South Carolina Rental Laws: Deposits, Entry, and Eviction

South Carolina rental laws are set primarily by the state’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, which governs written and oral leases, security deposits, repairs, landlord entry, retaliation, and eviction throughout the state.¹ The Act creates specific rights on both sides of the lease and pairs many of those rights with real penalties, including treble damages and attorney’s fees for the party that ignores them. Here is how the main pieces work in practice.

Leases, Notice, and Prohibited Clauses

A lease can be oral in South Carolina only if the term is one year or less. Anything longer must be in writing to be enforceable.¹ Even for shorter tenancies, a written lease is worth the effort, because oral agreements collapse into he-said arguments the moment something goes wrong. At a minimum the writing should cover rent, due date, the length of the term, and any rules about how the unit can be used.

Some clauses cannot be enforced no matter what you signed. A landlord cannot include language waiving your rights under the Act, authorizing anyone to confess judgment against you, or shielding the landlord from liability for their own negligence. If a landlord knowingly puts one of these in and tries to enforce it, you can recover actual damages plus up to three months’ rent and reasonable attorney’s fees.² The bad clause drops out; the rest of the lease stays in place.

When there is no fixed end date, or no written lease at all, the tenancy is month-to-month. Either side can end it with at least 30 days’ written notice before the termination date. Week-to-week tenancies require seven days’ notice. Fixed-term leases do not renew automatically unless the lease itself says so. Staying past the end of a fixed term without a new agreement makes you a holdover, and a willful holdover can cost up to three months’ rent or double the landlord’s actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees.³

Security Deposits

There is no cap on how much a landlord can charge for a security deposit in South Carolina, and no requirement to pay interest on it. If a landlord manages more than four adjoining units and charges different deposit amounts to different tenants, the landlord must either post a notice on the premises or give each prospective tenant a written statement explaining how the deposits are calculated.⁴

After you move out, the landlord has 30 days to return the deposit or send you an itemized list of deductions. The clock starts when the tenancy ends, you hand over possession, and you demand the deposit back. Every withheld dollar has to be tied to a specific charge, such as unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, or another lease breach.⁴

Miss that deadline and the penalty is steep. A landlord who fails to return the deposit with proper notice can be sued for three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney’s fees.⁴ Most fights turn on what counts as normal wear and tear. Faded paint, minor scuffs, and light carpet wear after a multi-year tenancy are normal. Large stains, wall holes, and broken fixtures are not. Photos or video at move-in and move-out, along with any condition checklist the landlord provides, are the cheapest insurance you can buy.

Rent Increases and Late Fees

South Carolina has no rent control, so a landlord can raise the rent to any amount. The constraint is notice. On a month-to-month tenancy the landlord has to give at least 30 days’ written notice before the new rate takes effect, because a rent change effectively ends one monthly arrangement and starts another.³ A week-to-week tenancy requires seven days’ notice.

During a fixed-term lease, the rent cannot go up unless the lease itself allows a mid-term adjustment. If the lease is silent, the rent is locked until the term ends.

State law does not cap late fees, but any fee has to be written into the lease to be enforceable. Courts can strike a fee that is grossly disproportionate to the landlord’s actual harm. If your lease says nothing about a late fee, the landlord generally cannot add one after the fact.

Landlord Entry

Your landlord must give at least 24 hours’ notice before entering for non-emergency reasons, and visits have to happen at reasonable times.⁵ Legitimate reasons include inspections, agreed-upon repairs, and showing the unit to prospective tenants or buyers. You cannot unreasonably refuse access for those purposes, and a landlord who is blocked from a legitimate visit can seek a court order.

Two situations skip the 24-hour rule. The landlord can enter without consent in an emergency, and can enter between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. to perform regularly scheduled services like filter changes or pest treatment, but only if the lease specifically grants that right and the landlord announces their presence before entering.⁵ Repeated unauthorized entry can rise to harassment and support a legal action.

Repairs and Habitability

Landlords must keep the property habitable throughout your tenancy. The statute is specific: they must maintain all electrical, gas, plumbing, heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems in safe working order; provide running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times; supply reasonable heat unless the unit has its own tenant-controlled heating tied to a public utility; and keep common areas clean and safe.⁶ No appliance or facility needed for essential services can be excluded from this duty, even by agreement.

When a failure materially affects health, safety, or the physical condition of the unit, you can send written notice describing the problem and stating that the lease will terminate if it is not fixed within 14 days. Fixing it within that window keeps the lease alive. For problems that reasonably cannot be finished in 14 days, the landlord must start work in that window and finish within a reasonable time.⁷ You can also sue for actual damages and injunctive relief in magistrate or circuit court, and if the landlord’s failure was willful, attorney’s fees are recoverable.

One common misconception is worth flagging. South Carolina tenants do not have a statutory right to withhold rent when repairs go unmade. What the Act gives you is a defense if the landlord sues for unpaid rent or tries to evict for nonpayment. To preserve that defense you have to have notified the landlord of the problem at least 14 days before rent was due for non-essential issues, or with enough time for emergency repairs when essential services are involved.⁸ The Act also does not explicitly authorize “repair and deduct,” so fixing something yourself and taking it out of the rent without the landlord’s agreement risks an eviction filing.

Tenant Obligations

The Act imposes duties on tenants too. You have to keep the unit and the areas you use reasonably clean and safe, dispose of garbage properly, keep plumbing fixtures clean, and use appliances and building systems in a reasonable manner. You cannot deliberately or negligently damage the property, and you are on the hook for anyone you invite in or allow access.⁹ You also must not disturb other tenants’ peaceful enjoyment and must comply with any lawful lease rules that were properly disclosed.

Retaliation and Discrimination

Landlords sometimes react to complaints by raising the rent, cutting services, or filing to evict. State law makes that illegal. A landlord cannot retaliate by raising rent above fair-market value, reducing essential services, or pursuing eviction after you have complained to a government agency about a building or housing code violation affecting health and safety, or after you have notified the landlord of a violation of the Act.¹⁰

If a landlord retaliates by refusing to renew and you are current on rent, the landlord cannot recover possession for at least 75 days, and cannot raise rent above fair-market value or cut essential services during that period.¹⁰ Put habitability complaints in writing so the timeline can be proved later.

South Carolina’s Fair Housing Law tracks the federal Fair Housing Act. Landlords cannot refuse to rent, set different lease terms, or target tenants for eviction based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability.¹¹ Complaints can go to the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Assistance animals come up often. Under federal fair housing rules, landlords must allow service animals and emotional support animals as a reasonable accommodation, even when the property has a no-pet policy. When the disability and need for the animal are not obvious, the landlord can request reliable disability-related documentation, but cannot demand details about the disability itself or require a specific form.¹²

Eviction

South Carolina requires landlords to use the courts. There are no shortcuts, and the notice depends on the reason.

Nonpayment of Rent

For past-due rent, the landlord can deliver a written notice stating that the lease will terminate if the balance is not paid within five days.¹³ The Act does not require any grace period beyond that five days unless the lease says otherwise. If the balance is not paid, the landlord can file in magistrate court.

Other Lease Violations

For other breaches, such as unauthorized occupants, property damage, or other material violations, the landlord must send written notice describing the problem and giving at least 14 days to cure. If the violation is not cured, the lease terminates on the date stated in the notice.¹³

Court Only, No Self-Help

After filing, the tenant is served and gets a chance to respond in court. If the tenant fails to appear or loses, the court issues a writ of ejectment and law enforcement carries out the removal. A landlord who tries to skip the process by changing locks, removing doors or windows, or shutting off utilities violates the Act.¹⁴ Self-help eviction exposes the landlord to damages and other penalties.

Abandoned Units and Belongings

Belongings left behind after an eviction or lease expiration are handled by value. When the fair-market value of the abandoned property is $500 or less, the landlord can enter and dispose of it without further process. When the property is worth more than $500, the landlord must follow the formal procedures in the state’s separate distraint statutes before disposing of anything.¹⁵

The Act also defines when a unit itself counts as abandoned. An unexplained absence of 15 days with rent in default lets the landlord treat the unit as abandoned. That waiting period drops to zero if the tenant has also voluntarily shut off the utilities.¹⁵

Military Early Termination

Active-duty service members have a federal right to break a residential lease early. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, permanent change-of-station orders, deployment of 90 days or more, or other qualifying orders issued after the lease was signed all trigger the right. The service member delivers written notice to the landlord with a copy of the orders, and the lease ends 30 days after the next rent payment is due following delivery. No early-termination penalty applies, and the protection extends to dependents on the lease.¹⁶ This overrides anything the lease says to the contrary.

1
Justia. South Carolina Code Title 27 Chapter 40 – Residential Landlord and Tenant Act
2
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 27 Chapter 40 – Section 27-40-330
3
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 27 Chapter 40 – Section 27-40-770
4
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-40-410 – Security Deposits; Prepaid Rent
5
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-40-530 – Access
6
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-40-440 – Landlord to Maintain Premises
7
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 27 Chapter 40 – Section 27-40-610
8
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 27 Chapter 40 – Section 27-40-640
9
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 27 Chapter 40 – Section 27-40-510
10
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-40-910 – Retaliatory Conduct Prohibited
11
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 31 Chapter 21 – Fair Housing Law
12
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistance Animals
13
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-40-710 – Noncompliance With Rental Agreement; Failure to Pay Rent
14
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-40-760 – Recovery of Possession Limited
15
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-40-730 – Remedies for Absence, Nonuse, and Abandonment
16
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3955 – Termination of Residential or Motor Vehicle Leases