Short answer: South Carolina landlord repair laws give you a 14-day written notice remedy: if the landlord does not fix a serious defect within 14 days of receiving it, the lease can end on the date you set (S.C. Code § 27-40-610). The statute expressly refuses to let tenants repair and deduct, although § 27-40-630 lets you buy essential services the landlord fails to provide and subtract that cost.
South Carolina’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, enacted in 1986, is blunt about self-help. Section 27-40-630(c) says that “under no circumstances” should it be read to authorize repairs by the tenant, and that a mechanic’s lien from repairs a tenant orders without consent is unenforceable. Your leverage comes from notice, termination, damages and a strong retaliation section instead.
South Carolina Landlord Repair Laws at a Glance
| Rule | South Carolina | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Landlord duties | Codes, fit and habitable, common areas, water, hot water, heat, systems and appliances | § 27-40-440(a) |
| Cure period after written notice | 14 days; lease ends at least 14 days after receipt if not fixed | § 27-40-610(a) |
| Repair and deduct | Expressly not authorized | § 27-40-630(c) |
| Essential services | Procure and deduct, or diminished-value damages plus attorney’s fees | § 27-40-630(a) |
| Rent withholding | None; rent keeps going to the landlord during an eviction defense | § 27-40-790 |
| Retaliation damages | Up to three months’ rent or treble damages, whichever is greater | § 27-40-910(h) |
| Entry notice | 24 hours; tenant-requested service visits 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. with announcement | § 27-40-530 |
The Landlord’s Duties in Section 27-40-440
S.C. Code § 27-40-440(a) requires a landlord to:
- comply with building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety;
- make all repairs and do whatever is reasonably necessary to keep the premises fit and habitable;
- keep common areas reasonably safe, and also reasonably clean in buildings with more than four units;
- make available running water, reasonable hot water at all times and reasonable heat, unless the building is not required to have them or the heat or hot water comes from tenant-controlled equipment on a direct utility hookup; and
- keep electrical, gas, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and other supplied facilities and appliances, including elevators, in reasonably good and safe working order.
One detail favors tenants: appliances in the unit are presumed to be supplied by the landlord unless the lease specifically excludes them, and nothing needed to provide essential services may be excluded. If your refrigerator came with the apartment and the lease is silent, the landlord must keep it working.
Who can be made responsible for repairs
The Act treats single-family houses differently. Under § 27-40-440(c), a landlord and tenant of a single-family residence may agree in writing that the tenant handles the facilities-and-appliances duty and specified repairs, if done in good faith. For any other unit, § 27-40-440(d) allows tenant repair agreements only in good faith, never for work needed to cure a code violation, and never in a way that reduces duties owed to other tenants.
The 14-Day Notice and Termination Remedy
When the landlord materially breaches the lease or violates § 27-40-440 in a way that materially affects health and safety or the physical condition of the property, § 27-40-610(a) lets you deliver a written notice that:
- specifies the acts and omissions that make up the breach; and
- states that the lease will end on a date at least 14 days after the landlord receives it if the breach is not fixed within 14 days.
The lease does not end if the landlord adequately fixes the problem before your date. For a problem that does not affect health and safety and cannot be fixed in 14 days, the lease also survives if the landlord starts within the 14 days and pursues the repair in good faith to completion within a reasonable time.
Suing for damages without a bond
Separately, § 27-40-610(b) lets you recover actual damages and get an injunction in magistrate’s or circuit court without posting bond, for any violation of the lease or § 27-40-440. When the landlord’s noncompliance is willful, you can also recover reasonable attorney’s fees.
Essential Services and the Repair-and-Deduct Ban
If the landlord negligently or willfully fails to provide essential services required by the lease or § 27-40-440, § 27-40-630(a) lets you give written notice and then either:
- procure reasonable amounts of the services during the landlord’s noncompliance and deduct the actual, reasonable cost from rent; or
- recover damages for the reduced fair-market rental value, plus reasonable attorney’s fees.
The line between buying a service and making a repair matters. Paying for space heaters or a hotel shower while the landlord restores heat or water fits § 27-40-630(a). Hiring a plumber to replace the water heater does not, because § 27-40-630(c) bars tenant repairs and deductions outright. Under § 27-40-630(d), these rights do not arise until you give notice and the landlord fails to act within a reasonable time, and not at all if you or a guest caused the condition.
If the landlord deliberately interrupts essential services, § 27-40-660 lets you recover possession or terminate and collect three months’ rent or twice your actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees. Chapter 27-40 sets no mold or lead rules, and mentions pests only to let landlords enter between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. for scheduled pest treatment under § 27-40-530(b)(2). For lead, federal law at 42 U.S.C. § 4852d requires lessors of covered older housing to give you an EPA pamphlet and disclose known lead-based paint hazards before you sign.
No Rent Withholding: What Section 27-40-790 Requires
South Carolina has no rent escrow for repairs, and holding back rent can backfire. If the landlord files for possession and you raise defenses or counterclaims, § 27-40-790 requires you to pay the landlord the rent owed before the rule to vacate or show cause issued, and all rent as it comes due afterward. When the dispute over the amount is based on the landlord’s violation, the court sets the rent at the unit’s fair-market rental value at the time of the hearing. If you do not comply, the court issues a warrant of ejectment.
📨 Get Free Tenant Rights Guides Alerts
Free · No spam · Unsubscribe anytime
What You Are Responsible For
§ 27-40-510 requires you to follow tenant code duties, keep your unit reasonably safe and clean, dispose of waste properly, keep plumbing fixtures reasonably clean, use facilities and appliances reasonably, and not deliberately or negligently damage the premises or knowingly let others do so. The Act bars termination under § 27-40-610(a)(2) and essential-services relief under § 27-40-630(d) for conditions you or your guests caused, and § 27-40-790 bars rent abatement for them.
Retaliation Protections
§ 27-40-910(a) bars a landlord from raising rent above fair-market value, cutting essential services, or suing for possession after you complain to a code agency about a health and safety violation or complain to the landlord about a violation of the Act. There is no fixed presumption window, and several rules shape the defense:
- You must notify the landlord in writing within ten days after service of the rule to vacate or show cause that you intend to raise retaliation, under § 27-40-910(f).
- If the landlord retaliates by refusing to renew and you are current on rent, § 27-40-910(g) bars recovery of possession for 75 days once you prove the violation and the landlord’s notice of it and of your complaint before the lease expired.
- A landlord with more than four adjoining units may raise rent uniformly, or up to fair-market value, without a retaliation presumption, under § 27-40-910(e).
- A retaliating landlord owes up to three months’ rent or treble damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees, under § 27-40-910(h). A meritless defense can cost you the landlord’s attorney’s fees.
Read more in our guide to landlord retaliation.
Worked Example: A Greenville Tenant and a Dead Air Conditioner
Angela rents a Greenville apartment for $1,250 a month. The lease does not exclude the wall air-conditioning unit, so under § 27-40-440(a)(5) it is presumed landlord-supplied. It fails during a July heat wave, and her landlord ignores phone calls.
On July 8 Angela sends a written notice by certified mail describing the failure and stating that the lease will end on July 31 if the unit is not repaired within 14 days. The landlord signs for it July 9, so the 14-day repair window closes July 23, and July 31 is more than 14 days after receipt. If nothing is fixed, the lease ends July 31 and her deposit becomes due back under § 27-40-410. She keeps paying rent through then, and she may sue for actual damages under § 27-40-610(b), but she may not hire a technician and deduct the bill.
Outline for a South Carolina Repair Notice
- Date, your name, the unit address and the landlord’s address.
- The specific acts or omissions, as § 27-40-610(a) requires.
- Whether the defect affects health and safety or an essential service.
- If you choose termination, the 14-day repair deadline and a termination date at least 14 days after receipt.
- Certified mail or another delivery you can prove.
Our repair request letter generator handles the drafting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I hire a plumber and take it off my South Carolina rent?
No. S.C. Code § 27-40-630(c) says the statute does not authorize tenants to make repairs and deduct the cost, and any mechanic’s lien from repairs a tenant orders without consent is unenforceable. Buying essential services, like temporary heat, is allowed under § 27-40-630(a).
Does my landlord have to fix the dishwasher?
If the dishwasher was in the unit and the lease does not specifically exclude it, § 27-40-440(a)(5) presumes the landlord supplied it, so it must be kept in reasonably good working order.
I asked for a repair. Can the maintenance worker come in without 24 hours’ notice?
Yes. Under § 27-40-530(b)(3), the landlord may enter between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. to provide services you requested, as long as they announce their intent before entering. Other non-emergency entries need 24 hours’ notice.
What deadline matters most if I’m sued after complaining?
Section 27-40-910(f) requires written notice to the landlord within ten days after service of the rule to vacate or show cause that you intend to raise a retaliation defense. Missing it can undercut the defense.
Send your 14-day notice by a method that proves the date of receipt, since every deadline in § 27-40-610 runs from that day. This page is general information, not legal advice; for help, contact South Carolina Legal Services or use LSC’s legal aid finder. Compare states on our repairs and habitability hub, and if you move out, see your South Carolina security deposit rights.