What South Carolina landlord-tenant law covers
The Residential Landlord and Tenant Act in Chapter 40 of Title 27 governs residential leases across South Carolina, including notices, deposits, access, rent and the landlord’s and tenant’s duties. Evictions themselves, called ejectments, are handled in magistrate court under Chapter 37 of Title 27, which the General Assembly reorganized in 2026.
Compared with states such as Minnesota or Oregon, South Carolina leaves more to the lease. There is no cap on security deposits, no statutory cap on late fees and no rent regulation of any kind. What the law does demand is careful paperwork: the right notice, an itemized deposit accounting within 30 days and a court order before anyone is removed.
South Carolina landlord-tenant rules at a glance
The table summarizes the rules an apartment owner uses most, as of October 2026. The sections below give the details.
| Rule | South Carolina requirement | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Month-to-month notice | 30 days’ written notice before the termination date (week-to-week: 7 days) | S.C. Code 27-40-770 |
| Nonpayment of rent | Rent unpaid 5 days after due date plus written notice; one notice, or a conspicuous lease clause, satisfies it | S.C. Code 27-40-710(B) |
| Security deposit cap | No cap | S.C. Code 27-40-410 |
| Deposit return | 30 days after the tenancy ends and possession is delivered, with itemized deductions | S.C. Code 27-40-410 |
| Late fees | No statutory cap; rent is defined to include late charges, so set them in the lease | S.C. Code 27-40-210 |
| Entry notice | At least 24 hours; requested service calls 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. | S.C. Code 27-40-530 |
| Rent control | Banned for counties and cities | S.C. Code 27-39-60 |
How much notice does a landlord have to give in South Carolina?
A landlord or tenant can end a month-to-month tenancy in South Carolina with written notice given at least 30 days before the termination date in the notice. For a week-to-week tenancy, the notice period is seven days.
A fixed-term lease ends on its own terms unless it renews. Many South Carolina leases convert to month-to-month at the end of the term, so the 30-day rule then applies. If a tenant stays after the notice runs out, the landlord still needs an ejectment order from the magistrate to get possession back. The Act says a landlord may not recover or take possession by action or otherwise except as it permits, such as after abandonment, surrender or a court order.
The 5-day rule for unpaid rent
If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant does not pay within five days, the landlord can terminate the rental agreement, provided the landlord has given written notice of the nonpayment and of the intent to terminate if rent is not paid within that period. South Carolina makes that notice easy to satisfy in two ways.
First, one notice covers the lease term. Once a landlord has given a tenant a written nonpayment notice, the requirement is met for later late payments in that term. Second, a conspicuous clause in the written lease can serve as the notice. The statute supplies model language, headed “IF YOU DO NOT PAY YOUR RENT ON TIME,” telling the tenant that if rent is not paid within five days of the due date the landlord can start eviction and that no other notice will be given. With that clause in the lease, a landlord can start an ejectment on day six without a separate letter, even after the lease rolls to month-to-month.
Check your lease forms before you sell. A buyer will want to know whether the clause is in every lease.
Security deposit rules in South Carolina
South Carolina sets no maximum security deposit. Within 30 days after the tenancy ends and the tenant gives back possession, the landlord must return the deposit or send a written, itemized notice of what was kept and why.
The penalty for getting it wrong is steep. A tenant can recover three times the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney’s fees. Keep move-in and move-out photos, dated invoices for repairs and a record of the tenant’s forwarding address.
Late fees and entry rules
South Carolina’s Act does not cap late fees. It defines rent to include late charges, so a fee written into the lease is collectible as rent. Keep fees at a level you can defend if a tenant challenges them in magistrate court.
For entry, a landlord must give at least 24 hours’ notice of the intent to enter, except in the situations the statute lists. When a tenant asks for a repair or service, entry is allowed between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Scheduled periodic services, such as pest control or filter changes, have a separate window of 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., if the lease clearly states that right. In both cases the landlord must announce the entry beforehand.
The South Carolina ejectment process and timeline
An eviction in South Carolina is an ejectment action in magistrate court, and for unpaid rent it usually takes about three to five weeks from the missed payment to the lockout. The steps are set out in Title 27, Chapter 37.
- Day 6 after the due date: if the 5-day notice requirement is met, the landlord applies to the magistrate.
- Rule to vacate or show cause: the magistrate issues a rule requiring the tenant to leave or show cause within 10 days after service. If service is by posting and mail after two failed attempts, service is complete 10 days after mailing.
- No response: the magistrate issues a warrant of ejectment.
- Hearing: if the tenant contests, the case is heard like any civil case, and either side may ask for a jury. If the landlord wins, the magistrate issues the writ of ejectment within five days.
- Lockout: the officer gives the occupants 24 hours to vacate. If they do not, a deputy sheriff can enter and remove them after 24 hours from posting the writ.
- Appeal: under Section 27-40-800 as rewritten by Act No. 252 of 2026, effective June 30, 2026, a court may not stay an ejectment judgment on appeal on its own; the tenant gets a stay only by filing an affidavit promising to pay rent as it comes due.
Does South Carolina have rent control?
No. South Carolina bans local rent control. Section 27-39-60, in place since 1985, says no county or municipal corporation may enact, maintain or enforce any ordinance or resolution that regulates the amount of rent charged for privately owned residential or commercial rental property, single-family or multi-unit.
The only exceptions let a county or city set rents on property it owns, or agree with a private owner on rents. For a private apartment owner without such an agreement, the rent is whatever the lease says, and increases are set at renewal. The Act’s retaliation rules still apply: a rent increase above fair market value after a tenant makes a protected complaint can be presumed retaliatory, although a landlord with more than four adjoining units can raise rents uniformly for all tenants without that presumption.
Selling a South Carolina building with tenants in place
Leases survive a sale in South Carolina. The buyer takes the building subject to the existing leases, including their rents and terms, and the person who holds the landlord’s interest is bound by the Act’s security deposit rules.
Under Section 27-40-450, the seller stays liable for deposits unless they are transferred to the buyer and the tenants are told in writing, within a reasonable time, the buyer’s name and address; once that is done, the buyer is liable. In practice, the buyer will expect a credit at closing for every deposit and will take over the 30-day return duty for current tenants. Make sure your deposit ledger matches the leases, and send the transfer notices, before or at closing.
- Give the buyer every lease, any amendments and a current rent roll.
- Provide a deposit ledger and the closing credit amount.
- Note whether each lease contains the 5-day nonpayment clause.
- Disclose any pending ejectment cases and agree in the contract who will finish them.
South Carolina landlord-tenant law changes in 2026
Two 2026 laws change how South Carolina apartment owners deal with domestic violence cases and ejectment appeals.
- Act No. 184 of 2026 (H.3569), effective May 18, 2026: a protected tenant, meaning a victim of domestic abuse by another leaseholder on the same property documented by an order of protection, restraining order or conviction, may end the lease early by written notice within 60 days of the incident. The termination takes effect at least 30 days after the landlord receives the notice, with no early-termination fee. The landlord may not retaliate.
- Same law: if the perpetrator is the only remaining tenant, the landlord may end that lease on five days’ written notice.
- Act No. 252 of 2026 (H.3387), effective June 30, 2026: rewrote Section 27-40-800 on appeals, so ejectment judgments are not stayed on appeal unless the tenant files an affidavit to keep paying rent as it comes due; if the tenant misses a payment under the affidavit, the landlord can apply for a warrant of ejectment.
- Same law: added a new Article 3 to Chapter 37 with an ex parte process to remove unlawful occupants who have no tenant rights, a $1,000 statutory damages claim for wrongful removal and felony penalties for violating an ex parte order.
Selling a South Carolina apartment building
Skyline buys apartment buildings with five or more units in South Carolina, with tenants in place, from Charleston and Columbia to Greenville and Myrtle Beach. We buy directly, close on your timeline, and can work inside 1031 deadlines. We take over the leases and deposits as they stand.
For the tax side of a sale, see South Carolina capital gains tax on real estate and our page on the property tax rate in South Carolina.
