Quick Answer
South Carolina landlord tenant laws are set primarily by the South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, S.C. Code Title 27, Chapter 40.
Unlike most states, South Carolina has no statutory cap on security deposits, though the full amount must be returned within 30 days of move-out with an itemized list of deductions, and bad-faith withholding can trigger up to three times the amount owed. Nonpayment evictions require a 5-day notice to pay or quit, and lease violations require a 14-day notice to cure.
Landlords must give at least 24 hours’ notice before entering for non-emergency reasons, and there’s no rent control anywhere in the state, nor is any locality allowed to create it.
Understanding the South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act
The SCRLTA governs most residential leases in South Carolina, and it’s more landlord-friendly than many states on a few specific points: no deposit cap, no late fee cap, no rent control, and a lease can’t waive the tenant’s rights under the Act even if both parties sign off on it. The full text is available directly from the South Carolina Legislature’s official Code of Laws, Title 27, Chapter 40.
One genuinely new development worth knowing about: in June 2026, South Carolina enacted H.3387, creating a fast, separate court process specifically for removing unauthorized occupants, people with no lease or tenancy at all, distinct from the standard eviction process used against an actual tenant. It doesn’t change anything about how you evict a paying or non-paying tenant, but it’s worth understanding the difference, since using the wrong process against the wrong situation is a real, avoidable mistake. More on that below.
Security Deposits in South Carolina
South Carolina doesn’t cap the amount a landlord can charge for a security deposit, one of the few states with no statutory maximum at all. Most South Carolina landlords still charge somewhere around one to two months’ rent, since an unusually high deposit can deter prospective tenants even though nothing in the law prevents it.
What the law does regulate closely is the return. Once the tenancy ends and the tenant has vacated, the landlord has 30 days to return the deposit along with a written, itemized statement of any deductions for unpaid rent or damage beyond normal wear and tear. There’s no requirement to hold the deposit in a separate or interest-bearing account.
If a landlord fails to comply, or withholds the deposit in bad faith, a court can award the tenant up to three times the amount wrongfully withheld. RentRedi’s guide to security deposits covers how to document a unit’s move-in condition so deductions hold up, and our recordkeeping guide covers keeping deposit funds properly separated even though South Carolina doesn’t require it.
Rent, Late Fees, and Rent Increases
South Carolina has no rent control, and state law specifically bars any county or municipality from enacting an ordinance that would create it. There’s also no statutory cap on late fees and no mandatory grace period, though a fee still has to be written into the lease and reasonable, courts can strike down a fee that functions as a penalty rather than a genuine estimate of cost. A bounced rent check carries a separate, capped fee of up to $30.
The Act doesn’t set a rent-increase-specific notice period. In practice, raising rent on a month-to-month tenancy means using the same 30-day notice that applies to ending or renewing that tenancy, and a week-to-week tenancy uses 7 days.
A fixed-term lease locks in rent for the term unless the lease itself allows a change. In RentRedi’s own 2025 survey with BiggerPockets, units with tenants on autopay hit a 99% on-time rent rate, compared to 87% for units without it, which matters more in a state where a nonpayment notice period is only 5 days.
Notice to Enter and Tenant Privacy
South Carolina requires at least 24 hours’ notice before a landlord enters for a non-emergency reason, such as an inspection, repair, or showing, and entry has to happen at reasonable times. No notice is required in a genuine emergency.
Essential Services and Repairs
If a landlord fails to provide an essential service, like heat or water, a tenant who gives proper notice can arrange for a reasonable substitute and deduct the cost from rent, or seek damages based on the reduced value of the unit. South Carolina doesn’t provide a general repair-and-deduct remedy for ordinary, non-essential repairs, those disputes typically go through the courts rather than self-help.
Evictions in South Carolina: Notices and Process
South Carolina calls its eviction process an “ejectment” action, and it runs through the magistrate court for the county where the property sits.
| Situation | Required notice | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Nonpayment of rent | 5-day notice to pay or quit | S.C. Code § 27-40-710(B) |
| Curable lease violation or health/safety noncompliance | 14-day notice, terminating if not cured within 14 days | S.C. Code § 27-40-710(A) |
| Illegal activity on the premises | Unconditional notice to quit, no right to cure, immediate filing | S.C. Code § 27-40-710(B) |
| Ending a week-to-week tenancy | 7 days’ written notice | S.C. Code § 27-40-770(a) |
| Ending a month-to-month tenancy | 30 days’ written notice | S.C. Code § 27-40-770(b) |
South Carolina has a feature most states don’t: the 5-day nonpayment notice can be pre-satisfied by conspicuous language written directly into the lease itself, rather than served separately every time rent goes unpaid. A lease that includes the statutory language (to the effect of “if you do not pay your rent within five days of the due date, the landlord can start to have you evicted”) lets a landlord move straight to filing once the 5 days have passed, without serving a fresh notice each time. Most leases don’t use this, so it’s worth checking whether yours does.
If the tenant doesn’t comply, the landlord files for ejectment in magistrate court, which issues a Rule to Vacate or Show Cause. The tenant then has 10 days to respond; if they don’t, the magistrate issues a warrant of ejectment. RentRedi’s guide to evicting a tenant walks through the filing and hearing process in more detail, and our eviction letter guide covers what a notice needs to say to hold up in court. The 30-day notice for ending a month-to-month tenancy runs both directions, and our 30-day notice to vacate guide covers what that looks like from the tenant’s side.
Removing an Unauthorized Occupant vs. Evicting a Tenant
This is the distinction South Carolina’s new law makes more important than it used to be. Everything above, the 5-day and 14-day notices, the ejectment process, applies to someone with an actual tenancy, a lease, an agreement to pay rent, some record of permission to be there. It does not apply to someone who never had a tenancy in the first place.
For that second situation, South Carolina’s new H.3387, signed into law in June 2026, creates a fast, ex parte court process: a property owner files a verified petition, and on a showing of good cause, the court can order an enforcement official to remove the unauthorized occupant, without the standard notice periods a real tenant is entitled to. It’s worth being precise here, because using the wrong process is a real risk in both directions: applying the tenant-eviction process to a true trespasser wastes time the new law doesn’t require, and applying the fast unauthorized-occupant process to someone who has some claim to tenancy, say, a previous roommate a landlord accepted rent from, can backfire badly. If there’s any ambiguity about whether someone is a tenant or a trespasser, that’s worth resolving with an attorney before choosing a process.
Separately, actual adverse possession, a squatter gaining a real legal claim to property, requires 10 years of continuous occupancy in South Carolina, not 30 days, despite a persistent online myth to the contrary.
A South Carolina Landlord’s Lease Without the Waiver Language
Consider a landlord like Denise, a common scenario for anyone managing a handful of South Carolina units rather than a specific customer. Denise’s tenant is 8 days late on rent, and Denise assumes she can go straight to filing for eviction since the notice period is only 5 days.
She can’t, not yet. Her lease doesn’t include the conspicuous notice-waiver language, which means she still has to serve a separate written 5-day notice before she can file, even though 8 days have already passed since rent was due. The rent being late doesn’t start the clock, serving the notice does. It’s a one-time fix: adding the statutory language to her lease template means she won’t have to think about it again on future notices.
Common Mistakes South Carolina Landlords Make
Assuming No Deposit Cap Means No Rules
South Carolina’s lack of a deposit cap doesn’t relax the return requirements. The 30-day return window and itemized-deduction rule apply regardless of how large the deposit was, and bad-faith withholding risk triples with the deposit amount.
Skipping the Separate 5-Day Notice
Without the specific conspicuous-language waiver in the lease, every nonpayment situation needs its own written 5-day notice. Assuming the statute itself is enough, without the lease language, is a common and avoidable delay.
Using the Wrong Process for an Unauthorized Occupant
South Carolina’s new expedited removal process is for people who were never tenants. Using it against someone with an actual, if informal, tenancy, or using the standard eviction process against a true trespasser, both create unnecessary complications.
Treating “No Late Fee Cap” as “No Late Fee Scrutiny”
A late fee still has to be written into the lease and has to hold up as reasonable, not punitive. An aggressive flat fee or daily accrual can be struck down even without a specific number in the statute to violate.
FAQ
South Carolina is more hands-off than many states in a few specific areas, deposits, late fees, rent control, and that flexibility is exactly where landlords tend to make assumptions worth double-checking.
What rights do renters have in South Carolina?
Tenants have the right to a habitable dwelling, a security deposit returned within 30 days with an itemized accounting, at least 24 hours’ notice before non-emergency entry, and the full notice period before eviction, 5 days for nonpayment or 14 days for most lease violations. Tenants are also protected from retaliation for exercising a legal right, such as reporting a habitability issue.
How hard is it to evict a tenant in South Carolina?
Compared to many states, the process is relatively fast: a 5-day notice for nonpayment or 14 days for a lease violation, then an ejectment filing in magistrate court. An uncontested case can often resolve in a matter of weeks. A contested case, or one requiring a hearing, takes longer, and the specific timeline depends on the court’s docket.
How much notice does a landlord have to give in South Carolina?
It depends on the reason. Nonpayment of rent requires 5 days’ notice, a curable lease violation requires 14 days, and illegal activity on the premises allows an unconditional notice with no cure period at all. Ending a week-to-week tenancy requires 7 days, and a month-to-month tenancy requires 30 days.
Is South Carolina a landlord-friendly state?
In several respects, yes: no security deposit cap, no late fee cap, no rent control, and a comparatively short 5-day nonpayment notice. That doesn’t mean unregulated, tenants still have real protections around habitability, deposit returns, entry notice, and retaliation, and the eviction process still has to go through the courts.
How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in South Carolina?
There’s no statutory limit. Most landlords charge one to two months’ rent as a practical norm, since a very high deposit can deter tenants even without a legal cap preventing it. Whatever the amount, it must be returned within 30 days of move-out with an itemized list of deductions.
Can a landlord skip the 5-day eviction notice in South Carolina?
Only if the lease already contains specific, conspicuous language satisfying the statutory notice in advance. If it does, a landlord can move directly to filing once 5 days have passed without paying rent, no separate notice required for that lease term. Without that language, a fresh written notice is required each time.
Does South Carolina’s new squatter law apply to evicting a tenant?
No. The new expedited removal process created by H.3387 in 2026 is specifically for people with no tenancy at all, it doesn’t replace or shorten the standard 5-day and 14-day notices that apply to an actual tenant. Using the eviction process for a true unauthorized occupant, or the new expedited process for someone with a real tenancy claim, both risk complications.
Conclusion
South Carolina hands landlords more flexibility than most states on deposits, late fees, and rent control, but that flexibility comes with a short list of technical requirements, the 30-day deposit return, the lease-language nuance on nonpayment notices, and now the distinction between an actual tenant and an unauthorized occupant, that are easy to get wrong on a first pass. Read more of our state landlord tenant law guides here.
Next steps:
- Check whether your lease includes the conspicuous 5-day notice-waiver language, and add it if it doesn’t.
- Review your deposit-return process against the 30-day, itemized-statement requirement, regardless of how large the deposit is.
- If you’re managing South Carolina units without a system that keeps notice periods and deposit deadlines current automatically, see how RentRedi handles rent collection, lease e-signatures, and deposit tracking in one place.