South Carolina Landlord-Tenant Act: 30-Day Notice Delivery and Timing

In South Carolina, either the landlord or the tenant can end a month-to-month rental by giving the other party written notice at least 30 days before the termination date. That rule comes from SC Code § 27-40-770(b), part of the state’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, and it governs any South Carolina 30-day notice to vacate on a periodic tenancy, whether you started month-to-month or rolled into one after a fixed lease expired.¹

When the 30-Day Notice Applies

The 30-day rule is specific to month-to-month tenancies. A fixed-term lease with a built-in end date generally doesn’t require one. You’ll need the 30-day notice in two common situations: your arrangement was month-to-month from the start, or your original lease ended and you kept paying rent without signing anything new, which converts the tenancy to a month-to-month.¹

If rent is paid weekly instead of monthly, the notice period drops to seven days.²p>

A boundary worth noting: the Landlord and Tenant Act doesn’t cover every living arrangement. Hotel and motel stays, employee housing tied to a job, agricultural rentals, institutional residences connected to medical care or education, buyer occupancy under a sale contract, emergency shelters, and vacation timeshares fall outside it. If your situation is one of those, § 27-40-770 isn’t your governing rule.³

What to Put in the Notice

The statute requires only that the notice be in writing and set a termination date at least 30 days out. It doesn’t dictate a form. But a bare-bones notice invites disputes, and a well-drafted one heads them off. Include:

Names of both parties: the landlord and every adult tenant on the lease
The full property address, unit number included
An unambiguous statement that you are ending the rental agreement
A specific termination date at least 30 days after the notice will be delivered
The date you’re signing the notice
Your signature

Keep a copy. If the termination is ever contested, you need to prove not just that you sent something but exactly what it said.

How to Deliver It So It Actually Counts

A notice that never reaches the other party is worthless, and SC Code § 27-40-240 sets the rules for what counts as valid delivery. The method depends on who’s receiving it.

A notice to the landlord is effective when it reaches the landlord’s place of business where the rental agreement was made, or any location the landlord has designated for receiving communications.⁴

A notice to the tenant is valid when it’s handed directly to the tenant or mailed by registered or certified mail to the address the tenant designated for communications. If the tenant hasn’t designated one, the landlord can send it to the tenant’s last known residence. The key detail for landlords: proof of mailing counts as notice, even if the tenant never picks up the letter.⁴

Certified mail with return receipt requested is the safest option because it creates a dated paper trail. Hand delivery works too. If you go that route, have a witness present or ask for a signed acknowledgment. The statute doesn’t authorize email or text messages, so unless the lease specifically allows electronic notice, stick with mail or hand delivery.

Counting the 30 Days

The clock starts on the delivery date (or the mailing date for certified mail to a tenant). The termination date you name in the notice has to fall at least 30 days after that.¹

The statute doesn’t require the termination date to line up with the end of a rental period. Deliver on the 10th and you can pick the 10th of the following month, or any later date. Some leases add a clause requiring notice to coincide with the end of a rental period, so read your lease before choosing.

The most common mistake is counting a day short. Deliver on June 1 and the earliest valid termination date is July 1. Picking June 30 leaves you one day light, which gives the other side an argument that the notice was defective.

Active-Duty Military Tenants

Federal law overrides the state process for servicemembers. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a tenant who enters active duty, receives permanent change-of-station orders, or gets deployment orders of 90 days or more can terminate a residential lease early regardless of its terms.⁵

The servicemember delivers written notice with a copy of the military orders. For a monthly lease, termination takes effect 30 days after the next rent payment is due following delivery. If rent is due on the first and notice is delivered March 15, the next rent due date is April 1, and the lease ends May 1.⁵

Landlords cannot charge early termination fees or concession recapture fees in this situation. Any rent paid in advance beyond the effective termination date must be refunded. The servicemember stays responsible for utilities used during occupancy and for damage beyond normal wear and tear.

The 30-Day Notice Is for No-Cause Terminations Only

If a tenant has broken the lease or fallen behind on rent, the 30-day notice isn’t the tool. SC Code § 27-40-710 sets different timelines.

For nonpayment of rent, the landlord can terminate if the tenant hasn’t paid within five days of the due date, provided the landlord has given written notice of nonpayment and intent to terminate. Many South Carolina leases include a conspicuous clause that serves as permanent notice for the entire tenancy, so the landlord doesn’t have to send a fresh warning every time rent runs late.⁶

For other lease violations affecting health, safety, or the condition of the property, the landlord must give written notice describing the problem and allow at least 14 days to fix it. If the tenant fixes it in time, the lease continues. If the repair can’t reasonably be finished in 14 days but the tenant begins in good faith and completes it within a reasonable time, the lease survives.⁶

If the Tenant Stays Past the Termination Date

A tenant who remains past the termination date without the landlord’s consent is a holdover, and the consequences depend on why they stayed.

At a minimum, the landlord can file for possession in magistrate court. If the holdover isn’t in good faith, the landlord can also recover reasonable attorney’s fees. If the holdover is a willful violation of the law or the rental agreement, the landlord can recover up to three months’ rent or double the actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees on top.¹

Accepting rent from a holdover tenant is risky for the landlord. It can be treated as consent to continued occupancy, which converts the arrangement to a new periodic tenancy under the original terms. If you want the tenant out, don’t cash the check.²

The Ejectment Process

A South Carolina landlord cannot change the locks, remove belongings, or shut off utilities to force a tenant out. The only legal path is through the courts.

The landlord files an application for ejectment in magistrate court. The court issues a rule requiring the tenant to vacate or show cause within 10 days. If the tenant doesn’t appear or respond, the magistrate issues a warrant of ejectment. If the tenant contests it, the magistrate holds a hearing, and either side can request a jury trial.⁷

Once a writ of ejectment is issued, the officer executing it must give the occupants 24 hours to leave voluntarily before taking further action. A tenant wrongfully dispossessed outside this legal process can sue the landlord for damages.⁷

Access During the Notice Period

Serving a 30-day notice doesn’t give the landlord free run of the unit. The tenant still has the right to quiet enjoyment through the termination date.

Outside emergencies, the landlord must give at least 24 hours’ notice before entering and can only enter at reasonable times. For regularly scheduled services like pest treatment or filter changes, entry is limited to 9:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m. and must be authorized in the lease. For tenant-requested repairs, the window is 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.²

Showings to prospective tenants are permitted during the notice period, and the tenant cannot unreasonably refuse. The landlord still owes the 24-hour advance notice. A landlord who abuses access or uses it to harass violates the statute.²

Security Deposit After You Move Out

Once you’ve vacated, the landlord has 30 days to return the security deposit with an itemized list of any deductions. The 30 days doesn’t start until three things have all happened: the tenancy has ended, you’ve turned over possession, and you’ve demanded the deposit back.⁸

Give the landlord your forwarding address in writing. If you don’t, and the landlord had no way to find you, you lose the right to claim damages for a late return as long as the landlord mailed whatever was owed to your last known address.⁸

Landlords can deduct for unpaid rent and for damage caused by the tenant’s failure to maintain the unit properly, but not for normal wear and tear. Faded paint, scuff marks, and carpet worn in high-traffic areas are the landlord’s problem. Holes in walls, broken fixtures, and burns or stains on flooring are deductible. Dated photos at move-in and move-out are the best defense on both sides.

A landlord who wrongfully withholds a deposit faces steep exposure: the tenant can sue for three times the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney’s fees.⁸

1
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-40-770 – Periodic Tenancy; Holdover Remedies
2
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws – Title 27 – Chapter 40 – Residential Landlord and Tenant Act
3
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-40-120 – Exclusions From Application of Chapter
4
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-40-240 – Notice
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3955 – Termination of Residential or Motor Vehicle Leases
6
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-40-710 – Noncompliance by the Tenant; Failure to Pay Rent
7
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws – Title 27 – Chapter 37 – Ejectment of Tenants
8
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-40-410 – Security Deposits