South Carolina Landlord-Tenant Law: The Complete 2026 Guide

The most expensive sentence in South Carolina rental law is a short one: a landlord who withholds a security deposit in bad faith owes the tenant three times the amount wrongfully kept, plus attorney's fees (S.C. Code § 27-40-410). Keep $1,500 you can't document and the judgment can read $4,500 before the lawyer's bill lands on top. Most of the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act is friendly to owners; that one provision turns sloppy bookkeeping into real money.

Here's how the act works in practice for 2026, statute by statute, ending with the two laws Columbia actually passed this session. The condensed version lives on our South Carolina quick-reference page, and the full text sits in Title 27, Chapter 40 on the State House site.

Deposits: no cap, one 30-day clock, and a treble-damages stick

South Carolina puts no ceiling on security deposits. Charge one month or three; the Charleston and Greenville markets will push back before the law does. There's no escrow mandate and no interest owed, either. All the regulation sits on the way out.

The return deadline is 30 days, but the clock starts later than most owners assume: it runs from termination of the tenancy, delivery of possession, and the tenant's demand, whichever comes last (§ 27-40-410). Inside that window you owe the balance plus a written, itemized accounting of every deduction. Miss it, or deduct things you can't back up, and you're arguing with the treble-damages provision above.

One rule regularly blindsides multi-property owners: rent more than four adjoining units and calculate deposits differently across tenants, and you must post the calculation standards conspicuously (or hand each applicant a written statement) before signing (§ 27-40-410). Skip that and the difference between a tenant's deposit and your lowest comparable one becomes untouchable for damage deductions.

Out-of-state habits are worth unlearning here. Florida runs a split 15-or-30-day deposit timeline, and Delaware caps most deposits outright, so a portfolio that crosses state lines needs separate clocks. Rentari tracks the 30-day deadline per lease so the treble math stays hypothetical.

Entry: 24 hours, plus two service windows written into the statute

Outside a genuine emergency, you owe at least 24 hours' notice and may enter only at reasonable times (§ 27-40-530). South Carolina then does something few states do: it pre-clears two standing windows. You may enter between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. for regularly scheduled periodic services (think filter changes or pest treatment) if the lease says so conspicuously, and between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. for work the tenant asked for.

The same section bans using access to harass. A tenant who unreasonably refuses lawful entry is in breach; a landlord who shows up unannounced on repeat is too.

Two disclosures round out move-in paperwork. Before the tenancy starts, give the tenant, in writing, the name and address of the owner or the person authorized to manage and accept notices (§ 27-40-420). And for any building permitted before 1978, federal rules add the lead-based paint disclosure and EPA pamphlet.

Rent and late fees: your lease does the talking

Rent is due without demand or notice at the time and place the agreement sets; absent an agreement, it's payable at the unit at the start of each month (§ 27-40-310). There's no statutory grace period and no cap on late fees. Courts still expect a fee that looks like compensation rather than punishment, so keep it proportionate, in writing, and consistently enforced.

Raising rent has no dedicated statute either. On a month-to-month, the working tool is the 30-day termination power in § 27-40-770: give the increase at least 30 days before a rental period ends, and a tenant who stays has accepted it. On fixed terms, wait for renewal.

Rent control is off the table everywhere in the state: since 1985, no South Carolina county or municipality may regulate what private residential property rents for (§ 27-39-60).

The eviction path: five days, fourteen days, ten more, then 24 hours

For nonpayment, the lease can terminate once rent is five days past due, but only after written notice of nonpayment and your intent to end the agreement. Here's the twist that makes South Carolina unusual: one properly worded lease clause satisfies that notice forever (§ 27-40-710). The statutory language:

This is your notice. If you do not pay your rent within five days of the due date, the landlord can start to have you evicted.

If that sentence (or its substantial equivalent) appears conspicuously in a written lease, you never owe a separate five-day letter, even after the original term expires. If it doesn't, send the notice and wait out the five days before filing.

For other material breaches, serve a written notice specifying the conduct; the agreement ends no less than 14 days later unless the tenant cures within those 14 days (§ 27-40-710). Ending a month-to-month without cause takes 30 days' written notice from either side; a week-to-week takes seven (§ 27-40-770).

The courtroom phase moves through magistrate court under the ejectment chapter. On your application, the magistrate issues a rule requiring the tenant to vacate or show cause within ten days of service (§ 27-37-20). No response, or a losing one, produces a writ of ejectment; the constable presents it and gives occupants 24 hours to leave voluntarily (§ 27-37-160). Uncontested cases can wrap in under a month; a contested hearing or appeal stretches that.

What you cannot do is shortcut the process. Change locks, kill the power, or haul belongings to the curb and the tenant may recover possession or walk away, plus collect three months' periodic rent or twice actual damages, whichever is greater, with attorney's fees (§ 27-40-660). Retaliating against a tenant for a code complaint or joining a tenant organization is separately prohibited (§ 27-40-910).

Habitability: what tenants can, and can't, throw back at you

You're required to comply with housing codes materially affecting health and safety, keep the unit fit and habitable, and maintain common areas and essential systems (§ 27-40-440). Breach it materially and the tenant's main lever is a 14-day letter of their own: cure the problem (or start in good faith) within 14 days or the lease terminates (§ 27-40-610).

When essential services fail, a tenant may buy reasonable substitutes during the outage and deduct the actual cost from rent (§ 27-40-630). Your own noncompliance is also a defense to your possession or rent action (§ 27-40-640), which is the practical reason to fix first and file second.

Note what's missing: South Carolina has no general repair-and-deduct right. Outside essential services, a tenant who hires a handyman and shorts the rent is in breach, not self-help heaven.

What Columbia changed in 2024-2026

Two real changes came out of the 2025-2026 session, both late:

• Squatter removals got a fast lane. H. 3387 (Act No. 252), signed June 30, 2026 and effective immediately, lets a property owner file a verified petition with the magistrate or clerk of court and obtain an immediate ex parte order removing an unlawful occupant of a residential dwelling, with a hearing to follow within 24 hours, plus new criminal penalties for defiant occupants and for property damage. It applies to people with no landlord-tenant relationship; it is not a substitute for evicting a tenant.
• Eviction records will seal after seven years. H. 4270, signed in May 2026 and effective January 1, 2027, removes settled or resolved eviction cases from the public index seven years after filing if nothing new has been filed. Expect older filings to drop off screening reports through 2027.

Also worth knowing what did not pass: H. 3346, which would have capped rent increases at 7% plus CPI with 90 days' notice, and H. 3232, a mold remediation bill, were introduced in January 2025 and have not become law. If a blog told you South Carolina now limits rent increases, it's describing a bill, not a statute.

State-specific notice templates, including the five-day lease language above, live in our forms library. For a rent-regulated contrast two time zones away, the Washington, D.C. guide shows how different this can look.

South Carolina landlord FAQ

Do I owe interest on deposits or need a separate account?

No and no. Section 27-40-410 regulates the return, not the holding. Keeping deposits segregated is still smart accounting, but the statute doesn't require it and no interest accrues to the tenant.

Is there a grace period before I can charge a late fee?

Not by statute. The five-day window in § 27-40-710 is an eviction prerequisite, not a fee rule. If you want a grace period, write one into the lease along with the fee itself.

Do I really never have to send a five-day notice?

Only if your written lease contains the conspicuous statutory language quoted above (or a substantial equivalent). Oral leases and leases missing the clause need a written five-day notice before you file each nonpayment case.

Can Charleston, Columbia, or Greenville add their own rent rules?

Not on price. Rent regulation by any county or municipality has been barred since 1985 (§ 27-39-60). Local code enforcement still governs property condition, so inspection practice varies city to city.

Does the new squatter law help me remove a tenant who stopped paying?

No. Act 252 expressly targets occupants who never had a tenancy. A holdover or nonpaying tenant still goes through § 27-40-710 notice and magistrate ejectment.

This is general information for South Carolina rental owners, not legal advice. Statutes get amended and magistrates apply them to facts a summary can't predict, so read the current text of Title 27 or talk to a South Carolina landlord-tenant attorney before you act on a deadline.