South Carolina Tenant Rights: No Lockouts, No Repair-and-Deduct

By Steve Levine · Updated November 3, 2026

Short answer: South Carolina tenant rights rest on the South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, S.C. Code Title 27, Chapter 40, which forbids lockouts, requires 24 hours’ notice before most landlord entries, and makes a landlord who wrongfully keeps your deposit pay three times the amount withheld. What it does not give you is a right to fix things yourself and subtract the bill: S.C. Code § 27-40-630(c) says outright that tenants may not repair and deduct.

That one sentence shapes almost every repair dispute in the state. Your leverage comes from written notices, a 14-day termination right, a narrow essential-services remedy, and magistrate court. Evictions are fast, too. Once a magistrate signs a rule to vacate or show cause, you have 10 days to respond. Compare other states on our tenant rights by state hub.

South Carolina Tenant Rights: Quick Reference

Rule	South Carolina	Statute
Deposit cap	None set by statute	§ 27-40-410
Deposit return	30 days after the tenancy ends and you deliver possession and make a demand, whichever is later	§ 27-40-410(a)
Deposit penalty	Three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney’s fees	§ 27-40-410(b)
Entry notice	At least 24 hours, with exceptions for emergencies and announced service visits	§ 27-40-530
Repair and deduct	Not allowed; only essential services may be bought and deducted	§ 27-40-630
Rent control	Counties and cities barred from regulating private rents	§ 27-39-60
Late rent	Landlord may terminate if rent is unpaid 5 days after the due date, after written notice	§ 27-40-710(B)
Month-to-month	30 days’ written notice by either side (7 days week-to-week)	§ 27-40-770
Lockout or shutoff	Three months’ rent or twice actual damages, whichever is greater, plus fees	§ 27-40-660
Eviction response	10 days after service of the rule to vacate or show cause	§ 27-37-20

Which Rentals the Act Covers

The Act reaches most ordinary house and apartment leases, written or oral. S.C. Code § 27-40-120 carves out nine arrangements: residence in an institution tied to medical, educational, counseling, religious or similar care; occupancy under a contract to buy the home; fraternal or social organization housing; hotel and motel stays subject to the accommodations tax; employee housing conditioned on work at the property; condo owners and cooperative proprietary lessees; farm rentals used mainly for agriculture; vacation time shares; and charitable or emergency shelters.

You cannot sign these rights away. Under § 27-40-330, a lease clause waiving your rights under the chapter, authorizing a confession of judgment, or excusing the landlord’s legal liability is unenforceable. A landlord who knowingly uses such a clause and tries to enforce it owes your actual damages, an extra amount up to the security deposit, and attorney’s fees.

Security Deposits in Brief

South Carolina sets no ceiling on how much a landlord can collect. The protection is on the back end. Within 30 days after the tenancy ends and you have delivered possession and demanded the deposit, whichever comes later, the landlord must send a written, itemized list of deductions with any balance, per § 27-40-410(a). Give a forwarding address in writing. If you skip that step and the landlord mails the notice to your last known address without knowing where you went, you lose the damages claim.

When the landlord fails to return money as required, § 27-40-410(b) lets you recover three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney’s fees. Deductions are limited to unpaid rent and damage from breaching your duties under § 27-40-510. Our South Carolina security deposit law guide covers the details, including the rule for landlords with more than four adjoining units.

Habitability Without Repair-and-Deduct

Your landlord’s duties are listed in § 27-40-440(a). They include complying with building and housing codes that materially affect health and safety, making repairs needed to keep the home fit and habitable, keeping common areas reasonably safe, supplying running water, reasonable hot water and reasonable heat, and keeping electrical, gas, plumbing, heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems and supplied appliances in safe working order. Appliances in the unit are presumed to be the landlord’s to maintain unless the lease specifically excludes them.

A single-family-home lease can shift some maintenance to you in writing, but only in good faith, under § 27-40-440(c).

The 14-day notice

Under § 27-40-610(a), if the landlord’s failure materially affects health, safety or the physical condition of the property, you can deliver a written notice describing the problem and stating that the lease will end on a date at least 14 days after the landlord receives it unless the breach is fixed. A landlord who repairs in time keeps the lease alive. You cannot terminate over damage you, your family or your guests caused. Section 27-40-610(b) separately lets you sue in magistrate or circuit court for actual damages and an injunction without posting bond, with attorney’s fees if the noncompliance was willful.

Essential services only

Section 27-40-630 covers a negligent or willful failure to supply essential services such as heat or water. After written notice and a reasonable time, you may either buy reasonable amounts of the service and deduct the actual cost from rent, or recover damages based on the drop in the unit’s fair rental value plus attorney’s fees. Subsection (c) then draws the line: it does not authorize repairs, and a mechanic’s lien from repairs you order without consent is unenforceable.

Withholding rent is risky. In a possession case where you raise defenses, § 27-40-790 requires you to keep paying rent as it comes due after the rule issues. South Carolina Legal Services’ repairs brochure walks through the notice letter. See also what to do when a landlord won’t make repairs.

Landlord Entry and Privacy

Section 27-40-530(c) requires at least 24 hours’ notice of the landlord’s intent to enter, and entry only at reasonable times. Three exceptions in subsection (b) allow entry without your consent: an emergency at any time, which can include approaching weather likely to endanger the property; regularly scheduled services such as filter changes or pest treatment between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., if the lease conspicuously says so and the landlord announces the entry; and services you requested, between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., again with an announcement.

You may not unreasonably refuse entry for repairs or showings, and the landlord may not use access to harass you; § 27-40-780 gives either side a court remedy.

Rent Increases and Local Rent Control

No South Carolina statute caps rent or sets a notice period for an increase. Local rent control is off the table: § 27-39-60 bars counties and cities from enacting or enforcing any ordinance that regulates the amount of rent on privately owned residential property, though they may regulate their own housing and sign rent agreements with private owners. During a fixed-term lease, the rent stays where the lease puts it. On a month-to-month tenancy, the practical floor is the 30 days’ written notice either party must give to end the arrangement under § 27-40-770(b).

Late Fees and the Five-Day Window

The Act sets no grace period or cap on late fees. It treats late charges as part of “rent” in the definitions at § 27-40-210, so whatever your lease says about the fee is where the limit lives. The five-day figure people associate with South Carolina is about termination, not fees. Under § 27-40-710(B), if rent is unpaid five days after the due date, the landlord may end the lease after giving written notice of nonpayment.

That notice can be given only once per lease term. It can also be printed in the lease itself: a conspicuous clause headed “IF YOU DO NOT PAY YOUR RENT ON TIME” satisfies the requirement and carries over into a month-to-month tenancy afterward.

Eviction in South Carolina

Rule to vacate or show cause

Evictions are called ejectments and run through magistrate court. Under S.C. Code § 27-37-20, the magistrate issues a written rule requiring you to vacate or appear and show cause within 10 days after service. If you do not respond in that window, § 27-37-40 directs the magistrate to issue a writ of ejectment. If you contest, § 27-37-60 has the magistrate hear it like any civil case, and either side may demand a jury under § 27-37-80.

South Carolina Legal Services’ eviction explainer stresses requesting a hearing even if you plan to move, because silence means default. Bring any retaliation defense in writing within those 10 days, as § 27-40-910(f) requires. Our eviction process by state page compares timelines.

After judgment

When the writ is executed, § 27-37-160 requires the constable or deputy to give you 24 hours to leave voluntarily before a forced removal. An appeal does not stop the eviction unless you post the bond the magistrate sets, and § 27-37-130 dismisses the appeal if that bond is not filed within five days after service of the notice of appeal.

No lockouts or shutoffs

Under § 27-40-760, a landlord may not retake the unit by any route the chapter does not permit, including deliberately cutting essential services. If a landlord removes you, locks you out or interrupts utilities on purpose, § 27-40-660 lets you get back in or end the lease and recover three months’ rent or twice your actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees.

Retaliation and Fair Housing

Section 27-40-910 bars a landlord from raising rent above fair-market value, cutting essential services, or suing for possession because you complained to a code agency about a health or safety violation or complained to the landlord about a violation of the Act. There is no fixed presumption period. The protection does not apply if you caused the code violation, are in material breach, or the repairs would require removing you from the unit. A landlord with more than four adjoining units may raise rent uniformly or to market without a presumption of retaliation.

The South Carolina Fair Housing Law, Title 31, Chapter 21, prohibits refusing to rent to you or setting different terms because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin. State law adds no protection for source of income, such as housing vouchers. Complaints go to the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission within 180 days of the discriminatory act, and a civil suit must be filed within one year.

Breaking a Lease Early

South Carolina added a domestic violence exit in 2026. Under § 27-40-350, effective May 18, 2026, a “protected tenant” may end future lease obligations without early-termination fees by giving written notice within 60 days of a documented qualifying incident. The termination takes effect on the date in the notice, at least 30 days after the landlord receives it. The incident must involve a perpetrator who is also on the lease, documented by a restraining order, order of protection or conviction. Co-tenants stay liable for the rent.

Service members can end a lease under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. § 3955, after permanent change-of-station orders or deployment of at least 90 days. On a monthly lease, termination takes effect 30 days after the next rent due date following notice.

For everyone else, mitigation is your safety net. If you leave early, § 27-40-730(c) requires the landlord to make reasonable efforts to re-rent at a fair rental, and a new tenancy ends your lease as of its start date. See how to break a lease for a step-by-step approach.

Example: Marisol’s Broken Air Conditioner in Rock Hill

Marisol rents a duplex in Rock Hill for $1,250 a month. On July 1, the central air dies during a heat wave, and the appliance list in her lease does not exclude it. She emails and also hand-delivers a written notice on July 2 citing § 27-40-440(a)(5) and stating that her lease will end on July 17, more than 14 days out, unless the system is repaired.

She does not hire her own technician and subtract the bill, because § 27-40-630(c) forbids it. The contractor fixes it on July 12, so the lease continues. Had the landlord ignored her, she could have moved out on July 17 and claimed her deposit under § 27-40-410, or sued for damages under § 27-40-610(b).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I withhold rent in South Carolina if my landlord won’t fix things?

The Act creates no general rent-withholding right. If you are sued for possession and raise defenses, § 27-40-790 requires you to keep paying rent as it comes due. Your safer tools are the 14-day termination notice and a damages suit under § 27-40-610.

Does my lease’s late-rent paragraph replace an eviction notice?

It can. Section 27-40-710(B) treats a conspicuous “IF YOU DO NOT PAY YOUR RENT ON TIME” clause in the lease as the written notice, so the landlord may file once rent is five days late without sending a separate letter. That clause also carries into a month-to-month tenancy after the lease ends.

How long do I have after the deputy posts the writ?

Section 27-37-160 gives occupants 24 hours to leave voluntarily after the writ is presented or posted. After that, a deputy sheriff may enter and remove occupants. Post an appeal bond quickly if you plan to appeal, because an appeal without one does not stop the ejectment.

Who qualifies for the domestic violence lease exit?

Under the definitions added to § 27-40-210 in 2026, the abuser and the victim must both be on the same lease, and the abuse must be documented by a restraining order, order of protection or conviction. You must give notice within 60 days of the incident.

Getting Help in South Carolina

If you have received a rule to vacate or show cause, call the magistrate court listed on it and request a hearing within the 10 days. Then contact South Carolina Legal Services, the statewide legal aid program. This guide is general information, not legal advice. To find another free program, use LSC’s get legal help locator.

Sources

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