South Carolina Landlord-Tenant Laws: What Renters Need to Know

1. Overview: South Carolina’s Landlord-Tenant Act

South Carolina’s landlord-tenant relationship is governed by the South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, found in S.C. Code of Laws Title 27, Chapter 40. This law covers most residential rentals in the state and spells out the rights and obligations for both landlords and tenants.

South Carolina is generally considered a landlord-friendly state. There’s no rent control, no statutory cap on security deposits, and no state-mandated grace period for late rent. But that doesn’t mean tenants are unprotected. The Act gives you real rights around habitability, eviction procedures, retaliation, and deposit returns — and the penalties for landlords who violate those rights can be steep, including treble damages in some cases.

This law applies to residential rentals only. Commercial leases, agricultural land, and properties where the owner occupies the unit as their own residence are governed by different rules.

2. Security Deposit Rules

Security deposit disputes are the single most common landlord-tenant fight in South Carolina. Here’s exactly what the law says.

Deposit Limits

South Carolina has no statutory limit on security deposit amounts. Your landlord can charge whatever they want. Most landlords charge one to two months’ rent, but nothing stops them from asking for more. If a landlord is demanding three months’ rent upfront, it’s not illegal — just a red flag worth negotiating over.

Return Deadline

Under Section 27-40-410, your landlord has 30 days to return your deposit after the tenancy ends, you return possession, and you provide a forwarding address in writing. That last part matters — the clock doesn’t start until you give the landlord a written forwarding address. Always send it by certified mail or email so you have proof.

Itemization Requirement

If your landlord keeps any portion of the deposit, they must provide a written itemized statement of each deduction along with any remaining balance. A vague one-liner like “cleaning and repairs: $800” doesn’t cut it. You’re entitled to know exactly what was charged and why.

Penalty for Non-Compliance

This is where South Carolina law has real teeth. If your landlord wrongfully withholds your security deposit or fails to provide a proper itemization within 30 days, you can recover three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney’s fees under Section 27-40-410. That’s treble damages. If your landlord held back $1,000 without justification, you could recover $3,000 plus your lawyer’s costs.

What They Can (and Can’t) Deduct

Your landlord can deduct for accrued unpaid rent and for damages beyond normal wear and tear that result from your noncompliance with your tenant maintenance obligations under Section 27-40-510. They cannot deduct for:

• Minor scuff marks on walls
• Carpet worn from regular foot traffic
• Small nail holes from hanging pictures
• Faded paint or sun-damaged window treatments

Actual damage — holes in walls, broken fixtures, pet stains, burn marks — is fair game.

3. Eviction Procedures and Notice Requirements

Your landlord can’t just tell you to get out. South Carolina law requires a formal process, and skipping steps means the eviction can be thrown out in court.

Notice for Unpaid Rent

Under Section 27-40-710, if you don’t pay rent within five days of the due date, your landlord can terminate the rental agreement — provided they’ve given you written notice of nonpayment and their intent to terminate.

Here’s a wrinkle that catches a lot of tenants off guard: the landlord only has to give you this written notice once. After the first notice, they don’t need to send another one for future missed payments during that lease term. Even more common: many leases include language like “If you do not pay your rent within five days of the due date, the landlord can start to have you evicted.” If that language is in your lease, it satisfies the written notice requirement entirely. So your lease may already be your only warning.

Notice for Lease Violations

For other material lease violations — unauthorized pets, noise issues, unauthorized occupants — your landlord must deliver written notice describing the specific violation and giving you 14 days to fix it. If you cure the breach within that period, the lease continues. If you don’t, the landlord can terminate and file for eviction.

Illegal Self-Help Evictions

Under Section 27-40-660, if your landlord changes the locks, shuts off utilities, removes your belongings, or physically blocks you from entering your unit, that’s an illegal self-help eviction. You can recover possession or terminate the lease, and in either case you’re entitled to three months’ periodic rent or twice your actual damages, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney’s fees.

The Court Process

If you don’t cure the breach or vacate, your landlord has to file an eviction lawsuit (called an “ejectment” action) in magistrate court. You’ll get served, and you have the right to appear, present your defense, and argue your case before a magistrate. Only a court order can force you to leave, and only a law enforcement officer can carry it out.

Tenant’s Personal Property After Eviction

After an eviction order, the landlord must give you a reasonable opportunity to remove your personal property. Under Section 27-40-710, the landlord must store your belongings and allow you to retrieve them, though they can charge you reasonable storage costs.

4. Landlord Entry and Notice Rules

Your landlord owns the building, but you’re paying for the right to live there. That gives you a right to privacy that South Carolina law protects.

24-Hour Notice Requirement

Under Section 27-40-530, your landlord must give you at least 24 hours’ notice before entering your unit, and they can only enter at reasonable times. You cannot unreasonably withhold consent for the landlord to enter for inspections, necessary repairs, agreed-upon services, or to show the unit to prospective tenants or buyers.

Exceptions

• Emergencies — Your landlord can enter without notice in genuine emergencies, including impending severe weather that poses a likelihood of danger to the property
• Regularly scheduled services — Between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., the landlord can enter for periodic services like pest treatment or filter changes, but only if this right is conspicuously stated in writing in your lease

Lock Changes

South Carolina law explicitly states that tenants cannot change locks on the dwelling unit without the landlord’s permission. If you need the locks changed for safety reasons, ask your landlord in writing.

Abuse of Access

Under Section 27-40-780, if your landlord enters illegally, uses lawful entry unreasonably, or makes demands for entry to harass you, you can seek relief in magistrate’s court or circuit court. The landlord cannot use the right of access to harass you — period.

5. Habitability Standards and Repairs

South Carolina landlords have a legal duty to keep your rental livable. This isn’t a suggestion — it’s the law, and you have real remedies if they don’t comply.

What Your Landlord Must Provide

Under Section 27-40-440, your landlord is required to:

• Comply with all applicable building and housing codes that materially affect health and safety
• Make all repairs reasonably necessary to keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition
• Keep common areas reasonably clean and safe (for buildings with more than four dwelling units)
• Maintain all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems in good and safe working order
• Provide and maintain appropriate receptacles and conveniences for garbage removal
• Supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times
• Supply reasonable heat (except where the tenant controls their own heating and it’s not provided by the landlord)

Your Obligations as a Tenant

Under Section 27-40-510, you have maintenance duties too:

• Keep your unit and the premises you use reasonably clean and safe
• Dispose of garbage, rubbish, and other waste properly
• Keep all plumbing fixtures in your unit reasonably clean
• Use all electrical, plumbing, heating, and other facilities reasonably
• Don’t deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, or damage any part of the premises
• Comply with building and housing codes that affect health and safety
• Don’t disturb your neighbors’ peaceful enjoyment

What You Can Do If Repairs Aren’t Made

If your landlord fails to maintain the unit in a way that materially affects your health and safety, you can deliver written notice under Section 27-40-610 specifying the breach and stating the rental agreement will terminate in 14 days if it’s not fixed. If the landlord makes the repair within 14 days, the lease continues. If they don’t, you can terminate and move out.

You can also recover actual damages and seek injunctive relief in magistrate’s or circuit court for any noncompliance by the landlord.

If the landlord willfully fails to provide essential services required by the lease or by Section 27-40-440, you can give written notice and procure reasonable amounts of those essential services yourself and deduct the cost from rent.

One caveat: these remedies don’t apply if the problem was caused by you, your family, or someone you let into the unit.

6. Rent Payment Rules

When Is Rent Due?

Under Section 27-40-310, rent is payable without demand or notice at the time and place agreed upon in your lease. If your lease doesn’t specify, rent is payable at the dwelling unit at the beginning of each month for monthly tenancies.

Grace Periods

South Carolina law does not require landlords to provide a grace period. Rent is late the day after it’s due — and your landlord can begin the eviction process if rent isn’t paid within five days. If your lease includes a grace period, the landlord must honor it. But if there’s no grace period in the lease, don’t assume you have one.

Late Fees

South Carolina has no statutory cap on late fees. The amount and timing of late fees are governed entirely by your lease. If your lease doesn’t specify a late fee, your landlord can’t charge one. This is why reading the late fee clause before signing is critical.

That said, South Carolina courts could refuse to enforce a late fee that’s grossly disproportionate to the landlord’s actual damages. A $500 late fee on $900 rent would likely be viewed as punitive rather than compensatory.

7. Lease Termination and Breaking a Lease

Ending a Periodic Tenancy

Under Section 27-40-770:

• Month-to-month: Either party must give at least 30 days’ written notice before the termination date
• Week-to-week: The rental agreement or applicable law governs the notice period

Breaking a Fixed-Term Lease

If you’re on a 12-month lease and need to leave early, you’re generally on the hook for the remaining rent. But South Carolina law recognizes legitimate reasons for early termination:

• Landlord noncompliance: If the unit is uninhabitable and your landlord won’t fix it after 14 days’ written notice (Section 27-40-610)
• Illegal lockout or utility shutoff: Self-help eviction by the landlord (Section 27-40-660)
• Military deployment: Under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. §§ 3901–4043)

Landlord’s Duty to Re-Rent

If you do break a lease, your landlord must make reasonable efforts to re-rent the unit at a fair rental price under Section 27-40-730. You’re only liable for rent until a new tenant moves in. Your landlord can’t just leave the unit empty and bill you for the entire remaining lease term.

Abandonment

Under Section 27-40-730, if you abandon the unit, the landlord must make reasonable efforts to re-rent it. If you leave personal property behind with a fair market value of $500 or less, the landlord may enter the unit (using forcible entry if necessary) and dispose of it. For property worth more than $500, the landlord is only liable if they were grossly negligent in disposing of it.

8. Retaliation Protections

This is one of the strongest protections you have as a South Carolina tenant, and many renters don’t know about it.

Under Section 27-40-910, your landlord cannot retaliate against you for:

• Complaining to a government agency about building or housing code violations that materially affect health and safety
• Complaining to the landlord about violations of the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act

Retaliation can take the form of raising your rent above fair market value, decreasing essential services, or filing for eviction or refusing to renew your lease. All of it is prohibited.

What You Can Recover

If your landlord retaliates, you can use it as a defense in any eviction action. You can also recover damages: up to three months’ periodic rent or treble your actual damages, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney’s fees.

Non-Renewal Protection

If your landlord retaliates by refusing to renew your lease and you’re current on rent, the landlord cannot recover possession of the unit for 75 days. During that period, they also cannot raise rent above fair market value or decrease essential services while the possession dispute is pending.

The Flip Side

If you raise a retaliation defense in court and it turns out to be without merit, your landlord can recover reasonable attorney’s fees from you. If the defense is raised in bad faith, the landlord may recover up to three months’ rent or treble their actual damages.

9. Fair Housing Protections

South Carolina has its own fair housing law that works alongside federal protections.

South Carolina Fair Housing Law

The South Carolina Fair Housing Law (S.C. Code Title 31, Chapter 21) prohibits discrimination in housing based on:

• Race
• Color
• Religion
• Sex
• National origin
• Disability (handicap)
• Familial status (having children under 18)

This means your landlord cannot refuse to rent to you, charge you different terms, or provide different services based on any of these categories. They also can’t publish ads that indicate a preference based on these protected classes.

Where to File a Complaint

The South Carolina Human Affairs Commission (SCHAC) enforces the state’s fair housing law. You must file a complaint within 180 days of the discriminatory act. You can file online, by mail, or in person at their Columbia office. Call 803-737-7800 to speak with a Housing Intake Investigator.

Federal Protections

The federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 3601–3619) provides the same baseline protections and is enforced by HUD. You can file a federal complaint with HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity within one year of the discriminatory act.

What South Carolina Does Not Protect

Like many southern states, South Carolina’s fair housing law does not include protections based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or source of income at the state level. Some local jurisdictions may offer additional protections, but there’s no statewide mandate covering those categories.

10. Rent Control Status

South Carolina has no rent control. There is no state law limiting how much a landlord can raise your rent.

South Carolina also preempts local rent control — meaning cities and counties are prohibited from passing their own rent control ordinances. A municipality in South Carolina cannot enact or enforce any rule that controls the amount of rent charged for private residential property.

For month-to-month tenancies, your landlord can raise the rent with 30 days’ written notice. During a fixed-term lease, your rent can’t go up unless the lease specifically includes a rent escalation clause.

11. Small Claims Court

In South Carolina, small claims are handled by magistrate courts.

• Maximum claim amount: $7,500
• Where to file: The magistrate court in the county where the rental property is located
• Attorney optional: You can represent yourself

If your security deposit dispute is $7,500 or less, magistrate court is usually the fastest and cheapest way to resolve it. Bring your lease, photos of the unit at move-in and move-out, copies of correspondence with your landlord, and the itemized deduction statement (or proof that one was never provided). Given the treble damages provision in Section 27-40-410, even a modest deposit dispute can be worth pursuing.

12. Key South Carolina Statutes

Here’s a quick-reference table of the most important South Carolina landlord-tenant statutes. All are part of S.C. Code of Laws, Title 27, Chapter 40, unless otherwise noted.

13. Frequently Asked Questions

14. Sources and References

This guide is based on the following South Carolina statutes and legal resources. Laws can change — always verify current statutes through official sources.

South Carolina Statutes

• S.C. Code of Laws Title 27, Chapter 40 — Residential Landlord and Tenant Act
• S.C. Code of Laws Title 31, Chapter 21 — South Carolina Fair Housing Law

Federal Statutes

• Fair Housing Act — 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601–3619
• Servicemembers Civil Relief Act — 50 U.S.C. §§ 3901–4043

South Carolina Legal Aid

• South Carolina Legal Services — free civil legal services for low-income South Carolinians
• SC LawHelp — free legal information and resources for South Carolina residents
• SC Human Affairs Commission — Housing Discrimination Complaints

Federal Resources

• HUD Fair Housing Complaint Portal
• Nolo — South Carolina Landlord-Tenant Laws Overview

For tenant rights that apply nationwide, see our Tenant Rights Guide. Looking for another state? Browse our state landlord-tenant law directory. Not sure what a legal term means? Check our rental glossary.