What makes South Carolina evictions different
South Carolina calls it ejectment, and the court is the magistrate’s court in the county where the property is. The case doesn’t start with a complaint and summons. You apply to the magistrate, who issues a rule ordering the tenant to leave or show cause within 10 days why they shouldn’t be ejected (S.C. Code 27-37-20).
A second difference is how little notice nonpayment needs when the lease is drafted well. Our guide to South Carolina landlord-tenant law covers deposits, late fees and the rent control ban. This page is the court process from day six to the deputy at the door.
South Carolina notices before ejectment
Match the notice to the ground. Rule references are to Title 27 of the South Carolina Code.
- Nonpayment: if rent isn’t paid within five days of the due date, you can end the lease after giving written notice of nonpayment and your intent to terminate (27-40-710(B)). One notice covers the rest of the lease term.
- Lease clause instead of a letter: a written lease with the statutory language headed “IF YOU DO NOT PAY YOUR RENT ON TIME,” or a substantially equivalent conspicuous clause, is the notice, and it carries into a month-to-month tenancy after the term (27-40-710(B), 27-37-10(B)).
- Illegal activity: a tenant who conducts or permits illegal activities in the unit violates 27-40-540, and 710(B) lets you terminate on the same notice terms as nonpayment.
- Other lease breaches: a written notice naming the breach and ending the lease at least 14 days after receipt unless it’s remedied within 14 days. If the fix takes longer but starts within 14 days and continues in good faith, the lease doesn’t end (27-40-710(A)).
- Month-to-month: 30 days’ written notice before the termination date; week-to-week, 7 days (27-40-770). A tenant who holds over willfully can owe up to three months’ rent or twice actual damages plus attorney fees.
Applying to the magistrate and serving the rule
Apply to the magistrate with jurisdiction, by yourself, your agent or your attorney. A licensed broker-in-charge or property manager can complete the form writ and present the facts for the owner without a separate charge (27-40-710(C)). The magistrate issues the rule to vacate or show cause.
The rule is served like a summons. If two attempts fail, separated by at least 48 hours and at times of day at least eight hours apart, the server can attach the rule to the most conspicuous part of the premises with proof of the attempts, then mail a copy by ordinary mail in front of the magistrate’s clerk, who verifies it (27-37-30(C)).
That fallback adds time. Mailed service is complete only after 10 days, and the tenant’s 10 days to show cause begin on the 11th day after mailing, or sooner if the tenant contacts the court first (27-37-30(C)(3)). A unit abandoned for 15 days or more can be served by posting alone (27-37-30(B)).
If the tenant doesn’t respond, or asks for a hearing
If the tenant doesn’t appear and show cause within the 10 days, the magistrate issues a warrant of ejectment, carried out by a constable or the sheriff (27-37-40). There is no trial in that case.
If the tenant responds, the magistrate hears it as any other civil case, and either side can demand a jury (27-37-60, 27-37-80). A tenant who plans to argue retaliation must notify you in writing within 10 days after service of the rule (27-40-910(f)). If you win, the magistrate issues the writ of ejectment within five days (27-37-100).
Rent keeps running while the case is pending, and accepting it doesn’t waive your right to ejectment or extend the tenancy. The parties’ rights are fixed as of the date the rule issued (27-37-150). That makes payment plans safer in South Carolina than in many states.
Executing the writ: the 24-hour rule
The constable or deputy sheriff goes to the unit, presents the writ and gives the occupants 24 hours to leave on their own. If nobody answers, they post the writ on the door. After 24 hours, a deputy sheriff, but not a constable, may enter by force using the least destructive means possible (27-37-160). Officers can grant ill or elderly tenants a delay.
Belongings set out on a public street are removed by city or county officials after 48 hours, not counting weekends and holidays. Where the local government doesn’t collect from the street, the landlord may remove them after 48 hours (27-40-710(D)).
Appeals after Act 252 of 2026
Act No. 252 of 2026 rewrote 27-40-800, effective June 30, 2026. No court may stay a judgment for ejectment on its own. A tenant who appeals to circuit court gets a stay only by filing an affidavit promising to pay the rent the magistrate set as it comes due, in the form the statute provides.
If the tenant misses a payment by five days, you apply to whichever court accepted the affidavit, the stay dissolves, the possession appeal is dismissed and the clerk issues a warrant of ejectment (27-40-800(c), (e)). If you go to the magistrate, notify the circuit court before the lockout. The same affidavit rule applies to appeals to the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.
Act 252 also added a separate fast process for unlawful occupants who were never tenants (27-37-200 and following). It doesn’t apply to a tenant with a lease.
Self-help and retaliation
South Carolina bars recovering possession by any means outside the Act, including cutting essential services, except after abandonment, surrender or termination (27-40-760). A tenant who is unlawfully removed or has services cut can recover possession or end the lease and collect three months’ rent or twice actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees (27-40-660).
You can’t retaliate with a rent hike above market, cut services or file for possession after a tenant complains to a code agency or to you about a violation of the Act (27-40-910). The defense doesn’t block a case for material noncompliance under 710, and a tenant who raises it in bad faith can owe you up to three months’ rent or treble damages. A landlord with more than four adjoining units may raise rents uniformly without a presumption of retaliation.
Federal overlays
Where the building has a federally backed mortgage, such as a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA loan, or a covered federal program, the CARES Act may require 30 days’ notice to vacate (15 U.S.C. 9058(c)). The 120-day moratorium expired in 2020, but the 30-day text is still there and courts have split on it. At a covered property, the safer route is 30 days, even with the lease-clause notice in place.
Before a warrant issues on a tenant’s failure to respond, file the military status affidavit the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires for default judgments (50 U.S.C. 3931).
South Carolina eviction timeline at a glance
The fastest path the statutes allow for an unpaid-rent case with the lease-clause notice and personal service.
| Step | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Rent unpaid | 5 days after due date | S.C. Code 27-40-710(B) |
| Apply to magistrate; rule issues | Day 6 if rent was due on the 1st | 27-37-10(B), 27-37-20 |
| Tenant’s time to show cause | 10 days after service | 27-37-20 |
| If served by posting and mail | Service complete 10 days after mailing | 27-37-30(C)(3) |
| Retaliation defense notice | Within 10 days of service | 27-40-910(f) |
| No response: warrant of ejectment | After the 10 days | 27-37-40 |
| Writ after a hearing | Within 5 days of verdict | 27-37-100 |
| Time to vacate | 24 hours after writ is presented or posted | 27-37-160 |
| Appeal stay | Only by rent affidavit; dissolves 5 days after a missed payment | 27-40-800 |
Worked example: what a South Carolina ejectment costs
Assume a two-bedroom in a 30-unit Columbia building rents for $1,300 a month, due on the 1st, and the lease contains the statutory notice clause. The rent isn’t paid in five days, so you apply on day 6 and the rule is served by hand that day. The tenant’s 10 days run through day 16, the magistrate issues the warrant on day 17, and the occupants have 24 hours, putting possession on day 18.
Eighteen days of lost rent is $780. With an assumed $750 for filing, service and legal help, the total is about $1,530. If the tenant dodges service and the server has to use posting and mail, mailing on day 8 makes service complete on day 18, the 10 days run through day 28 and possession comes on day 30, for $1,300 in lost rent and $2,050 in total.
| Scenario | Days to possession | Lost rent | Total with assumed costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal service, no response | 18 | $780 | $1,530 |
| Posting and mail service | 30 | $1,300 | $2,050 |
Alternatives to ejectment
Because rent you accept after the rule issues doesn’t waive the case (27-37-150), you can take partial payments and keep the ejectment alive if the plan fails.
Cash for keys works best when a tenant may appeal. The rent affidavit keeps you paid during an appeal, but the unit stays occupied. Pay when the keys come back and the unit is empty.
Selling a South Carolina building mid-case
A pending ejectment doesn’t stop a sale. Leases carry over and deposit liability can move to the buyer under 27-40-450, and the buyer can continue the case or reapply after closing. Write into the contract who finishes it and who keeps any back rent.
Give the buyer the lease with its notice clause, the rule, proof of service, any warrant or writ and estoppel certificates from the other tenants.
Sell your South Carolina apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units across South Carolina, occupied or not, including buildings with problem tenants or an ejectment underway. Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
