South Carolina Landlord-Tenant Law 2026: The Complete Handbook

Tenby is an AI-powered property management platform for independent landlords managing 1-50 rental units. Tenby's compliance engine is loaded with South Carolina-specific rules — security deposit deadlines, required disclosures, late fee limits, and eviction notice requirements — automatically enforced for every South Carolina property.

South Carolina's landlord-tenant relationship is governed by the South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (S.C. Code Chapter 27-40). South Carolina is one of the more landlord-friendly states in the country — no deposit cap, no late fee statute, no rent control — with a short list of technical requirements that are easy to meet and costly to miss. Here's everything you need to know.

Security deposits in South Carolina

Key details:

• There is no cap on the deposit amount
• The deposit (or an itemized statement of deductions) must be returned within 30 days after the tenant vacates (S.C. Code § 27-40-410)
• Multi-unit quirk: if you rent more than four adjoining units on the premises and apply different deposit-calculation standards to different tenants, those standards must be posted conspicuously or given to the prospective tenant in writing before the rental agreement is signed (S.C. Code § 27-40-410)

> Check your numbers: Use our free South Carolina security deposit calculator to verify your deposit handling and return deadline are compliant.

Eviction process in South Carolina

South Carolina evictions follow the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act's notice requirements. Self-help evictions (changing locks, removing belongings, shutting off utilities) are illegal — you must go through the court process.

Step 1: Serve proper notice

• For nonpayment, serve a 5-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Vacate (S.C. Code § 27-40-710(B))
• The tenant has a right to cure — paying the full amount owed within the 5 days ends the eviction
• To end a month-to-month tenancy, give 30 days' written notice (S.C. Code § 27-40-770)

Step 2: File the eviction action

If the tenant neither pays nor vacates, file the eviction action in the court serving the property's location.

Step 3: Hearing and judgment

Both parties present their case. If the court rules for the landlord, the judgment for possession is executed by law enforcement — never by the landlord personally.

Late fees in South Carolina

> Calculate your late fee: Use our free South Carolina late fee calculator to check if your proposed fee is compliant. Also try our prorated rent calculator for move-in/move-out calculations and rent estimate tool to see if your rent is at market rate.

South Carolina has no statutory grace period and no statutory cap on late fees. The fee must be authorized in the lease. Courts can refuse to enforce a fee that operates as a penalty, so keep it proportionate — a modest percentage of monthly rent is far more defensible than a punitive flat charge.

Landlord entry in South Carolina

• Give the tenant at least 24 hours' notice before entering (S.C. Code § 27-40-530)
• Emergencies (fire, flooding, gas leak, imminent danger) permit entry without notice
• Enter at reasonable times and log every entry

Required disclosures in South Carolina

South Carolina landlords must provide the following:

1. Lead paint disclosure — for properties built before 1978, disclose known lead-based paint hazards and provide the EPA "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home" pamphlet (federal requirement)
2. Landlord/agent identity — written disclosure at or before commencement of the name and address of an owner of the premises or a person authorized to act on the owner's behalf (agent for service of process and notices). If the person signing the lease fails to comply, that signer becomes the landlord's agent (S.C. Code § 27-40-420)
3. Unequal deposit standards notice — only when renting more than four adjoining units with different deposit-calculation standards for different tenants (S.C. Code § 27-40-410, see deposits section above)

Rent increase rules in South Carolina

• No rent control — South Carolina has no state or local rent control
• 30 days' notice to terminate a month-to-month tenancy (S.C. Code § 27-40-770), which effectively sets the minimum notice for rent increases on month-to-month tenancies
• Cannot raise rent during a fixed-term lease unless the lease includes a rent increase clause
• There is no cap on the amount of a rent increase

Maintenance obligations

Landlord must:

• Maintain the property in habitable condition
• Comply with applicable building and housing codes
• Keep plumbing, heating, electrical, and supplied appliances in good working order
• Maintain common areas
• Make repairs within a reasonable time after notice

Tenant must:

• Keep the unit clean and sanitary
• Use appliances and systems reasonably
• Not damage the property
• Not disturb neighbors
• Notify the landlord of needed repairs promptly

Tenant rights in South Carolina

Tenants in South Carolina have the right to:

• Habitable housing — the landlord must keep the premises fit and habitable
• Court remedies for repairs — South Carolina does not provide a statutory rent-withholding or repair-and-deduct remedy; tenants pursue habitability failures through the courts. Tenby's compliance database applies a 14-day repair window as the reasonable-repair benchmark
• Privacy — 24 hours' notice before landlord entry (S.C. Code § 27-40-530)
• Deposit protections — itemized deductions and the 30-day return deadline
• Domestic violence protections — under federal VAWA, tenants in certain federally subsidized housing have additional protections

How Tenby helps South Carolina landlords

Tenby's compliance engine handles South Carolina-specific requirements automatically:

• 30-day deposit return tracking with countdown alerts
• Unequal deposit standards detection — flags the § 27-40-410 posting requirement when you manage more than four adjoining units with different deposit standards
• § 27-40-420 identity disclosure built into lease creation
• 5-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Vacate timeline guidance with notice generation
• 24-hour entry notice logging
• 30-day notice tracking for month-to-month terminations and rent increases
• Late fee reasonableness guidance for lease drafting

The bottom line

South Carolina is a genuinely landlord-friendly state: no deposit cap, no late fee cap, no required grace period, no rent control, and a 5-day pay-or-quit notice with a straightforward court process. The compliance load reduces to a handful of technical steps — return the deposit with an itemized statement within 30 days, put the owner or agent's name and address in writing, give 24 hours' notice before entry, and (for larger multi-unit premises) post your deposit standards. Follow Chapter 27-40, document everything, and you'll avoid most legal issues.