South Carolina landlord and tenant rules

Seayora publishes 8 South Carolina rules, covering security deposits, notice periods, rent regulation, tenant protections, repairs, contractor sales tax. Every one is composed from the statute it cites and links to that statute on the state’s own code site.

South Carolina at a glance

RuleSouth Carolina
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in South Carolina?30 days
How many days does a tenant get to pay late rent in South Carolina?5 days to pay
How much notice does a landlord have to give before entering in South Carolina?24 hours
How much notice must a landlord give to end a tenancy in South Carolina?30 days
Is there rent control in South Carolina?Prohibited by state law
Can a landlord retaliate against a tenant for complaining in South Carolina?Prohibited; no set period
Can a tenant repair and deduct from rent in South Carolina?Essential services only; no repair and deduct
Do contractors charge sales tax in South Carolina?Consumer of materials

Security deposits in South Carolina

How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in South Carolina?

In South Carolina, a landlord has 30 days after the tenancy ends to return the security deposit, together with an itemised statement of any deductions. This is S.C. Code § 27-40-410.

Full answer and the checkable figures.

Notice periods in South Carolina

How many days does a tenant get to pay late rent in South Carolina?

In South Carolina, before starting a nonpayment case a landlord must serve a written notice giving the tenant 5 days to pay the rent due. This is S.C. Code §§ 27-40-770, 27-40-530, 27-40-710.

Thirty days' written notice ends a month-to-month tenancy. Entry: 24 hours, except in an emergency. Nonpayment: a five-day written notice to quit — but the landlord need not give it at all if the lease itself carries the exact warning set out in § 27-40-710(B). No statute sets a rent-increase notice period.

Full answer and the checkable figures.

How much notice does a landlord have to give before entering in South Carolina?

In South Carolina, a landlord must give 24 hours notice before entering an occupied rental, other than in an emergency. This is S.C. Code §§ 27-40-770, 27-40-530, 27-40-710.

Thirty days' written notice ends a month-to-month tenancy. Entry: 24 hours, except in an emergency. Nonpayment: a five-day written notice to quit — but the landlord need not give it at all if the lease itself carries the exact warning set out in § 27-40-710(B). No statute sets a rent-increase notice period.

Full answer and the checkable figures.

How much notice must a landlord give to end a tenancy in South Carolina?

In South Carolina, a landlord must give 30 days written notice to end a tenancy or decline to renew it. This is S.C. Code §§ 27-40-770, 27-40-530, 27-40-710.

Thirty days' written notice ends a month-to-month tenancy. Entry: 24 hours, except in an emergency. Nonpayment: a five-day written notice to quit — but the landlord need not give it at all if the lease itself carries the exact warning set out in § 27-40-710(B). No statute sets a rent-increase notice period.

Full answer and the checkable figures.

Rent regulation in South Carolina

Is there rent control in South Carolina?

No. South Carolina has no statewide rent control, and its cities and counties cannot simply adopt their own: no county or city may enact, maintain or enforce an ordinance or resolution that would regulate in any way the amount of rent charged for privately owned single-family, multiple-unit residential or commercial rental property. This is S.C. Code § 27-39-60.

Full answer and the checkable figures.

Tenant protections in South Carolina

Can a landlord retaliate against a tenant for complaining in South Carolina?

No. In South Carolina, a landlord may not retaliate by raising the rent above fair market value, cutting essential services, or bringing an eviction after a tenant complains to a code agency or to the landlord about a violation of the landlord-tenant act. A tenant who will raise the defense must tell the landlord in writing within ten days after being served, and a landlord who refuses to renew in retaliation may not recover possession for 75 days. Separately, the federal Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to threaten or interfere with anyone for exercising fair housing rights. This is S.C. Code § 27-40-910.

Full answer and the checkable figures.

Repairs in South Carolina

Can a tenant repair and deduct from rent in South Carolina?

Only for essential services. In South Carolina, if a landlord negligently or willfully fails to provide essential services, the tenant may give written notice and buy reasonable substitute services during the outage and deduct their cost from the rent, but the statute states that it does not authorize a tenant to make repairs and deduct their cost. Each step has to be followed as the statute sets it out, including the written notice and the waiting period, or the deduction can be treated as unpaid rent. This is S.C. Code § 27-40-630.

Full answer and the checkable figures.

Contractor sales tax in South Carolina

Do contractors charge sales tax in South Carolina?

In South Carolina a contractor is treated as the CONSUMER of the materials they build into real property. That means the contractor pays sales tax when they buy the materials, and does not add sales tax to the customer's invoice for that work — the tax is already inside the price. South Carolina also has county, city or special-district rates on top of the state rate, so the rate depends on where the job site is, not where the contractor is based. Source: S.C. Code §12-36-910; S.C. Rev. Rul. and Reg. 117-314 (contractors are the users of materials used to improve real property).

Full answer and the checkable figures.

Sources

  • S.C. Code § 27-39-60
  • S.C. Code § 27-40-410
  • S.C. Code § 27-40-630
  • S.C. Code § 27-40-910
  • S.C. Code §12-36-910; S.C. Rev. Rul. and Reg. 117-314 (contractors are the users of materials used to improve real property).
  • S.C. Code §§ 27-40-770, 27-40-530, 27-40-710

This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.

This is a summary of a state’s published guidance, not tax or legal advice. Rates and rules change, local jurisdictions add their own, and the treatment of a specific job depends on the contract and the work. Check the citation and speak to a CPA or a state tax adviser before relying on it.

How Seayora uses these rules

Security deposits. Seayora computes the deadline this rule sets from the tenancy’s own dates, shows it on the deposit statement, and reminds the landlord before it falls due — so the answer above is not reference material sitting beside the product, it is the rule the product enforces.

Notice periods. Seayora computes the notice this rule requires from the tenancy’s own dates — for a renewal offer, a rent increase or a served notice — and will not serve one that is short unless the owner records a reason. The answer above is the rule the product enforces.

Rent regulation. This page states whether the state lets its cities control rent, and any statewide limit on an increase, so a renewal can be checked before it is offered. In New York City, Seayora’s rent-increase advisor goes further: it computes the highest increase the Rent Guidelines Board order and the Good Cause standard allow for each apartment, with the law cited, and gives no number where the law is not verified.

Tenant protections. When an owner prepares an eviction in Seayora, it lists any repair request opened on the unit in the last 180 days that is still open, not to stop the case but because the tenant will raise retaliation and the owner should have an answer. Every repair request keeps the date it was filed.

Repairs. Every deadline on this page runs from the tenant’s notice. A repair request filed in Seayora keeps the date it was made and every update after it, on the website and both phone apps, so owner and tenant are working from the same date.

Contractor sales tax. Seayora resolves this rule on every invoice a contractor raises — per line, from the job site’s own address — and prints the rate, the jurisdiction and this citation on the document itself, so the estimate a customer accepts is the invoice they are billed. Where the rule is more nuanced than a single answer, Seayora refuses to guess a total rather than quoting a confident wrong one.

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