § 27-40-770(b) — either side may end the tenancy on the same 30 days if the new rent is refused. On a fixed term, rent is set by the agreement until the term ends. Put every increase in writing. See how to raise rent legally.

The lease itself: disclosure, prohibited provisions, and rules

Disclosure at the start: § 27-40-420

At or before commencement of the tenancy, the landlord — or anyone authorized to enter into a rental agreement on the landlord's behalf — must disclose to the tenant in writing the name and address of an owner of the premises or a person authorized to act for the owner as agent, among other things for service of process and receiving notices and demands (§ 27-40-420(a)). The information must be kept current, and the duty extends to and is enforceable against any successor landlord, owner, or manager (§ 27-40-420(b)).

The sanction for failure is structural: a person authorized to enter into an agreement on the landlord's behalf who fails to comply with subsection (a) becomes an agent of the landlord for that agreement — for service of process and notices, and for performing the landlord's obligations, expending for that purpose all rent collected and retained on the landlord's behalf (§ 27-40-420(c)). The definition of "landlord" reaches the same person: a manager who fails to disclose as § 27-40-420 requires is treated as a landlord (§ 27-40-210(6)). Skipping the disclosure does not avoid responsibility; it assumes the owner's.

Prohibited provisions: § 27-40-330

A rental agreement may not provide that the tenant (1) agrees to waive or forego rights or remedies under the chapter; (2) authorizes any person to confess judgment on a claim arising out of the rental agreement; or (3) agrees to the exculpation or limitation of any liability of the landlord arising under law, or to indemnify the landlord for that liability or its costs (§ 27-40-330(a)). A prohibited provision is unenforceable — and the section then grades the landlord's exposure by intent (§ 27-40-330(b)):

• Deliberate use: if the landlord deliberately uses an agreement containing provisions known to be prohibited and attempts to exercise the rights created by the agreement, the tenant may recover, in addition to actual damages, an amount not to exceed the security deposit, plus reasonable attorney's fees.
• Malicious use: if the landlord maliciously uses such an agreement and attempts to exercise the rights it creates, the tenant may recover, in addition to actual damages, an amount not to exceed three months' periodic rent, plus reasonable attorney's fees.

One carve-out: bona fide liquidated-damages provisions for loss of rent from premature termination survive (§ 27-40-330(c)). Audit your lease form against the three categories — exposure turns on what you knew, so a vendor form is no defense if you kept using it after learning what was in it. Two companions complete the frame: an agreement never both signed is not void — acceptance of rent, or of possession and rent, without reservation gives it effect, and a term over one year given effect this way runs for only one year (§ 27-40-320); and a claim disputed in good faith may be settled by agreement (§ 27-40-60), subject to unconscionability review (§ 27-40-230(a)(3)).

Landlord rules: § 27-40-520

Landlord rules are enforceable only if their purpose is proper (tenants' convenience, safety, or welfare; preservation of the property; fair distribution of services), they are reasonably related to that purpose, apply to all tenants fairly, are explicit enough to fairly inform the tenant, are not adopted to evade the landlord's obligations, and the tenant has notice of them at signing or on adoption (§ 27-40-520(a)). A post-signing rule that substantially modifies the tenant's bargain is invalid as to a tenant who, after notice of the right to object, objects in writing within thirty days (§ 27-40-520(b)). The tenant's compliance duty runs only to enforceable rules (§ 27-40-510(8)).

How much notice is required to end a South Carolina tenancy without a breach, and what happens with holdovers? (§ 27-40-770)

Section 27-40-770(a)–(b) sets the no-cause termination periods for periodic tenancies. Each period runs both ways — landlord and tenant hold the same right:

• Week-to-week: written notice given at least 7 days before the termination date specified in the notice (§ 27-40-770(a)). Worked example: give written notice on Monday, March 2, 2026, specifying termination on Monday, March 9, 2026 — exactly seven days later, as the section requires.
• Month-to-month: written notice given at least 30 days before the termination date specified in the notice (§ 27-40-770(b)). Worked example: give written notice on Monday, March 2, 2026, specifying termination on Wednesday, April 1, 2026 — thirty days later. Note what the section does not require: the termination date need not be the end of a rental period on the statute's text; it must simply be at least 30 days out and specified in the notice. (An earlier version of this page stated the 30-day month-to-month rule without the 7-day week-to-week rule; both are in the same section.)

A fixed-term lease ends by its own terms unless the agreement says otherwise; if the agreement is silent on term, § 27-40-310(d) makes the tenancy month-to-month (or week-to-week for a weekly-paying roomer), and § 27-40-770 governs.

Holdover (§ 27-40-770(c)). If the tenant remains without the landlord's consent after expiration or termination, the landlord may bring an action for possession. A holdover not in good faith carries reasonable attorney's fees; a wilful violation of the chapter or the agreement carries also an amount not more than three months' periodic rent or twice the actual damages, whichever is greater, plus fees. If the landlord consents to continued occupancy, § 27-40-310(d) supplies the new period. Accepting rent after the Rule issues does not waive ejectment or renew the tenancy (§ 27-37-150).

Remedy after termination (§ 27-40-750). Once terminated, the landlord has a right to possession and rent, and a separate claim for actual damages for breach, plus reasonable attorney's fees.

How does eviction work in South Carolina — what are the three notice tracks?

Every South Carolina eviction runs through the courts. Self-help is not a fourth track: a landlord may not recover or take possession by action or otherwise — including wilful diminution of essential services — except in case of abandonment, surrender, termination, or as the chapter permits (§ 27-40-760); the tenant's remedy is § 27-40-660 (below), and a wrongfully dispossessed tenant has a damages action under § 27-37-140. The grounds for ejectment are three only (§ 27-37-10(A)): (1) failure or refusal to pay rent when due or demanded; (2) the term has ended; or (3) the lease's terms or conditions have been violated.

Full process: how to evict a tenant.

Track 1 — Nonpayment: the 5-day rule and the lease-language shortcut (§ 27-40-710(B))

If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay rent within five days from the date due — or the tenant is in violation of § 27-40-540 (use and occupancy; no illegal activities) — the landlord may terminate the rental agreement, provided the landlord has given the tenant written notice of nonpayment and of his intention to terminate the rental agreement if the rent is not paid within that period (§ 27-40-710(B)).

The notice duty is satisfied once — and can be satisfied in advance:

• It is satisfied for any lease term after the landlord has given one such notice. One proper 5-day notice covers later defaults; you do not re-serve it monthly.
• It is also satisfied if the notice is contained in conspicuous language in a written rental agreement.

The statute then prints the provision that satisfies the requirement, and a substantially equivalent provision works (§ 27-40-710(B)):

IF YOU DO NOT PAY YOUR RENT ON TIME

This is your notice. If you do not pay your rent within five days of the due date, the landlord can start to have you evicted. You will get no other notice as long as you live in this rental unit.

The presence of this provision fully satisfies the written-notice requirement, the landlord is not required to furnish any separate or additional written notice to commence eviction proceedings for nonpayment, and the provision applies to a month-to-month tenancy following the specified lease term in the original agreement — it survives expiry of the original term (§ 27-40-710(B)). Chapter 37 mirrors the rule from the ejectment side: for residential rental agreements, nonpayment within five days of the date due constitutes legal notice that the landlord has the right to begin ejectment proceedings if a written rental agreement specifies in bold conspicuous type that nonpayment constitutes such notice — a requirement satisfied by the § 27-40-710(B) provision (§ 27-37-10(B)). Put the provision in the lease, in bold conspicuous type, before the first tenant signs. See our lease agreement guide.

Two qualifications keep the shortcut honest. Section 27-40-710(C) gives the landlord actual damages and injunctive relief, judgments, or evictions in magistrate's or circuit court without posting bond — plus reasonable attorney's fees if the tenant's nonpayment is not in good faith (likewise for wilful non-rent noncompliance), provided the landlord is represented by an attorney. A licensed broker-in-charge or property manager may also, for no separate charge, complete a form writ of eviction and present facts to judicial officers on the landlord's behalf (§ 27-40-710(C)).

Worked nonpayment timeline. Rent of $1,400 is due Monday, March 2, 2026, and goes unpaid; the five-day window closes Saturday, March 7, 2026. If your lease carries the § 27-40-710(B) provision in bold conspicuous type (or you have already given one written 5-day notice), no further notice is required — terminate and file in magistrate court. If neither holds, serve the written 5-day notice first.

Track 2 — Lease violations other than nonpayment: the 14-day cure notice (§ 27-40-710(A))

Except as provided in the chapter, if there is a noncompliance by the tenant with the rental agreement other than nonpayment of rent, or a noncompliance with § 27-40-510 materially affecting health and safety or the physical condition of the property, or a violation of § 27-40-540, the landlord may deliver a written notice to the tenant specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach and stating that the rental agreement will terminate upon a date not less than fourteen days after receipt of the notice, if the breach is not remedied in fourteen days (§ 27-40-710(A)).

• Cure defeats termination — twice over. The agreement does not terminate if the tenant adequately remedies a remediable breach before the date specified — or if the remedy cannot be completed in fourteen days but is commenced within the period and pursued in good faith to completion within a reasonable time (§ 27-40-710(A)(1)–(2)). A tenant who starts a genuine cure on day 13 has not given you a day-14 filing.
• The clock runs from receipt, not mailing. Serve provably, and count from the proof.
• Worked example. The tenant receives your notice on Monday, March 2, 2026. The earliest termination date you may specify is Monday, March 16, 2026 — fourteen days after receipt — and an adequate cure, or a commenced good-faith cure, before that date defeats termination.

Do not cite § 27-40-720 for this track, or § 27-40-710(A) for the health-and-safety track below; blending them into one "14-day notice" is how landlords file the wrong paper.

Track 3 — Health and safety: the landlord's cure-and-bill and termination rights (§ 27-40-720)

Section 27-40-720 covers § 27-40-510 noncompliance materially affecting health and safety, split by remediability:

• Remediable by repair, replacement, or cleaning (§ 27-40-720(a)). If the tenant fails to comply as promptly as conditions require in an emergency, or within fourteen days after written notice specifying the breach and requesting a remedy, the landlord may enter and cause the work to be done in a workmanlike manner; the tenant shall reimburse the cost; and the landlord retains his other chapter remedies. The entry right is one of the accesses § 27-40-530(d)(2) preserves.
• All other health-and-safety noncompliance (§ 27-40-720(b)). On the same timing — promptly in an emergency, otherwise within fourteen days after written notice — the landlord may terminate the rental agreement.

In an emergency, no fourteen-day wait protects a tenant who leaves a dangerous condition unaddressed; otherwise, fourteen days after written notice is the floor. Either way, the demand, the notice, and the specified breach belong in writing.

After notice: the ejectment proceeding (Title 27, Chapter 37)

Once a termination right has matured — five days on Track 1, fourteen days on Tracks 2 and 3, expiry of term, or a § 27-40-770 termination date reached — possession moves only through Chapter 37:

1. Application. Upon application by the landlord or his agent or attorney, a magistrate having jurisdiction issues the rule (§ 27-37-20). Chapter 40 adds the rent machinery that rides along with it (§ 27-40-790, below).

2. The Rule to Vacate or Show Cause. The magistrate issues a written rule requiring the tenant forthwith to vacate or show cause why he should not be ejected within ten days after service (§ 27-37-20). Chapter 40 calls the same paper the "Rule to Vacate or Show Cause" (§§ 27-40-790, 27-40-910(f)).

3. Service (§ 27-37-30). The copy may be served as a summons is served (§ 27-37-30(A)). Alternatives: posting where no one can be found in possession and the premises have remained abandoned (§ 27-40-730) for fifteen days or more (§ 27-37-30(B)); and, after two unsuccessful attempts at least forty-eight hours apart and at times of day at least eight hours apart — documented by affidavit or certificate, a copy affixed on the first attempt and the documentation attached on the second — mailing through the magistrate's clerk, whose verification becomes part of the record, service complete ten days after mailing with the show-cause period running from the eleventh day (§ 27-37-30(C)).

4. Failure to show cause (§ 27-37-40). If the tenant fails to appear and show cause within the ten days, the magistrate shall issue a warrant of ejectment, executed by the constable or sheriff.

5. Contested cases (§§ 27-37-60, 27-37-80). If the tenant appears and contests, the magistrate hears the case as any other civil case, allowing trial by jury if demanded by either party; the magistrate may grant a new trial (§ 27-37-90) and a change of venue on a proper showing (§ 27-37-50).

6. The writ (§ 27-37-100). On a verdict for the plaintiff, the magistrate shall within five days issue a writ of ejectment. On a verdict for the defendant, the tenant remains in possession until the tenancy ends, rent goes unpaid, or another proceeding ejects him (§ 27-37-110).

7. Execution — the 24-hour rule (§ 27-37-160). The officer presents a copy of the writ and gives the occupants twenty-four hours to vacate voluntarily. On refusal, or if the premises appear unoccupied, the officer announces his identity and purpose; if necessary, the deputy sheriff — but not a constable — may enter by force, using the least destructive means possible. If the premises appear occupied and no one responds, the writ is posted on the door or most conspicuous place, and forcible entry may follow twenty-four hours after posting. The officer may delay dispossession of ill or elderly tenants.

8. Rent keeps accruing (§ 27-37-150). After the rule issues, rent accrues at the pre-rule rate while the tenant remains, and accepting it does not waive ejectment or renew the tenancy.

9. Appeal (§§ 27-37-120, 27-37-130). Either party may appeal, but an appeal does not stay ejectment unless the tenant gives an appeal bond fixed by the magistrate; fail to file it within five days after service of the notice of appeal and the appeal is dismissed. Section 27-40-800 supplies the parallel stay on appeal to circuit court, keyed to an undertaking to pay rent as it falls due — miss a payment by more than five days and the stay dissolves.

Worked ejectment timeline. Your § 27-40-710(B) lease provision is in place; rent due Monday, March 2, 2026 is unpaid through Saturday, March 7, 2026. The magistrate issues the rule, served Monday, March 9, 2026 — the tenant has ten days after service to show cause, through Thursday, March 19, 2026. Non-appearance brings the warrant under § 27-37-40; a contested verdict for you brings the writ within five days (§ 27-37-100) and the 24 hours on execution (§ 27-37-160). Diary the chain from the service date — service, not filing, starts the ten days.

Rent into court while the case runs: § 27-40-790

Where the landlord sues for possession and the tenant raises defenses or counterclaims, § 27-40-790 imposes a pay-to-litigate structure:

• The tenant must pay all rent that becomes due after issuance of the Rule, as it becomes due; the landlord must give a written receipt except for payment by check (§ 27-40-790(a)). On a disagreement over amount or timing, the court hears and preliminarily determines the matter — and where the disagreement rests on the landlord's alleged violation, the rent to be paid is the fair-market rental value at the hearing. Rent is not abated for a tenant-caused condition.
• The tenant must pay all rent allegedly owed before the rule issued — or submit a receipt and cancelled check showing payment (§ 27-40-790(b)).
• Non-appearance within ten days brings a warrant under § 27-37-40; and if the tenant has failed to comply with subsections (a) or (b), the court shall issue a warrant of ejectment and the landlord must be placed in full possession (§ 27-40-790(c)).
• If the amount finally adjudicated is less than alleged, decision must be entered for a fully complying tenant (§ 27-40-790(d)).

The evicted tenant's property: § 27-40-710(D)

Property removed in an eviction and placed on a public street or highway is removed by municipal or county officials after forty-eight hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays (or in the normal course of trash collection). Where the locality does not collect from public highways, after forty-eight hours the landlord may dispose of it as trash. The notice of eviction must clearly inform the tenant of these provisions — put the § 27-40-710(D) warning in every eviction notice you serve.

Abandonment, absence, and leftover property: § 27-40-730

• The presumption (§ 27-40-730(a)–(b)). Unexplained absence for fifteen days after default in rent must be construed as abandonment. If the tenant has voluntarily terminated the utilities and is unexplainedly absent after default, abandonment is immediate.
• Mitigation (§ 27-40-730(c)). The landlord shall make reasonable efforts to rent the unit at a fair rental; re-rental before the agreement expires terminates it as of the new tenancy, subject to § 27-40-750. Failing reasonable efforts — or accepting the abandonment as a surrender — deems the agreement terminated by the landlord as of the date he had notice of the abandonment (a month or a week, for periodic tenancies).
• Property worth $500 or less (§ 27-40-730(d), (f)). Where the unit is abandoned or the agreement has ended, the tenant has removed a substantial portion of his property or permanently terminated utilities, and left property worth $500 or less, the landlord may enter — forcibly if required — and dispose of it; if it was in fact worth more, the landlord is liable only if grossly negligent.
• Property above that line (§ 27-40-730(e)). Otherwise, leftover property may be removed only through the ejectment provisions, §§ 27-37-10 to 27-37-150.

Landlord's lien and distress (§ 27-40-740). A contractual lien in the tenant's household goods is not enforceable unless perfected before the chapter's effective date, and rent may be collected by distress only under Title 27, Chapter 39, subject to chapter defenses and the § 15-41-30 exemptions.

What repairs and habitability duties does a South Carolina landlord have? (§ 27-40-440)

The landlord's duties: § 27-40-440

A South Carolina landlord shall (§ 27-40-440(a)):

1. Comply with the requirements of applicable building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety (§ 27-40-440(a)(1));

2. Make all repairs and do whatever is reasonably necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition (§ 27-40-440(a)(2));

3. Keep all common areas in a reasonably safe condition — and, for premises containing more than four dwelling units, in a reasonably clean condition (§ 27-40-440(a)(3));

4. Make available running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times, and reasonable heat — except where the building is not required by law to be so equipped, or heat or hot water is generated by an installation within the tenant's exclusive control on a direct public utility connection (§ 27-40-440(a)(4)); and

5. Maintain in reasonably good and safe working order and condition all electrical, gas, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances, including elevators, supplied or required to be supplied by the landlord (§ 27-40-440(a)(5)). Appliances present in the unit are presumed supplied by the landlord unless specifically excluded by the rental agreement — and no appliances or facilities necessary to the provision of essential services may be excluded at all.

Where the (a)(1) code duty is greater than any other paragraph's, (a)(1) controls (§ 27-40-440(b)). Delegation is narrow: for a single-family residence, landlord and tenant may agree in writing that the tenant performs the (a)(5) duties and specified repairs, only in good faith and not to evade the landlord's obligations (§ 27-40-440(c)); for other units, the work must additionally not be necessary to cure an (a)(1) noncompliance and must not diminish duties to other tenants (§ 27-40-440(d)). "Essential services" is defined at § 27-40-210(17): sanitary plumbing or sewer, electricity, gas used for heat, hot water, or cooking, running water, and reasonable hot water and heat. Possession must be delivered at commencement in compliance with the agreement and § 27-40-440 (§ 27-40-430).

The tenant's duties: § 27-40-510

A tenant shall (§ 27-40-510):

1. Comply with all obligations primarily imposed on tenants by building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety;

2. Keep the unit and the part of the premises he uses reasonably safe and reasonably clean;

3. Dispose of all ashes, garbage, rubbish, and other waste in a reasonably clean and safe manner;

4. Keep all plumbing fixtures in the unit or used by the tenant reasonably clean;

5. Use in a reasonable manner all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances, including elevators;

6. Not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the premises, or knowingly permit anyone on the premises with the tenant's permission — or allowed access by the tenant — to do so;

7. Conduct himself, and require other persons on the premises with his permission or allowed access by him to conduct themselves, so as not to disturb other tenants' peaceful enjoyment; and

8. Comply with the lease and with rules enforceable under § 27-40-520.

Unless otherwise agreed, the tenant must also occupy the unit only as a dwelling and permit no illegal activities there (§ 27-40-540) — whose violation § 27-40-710(B) groups with nonpayment. These duties are the measuring stick twice over: § 27-40-510 noncompliance is the only source of deposit damage deductions (§ 27-40-410(a)), and its material health-and-safety breaches drive Tracks 2 and 3. See how to handle maintenance requests.

Tenant remedies, stated precisely: §§ 27-40-610, 27-40-620, 27-40-630, 27-40-640, 27-40-650

National summaries compress these into one blurry "the tenant can terminate or withhold" paragraph. They are five distinct machines, with five different clocks.

General noncompliance — § 27-40-610. If there is a material noncompliance with the agreement, or a § 27-40-440 noncompliance materially affecting health and safety or the physical condition of the property, the tenant may deliver a written notice specifying the breach and stating that the agreement will terminate on a date not less than fourteen days after receipt if the breach is not remedied within fourteen days (§ 27-40-610(a)). Termination is defeated if the landlord adequately remedies the breach before the date specified — or, for a breach not affecting health and safety that cannot be remedied in fourteen days, commences the remedy within the period and pursues it in good faith to completion. No termination lies for a tenant-caused condition. Separately, the tenant may recover actual damages and obtain injunctive relief in magistrate's or circuit court, without posting bond, for any noncompliance with the agreement or § 27-40-440, plus reasonable attorney's fees if the noncompliance is wilful (§ 27-40-610(b)); on termination, security recoverable under § 27-40-410 must be returned (§ 27-40-610(c)). Landlord and tenant hold mirror-image 14-day cure notices under §§ 27-40-610 and 27-40-710(A), each running from receipt.

Failure to deliver possession — § 27-40-620. If the landlord fails to deliver possession under § 27-40-430, rent abates until delivery, and the tenant may (1) terminate on at least five days' written notice, with prepaid rent and security returned; or (2) demand performance and sue for possession, recovering actual damages (§ 27-40-620(a)). A landlord blocked by a prior holdover tenant is not liable for damages under the subsection if he made reasonable efforts to obtain possession. A wilful, bad-faith failure to deliver exposes the responsible person to not more than three months' periodic rent or twice the actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees (§ 27-40-620(b)).

Wrongful failure to provide essential services — § 27-40-630. If the landlord is negligent or wilful in failing to provide essential services under the agreement or § 27-40-440, the tenant may give written notice specifying the breach and elect (§ 27-40-630(a)): (1) procure reasonable amounts of the services and deduct their actual and reasonable cost from the rent; or (2) recover damages based on the diminution in fair-market rental value, plus attorney's fees. A tenant proceeding here may not also proceed under § 27-40-610 as to that breach (§ 27-40-630(b)), and rights do not arise until notice is given and the landlord fails to act within a reasonable time, nor for tenant-caused conditions (§ 27-40-630(d)).

Then subsection (c), the sentence that decides the most-asked question in South Carolina landlord law: "Under no circumstances should this section be interpreted to authorize the tenant to make repairs on the rental property and deduct the cost of the repairs from rent." A tenant who authorizes repairs without the landlord's consent takes a second consequence: any mechanic's lien arising from them is unenforceable. So — replacing the earlier version's flat "no repair-and-deduct unless agreed in writing" — the accurate statement is: (i) there is no repair-and-deduct right, by express command; (ii) there is an essential-services procurement deduction — buying the service itself (heat, water, power) is deductible, hiring a repairer to fix the landlord's plant is not; and (iii) a separate written agreement to a tenant-arranged repair is a contract question, not a statutory deduction right.

Noncompliance as a defense — § 27-40-640. In a possession action based on nonpayment, or a rent action for a period in possession, the tenant may assert defenses and counterclaim for any amount recoverable under the agreement or the chapter; a meritless, bad-faith defense exposes the tenant to actual damages plus fees (§ 27-40-640(a)). But the defense is waivable by silence (§ 27-40-640(b)): a tenant is considered to have waived a § 27-40-440 violation as a defense where (1) the landlord had no notice of the violation fourteen days before rent is due (non-essential services), or (2) the landlord had no notice before rent is due allowing a reasonable opportunity to make emergency repairs (essential services). Tenants must complain in writing, early; landlords must fix, or document the absence of notice. A habitability defense first raised at the hearing, about a condition never reported, is waived on the statute's text. Defenses and counterclaims remain available in a rent action for a period out of possession, without the § 27-40-790 duty (§ 27-40-640(c)).

Fire or casualty — § 27-40-650. If fire or casualty substantially impairs normal use and occupancy, the tenant may (1) immediately vacate and notify the landlord in writing within seven days thereafter of his intention to terminate (effective as of vacating); or (2) if continued occupancy is lawful, vacate only the unusable part, with rent reduced in proportion to the diminution in fair-market value (§ 27-40-650(a)). Unless the casualty was tenant-caused, the landlord must return security under § 27-40-410 and all prepaid rent, accounted as of the casualty date; withholding for a tenant-caused casualty still requires § 27-40-410(a)'s itemized notice (§ 27-40-650(b)).

Unlawful ouster and interruption of services: the ban is § 27-40-760, the remedy is § 27-40-660

Get these cites right — § 27-40-750, sometimes cited for the ban, is actually the remedy-after-termination section. The ban is § 27-40-760: no recovery or taking of possession by action or otherwise, including wilful diminution of essential services, except in case of abandonment, surrender, termination, or as the chapter permits. The remedy is § 27-40-660: a tenant unlawfully removed or excluded, or whose essential services are wilfully interrupted, may recover possession or terminate and, in either case, recover three months' periodic rent or twice the actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees; on termination, security under § 27-40-410 comes back. Lock changes and utility shutoffs are not pressure tactics; they are a three-months'-rent claim with fees. The magistrate process is fast enough that there is never a lawful reason to reach for the lock.

How much notice must a South Carolina landlord give before entering? (§ 27-40-530 and the abuse-of-access remedies in § 27-40-780)

• Consent (§ 27-40-530(a)): the tenant shall not unreasonably withhold consent to the landlord's entry to inspect the premises, make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements, supply necessary or agreed services, or exhibit the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workmen, or contractors.
• Entry without consent (§ 27-40-530(b)) is allowed in exactly three situations:

1. At any time in an emergency — prospective weather changes posing a likelihood of danger to the property may count as one;

2. 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m., for regularly scheduled periodic services (filters, pest treatment, and the like) — provided the right is conspicuously set forth in writing in the rental agreement and the landlord announces his intent to enter before entering; or

3. 8:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m., for services requested by the tenant — again with announced intent.

• The 24-hour rule (§ 27-40-530(c)): no abuse of access or harassment. Except in the subsection (b) cases, the landlord shall give at least twenty-four hours' notice and enter only at reasonable times.
• No other access (§ 27-40-530(d)): except (1) court order; (2) §§ 27-40-720 and 27-40-730 (cure entry; abandonment entry); (3) accompanied by a law enforcement officer at reasonable times for service of process in ejectment; or (4) abandonment or surrender.
• Locks (§ 27-40-530(e)): the tenant shall not change locks on the dwelling unit without the landlord's permission. (The earlier version stated this correctly; it belongs in the entry section, because a changed lock is an access denial.)
• Remedies both ways (§ 27-40-780) — the earlier version's citation was right: this section prices access misconduct. If the tenant refuses lawful access, the landlord may obtain injunctive relief without posting bond to compel access, or terminate; in either case, actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees (§ 27-40-780(a)). If the landlord knowingly makes an unlawful entry, a lawful entry in an unreasonable manner, or repeated lawful demands that unreasonably harass, the tenant may obtain injunctive relief without posting bond, or terminate; in either case, actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees (§ 27-40-780(b)). Note knowingly and repeated: a single clumsy but lawful entry is not the claim; a documented pattern is. Log every entry — notice, reason, announced intent, time in, time out.

Retaliation: § 27-40-910

Section 27-40-910(a) bars retaliation by increasing rent above fair-market value, decreasing essential services, or bringing an action for possession, after: (1) the tenant complained to a governmental agency charged with enforcing a building or housing code, of a violation materially affecting health and safety; or (2) the tenant complained to the landlord of a violation of this chapter.

Note what the section does not contain: no time window — no one-year rule, no six-month presumption. The protection attaches to the two complaint events; the section's machinery is procedural and remedial:

• Defense and damages (§ 27-40-910(b), (h)). The tenant gets § 27-40-660's remedies (possession or termination; three months' rent or twice actual damages, whichever is greater, plus fees) as a defense in a retaliatory possession action. A defense raised in bad faith exposes the tenant to up to three months' rent or treble actual damages, whichever is greater, for the landlord — who may not also recover under § 27-40-760. Subsection (h) separately makes any retaliating landlord liable for up to three months' rent or treble actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees, and preserves a damages action even after a subsection (c) ejectment that was primarily retaliatory.
• The 10-day defense notice (§ 27-40-910(f)). A tenant intending to raise this defense must notify the landlord in writing within ten days after service of the Rule to Vacate or Show Cause; after the Answer, the court hears the matter as promptly as feasible. On the worked timeline above, a rule served Monday, March 9, 2026 makes that notice due Thursday, March 19, 2026.
• Refusal to renew (§ 27-40-910(g)). Retaliation by refusing to renew, where the tenant is not in rent default, bars the landlord from recovering possession for seventy-five days and from raising rent above fair-market value or decreasing essential services in the interim — provided the tenant proves the chapter violation, the landlord's notice of it, and the landlord's notice of the complaint before the lease expired.
• Possession actions that survive (§ 27-40-910(c)). The bar does not stop an action where (1) the code violation was caused primarily by the tenant's side's lack of reasonable care; (2) there is material tenant noncompliance under § 27-40-710 or § 27-40-720; or (3) code compliance requires alteration, remodeling, or demolition effectively depriving the tenant of use. A subsection (c) action does not release liability under § 27-40-610(b) (§ 27-40-910(d)).
• Multi-unit increases (§ 27-40-910(e)). A landlord renting more than four adjoining units may increase rent without a presumption of retaliation if the increase applies uniformly to all tenants, or so long as rent does not exceed fair-market value.

Because there is no window to wait out, the landlord's protection is documentary: a file showing an independent reason for the action — a § 27-40-710 or § 27-40-720 ground documented before the complaint, or a uniform increase at or below fair-market value.

Screening and applications: what Chapter 40 does and does not regulate

A full read of Chapter 40 finds no application-fee cap, no screening-criteria statute, and no screening-standards disclosure in the SCRLTA — § 27-40-410(c) concerns deposit calculation, not tenant selection. That is a verified absence in this chapter, not a claim about other law: the Fair Housing Law, the federal Fair Housing Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act govern screening from outside it. Screen against consistent written criteria, document every decision — and note that no amendment enacted in 2023–2026 changed these rules.

Discrimination: the South Carolina Fair Housing Law, Title 31, Chapter 21

The federal Fair Housing Act applies in South Carolina, and the state's Fair Housing Law (§§ 31-21-10 et seq., 1989 Act No. 72) supplies the parallel state layer, administered by the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission ("Commission," § 31-21-30(1)). Section 31-21-40 makes it unlawful, in the sale or rental of a dwelling:

1. To refuse to sell or rent after a bona fide offer, refuse to negotiate, or otherwise deny a dwelling because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin (§ 31-21-40(1));

2. To discriminate in terms, conditions, privileges, services, or facilities on the same six grounds (§ 31-21-40(2));

3. To publish any notice or advertisement indicating a preference or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin (§ 31-21-40(3));

4. To represent a dwelling as unavailable when it is available, on those seven grounds (§ 31-21-40(4));

5. For profit, to induce a sale or rental by representations about the entry into the neighborhood of persons of a particular protected class (§ 31-21-40(5)); and

6. To discriminate in the sale or rental, or in terms and services, because of the handicap of the buyer or renter, a resident or intending resident, or any person associated with them (§ 31-21-40(6)–(7)).

Read the subsections separately, because the statute does: the refusal and terms provisions, (1) and (2), name six classes — race, color, religion, sex, familial status, and national origin — and "handicap" (defined in § 31-21-30(7): an impairment substantially limiting a major life activity, a record of one, or being regarded as having one, excluding current illegal drug use or addiction) enters through subsections (3)–(7). Taken as a whole, § 31-21-40's list is the federal list — the same seven characteristics, with no South Carolina addition verified in the section (no source-of-income, age, sexual-orientation, or housing-status class appears in it). The earlier version's one-line list of all seven reaches the right practical answer — treat all seven as fully protected — but know which subsection carries which class when you audit an advertisement, a refusal, and a terms decision.

Handicap discrimination includes refusing reasonable modifications at the person's expense (for a rental, permission may reasonably be conditioned on restoring the interior, wear and tear excepted), refusing reasonable accommodations in rules and services, and the accessible-design duties for covered multi-family dwellings (§ 31-21-70(G)). Exemptions are narrow: § 31-21-40 and § 31-21-60 do not reach owner-occupied dwellings of four or fewer families, or a private owner's single-family sale or rental within strict conditions (no more than three houses, no broker, no discriminatory advertising) (§ 31-21-70(A)–(B)); nothing in the chapter bars denying rental to a person posing a real and present threat of substantial harm (§ 31-21-70(E)). The chapter separately bans discrimination in brokers' organizations (§ 31-21-50) and in real estate-related transactions such as lending and appraisals (§ 31-21-60), each on the full seven-class list. Screen consistently and document your criteria. Our fair housing guide covers what you can and can't ask.

Read the statute yourself

Every number here comes from the official text at scstatehouse.gov. Start with S.C. Code Title 27, Chapter 40 (official text, scstatehouse.gov) — the sections relied on most are §§ 27-40-210, 27-40-220, 27-40-230, 27-40-310, 27-40-330, 27-40-410, 27-40-420, 27-40-440, 27-40-510, 27-40-520, 27-40-530, 27-40-610 to 27-40-660, 27-40-710, 27-40-720, 27-40-730, 27-40-760, 27-40-770, 27-40-780, 27-40-790, and 27-40-910. Ejectment is at Title 27, Chapter 37 (official text, scstatehouse.gov); fair housing at Title 31, Chapter 21 (official text, scstatehouse.gov), principally § 31-21-40 with definitions at § 31-21-30. Justia's 2025 Code mirror was cross-checked for §§ 27-40-320, 27-40-330, 27-40-620, and 27-40-770 and agreed in every particular. If a blog, a form vendor, or an older version of this page disagrees with the codified text, the codified text wins.

Amendment check, 2023–2026. The History lines of every Chapter 40 section relied on here end in the 1980s or 1990s (most recent: 1999 for §§ 27-40-710 and 27-40-800), and a search of the 2023–2026 sessions found no enacted amendment to Title 27, Chapter 40 — only bills introduced and not enacted: H. 3346 (proposed rent control, § 27-39-370); H. 3339 (five days to ten in § 27-37-10(B)); H. 3232 (mold; proposed § 27-40-635); H. 3569 (proposed § 27-40-350 for domestic-violence victims); and S. 723 (lodging ejectment; died in House committee). None of the proposed sections appears in the codified chapter, and the five-day rule remains five days.

South Carolina compliance checklist

Before and at lease signing

1. Put the § 27-40-710(B) provision — "IF YOU DO NOT PAY YOUR RENT ON TIME … You will get no other notice as long as you live in this rental unit" — or a substantially equivalent provision, in bold conspicuous type in every written lease (§§ 27-40-710(B), 27-37-10(B)). It satisfies the nonpayment notice duty permanently.

2. Scrub the lease against § 27-40-330(a): no waiver of chapter rights, no confession of judgment, no exculpation or indemnity — deliberate use costs up to the deposit plus fees over actual damages, malicious use up to three months' rent plus fees (§ 27-40-330(b)).

3. Deliver the § 27-40-420(a) written disclosure (owner/agent name and address for service of process and notices) at or before commencement; keep it current (§ 27-40-420(b)).

4. Renting more than four adjoining units on differing deposits? Post the calculation standards conspicuously, or hand them to each prospect before signing — the excess over the lowest comparable deposit is otherwise outside your damage deductions (§ 27-40-410(c)).

During the tenancy

5. Enter only inside § 27-40-530: 24 hours' notice at reasonable times by default; emergencies at any time; periodic services 9–6 only if the right is conspicuously in the lease, with announced intent; requested services 8–8 with announced intent. Log every entry.

6. Work repairs against § 27-40-610's 14-day cure clock. Never interrupt essential services to pressure a tenant (§§ 27-40-660, 27-40-760).

At default and at the end

7. Nonpayment: count five days from the date due (§ 27-40-710(B)); rely on the lease provision or one prior written notice; include the § 27-40-710(D) property warning in the eviction notice. Other breaches: written 14-day cure notice from receipt (§ 27-40-710(A)). Health-and-safety: § 27-40-720.

8. Terminate periodic tenancies in writing on § 27-40-770's periods (7 days / 30 days), and file ejectment only in magistrate court: rule, 10 days to show cause, jury on demand, writ within 5 days, 24 hours on execution (§§ 27-37-20, 27-37-100, 27-37-160). Never self-help.

9. After any tenant complaint, treat an above-market increase, a services cut, a possession filing, or a refusal to renew as a § 27-40-910 event: document an independent § 27-40-710 or § 27-40-720 ground, or a uniform at-or-below-market increase. There is no waiting-out window.

10. Close every tenancy on § 27-40-410(a): forwarding address in writing at move-out; itemized notice plus balance within 30 days after the later of termination, possession, and demand. Failure costs three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus fees (§ 27-40-410(b)).

FAQ

How much security deposit can a South Carolina landlord charge?

The statute sets no maximum. Section 27-40-410 regulates the return, deductions, itemization, and penalty — it never caps the amount and imposes no "reasonableness" limit, no interest, and no separate-account requirement. One to two months' rent is market practice, not law. Check a planned deposit against South Carolina's no-cap rule with the Security Deposit Max Checker, which returns a compliant or over-the-limit verdict for the amount and state you enter.

What is the deadline to return a South Carolina security deposit, and what happens if I miss it?

Deliver the itemized written notice, with the amount due, within 30 days after the later of termination, delivery of possession, and demand by the tenant (§ 27-40-410(a)). Fail to return the deposit with the required notice and the tenant may recover three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees (§ 27-40-410(b) — subsection (b), not (C)).

Does the tenant have to give a forwarding address, and what if they don't?

Yes — in writing (§ 27-40-410(a)). If the tenant fails to provide it, the tenant is not entitled to the treble remedy provided the landlord had no notice of the tenant's whereabouts and mailed the notice and any amount due to the tenant's last known address. Mail the itemization regardless, and keep the proof.

I rent six adjoining units and charge different deposits. Is there a disclosure rule?

Yes. Renting more than four adjoining units on different deposit-calculation standards requires, before signing, either posting the standards conspicuously on the premises or at the place rent is paid, or giving each prospect a statement of them (§ 27-40-410(c)). Fail as to a tenant, and the difference between that tenant's deposit and the lowest deposit for a comparable unit is not subject to deductions for § 27-40-510 damage.

How does the 5-day nonpayment rule work — and do I have to serve a new notice every month?

If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay within five days from the date due, the landlord may terminate, provided written notice of nonpayment and intent to terminate has been given (§ 27-40-710(B)). The duty is satisfied for any lease term after one such notice — and in advance if the lease contains the statutory provision ("IF YOU DO NOT PAY YOUR RENT ON TIME … You will get no other notice as long as you live in this rental unit") or a substantially equivalent one, in bold conspicuous type under § 27-37-10(B). With either in place, no separate notice is required on later defaults, even into a holdover month-to-month tenancy.

What notice is required for a lease violation other than nonpayment?

A written notice specifying the breach, stating that the agreement will terminate on a date not less than 14 days after receipt if the breach is not remedied in 14 days (§ 27-40-710(A)). Adequate cure before the specified date defeats termination — as does a cure commenced within the period and pursued in good faith to completion. Health-and-safety noncompliance has its own track (§ 27-40-720): cure-and-bill for repair-type breaches, termination for the rest — promptly in an emergency, otherwise within 14 days after written notice.

How much notice is required to end a month-to-month or week-to-week tenancy?

Written notice given at least 30 days before the termination date specified in the notice for a month-to-month tenancy, and at least 7 days before the specified termination date for a week-to-week tenancy (§ 27-40-770(a)–(b)). Either the landlord or the tenant may give it, and no reason is required.

How does a South Carolina ejectment work after I file?

On the landlord's application, the magistrate issues a written rule requiring the tenant to vacate forthwith or show cause within 10 days after service (§ 27-37-20). Failure to show cause brings a warrant of ejectment (§ 27-37-40). If the tenant contests, the magistrate hears the case as any other civil case, with a jury if either party demands one (§§ 27-37-60, 27-37-80); on a verdict for the landlord, a writ issues within five days (§ 27-37-100), and on execution the occupants receive 24 hours to vacate voluntarily before forcible entry by a deputy sheriff (§ 27-37-160). An appeal does not stay ejectment without an appeal bond filed within five days after service of the notice of appeal (§ 27-37-130). To run these same dates for your own case — the 10-day show-cause period after service, the five-day writ window, and the 24-hour execution notice — use the Eviction Timeline Calculator.

How much notice must a South Carolina landlord give before entering the unit?

At least 24 hours' notice, at reasonable times — except the § 27-40-530(b) cases: emergencies at any time (including threatening weather); periodic services 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. where the right is conspicuously in the lease, with announced intent; and tenant-requested services 8:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m., with announced intent. Remedies both ways are in § 27-40-780: injunctive relief without bond, termination, actual damages, and fees.

Can a South Carolina tenant repair a defect and deduct the cost from the rent?

No. Section 27-40-630(c) states expressly that the essential-services section must not be read to authorize repair-and-deduct, and a mechanic's lien from an unauthorized tenant repair is unenforceable. What § 27-40-630(a) allows — after written notice and the landlord's failure to act within a reasonable time — is procuring reasonable amounts of a withheld essential service and deducting its actual and reasonable cost, or recovering diminution-in-value damages. Buying the service is deductible; hiring the repair is not.

Can I change the locks or shut off utilities if the tenant stops paying?

No. Section 27-40-760 bars taking possession by action or otherwise, including wilful diminution of essential services, except in case of abandonment, surrender, termination, or as the chapter permits. Under § 27-40-660 the tenant may recover possession or terminate and recover three months' rent or twice actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees. Possession changes hands only through ejectment.

Is it illegal for a South Carolina landlord to retaliate against a tenant who complains about conditions?

Yes. After a tenant complains to a government code agency about a violation materially affecting health and safety, or complains to the landlord of a chapter violation, the landlord may not raise rent above fair-market value, decrease essential services, or bring a possession action (§ 27-40-910(a)). The section sets no lookback window. The tenant's protections are § 27-40-660's remedies as a defense (§ 27-40-910(b)) — with written notice of the defense due within 10 days after service of the Rule (§ 27-40-910(f)) — plus damages up to three months' rent or treble actual damages, whichever is greater, and fees (§ 27-40-910(h)), and a 75-day bar on possession after a retaliatory refusal to renew where the tenant is not in rent default (§ 27-40-910(g)).

More landlord-tenant law guides

• Landlord-tenant law by state
• Rhode Island landlord-tenant law
• South Dakota landlord-tenant law
• Pennsylvania landlord-tenant law
• Tennessee landlord-tenant law

This is general information, not legal advice. Consult a South Carolina landlord-tenant attorney for specific situations.