South Carolina landlord-tenant law.

Security deposits

Deposit limit. The Residential Landlord and Tenant Act sets no statutory cap on the deposit amount a landlord may charge (S.C. Code Title 27, Chapter 40)

Getting it back. Landlord must return the deposit within 30 days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession, with written itemization of any deductions for unpaid rent or damages; wrongful withholding lets the tenant recover three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney's fees (S.C. Code 27-40-410)

Late fees and rent

No statutory cap or mandatory grace period; the Act defines rent to include late charges but does not restrict their amount, so any fee must be stated in the lease (S.C. Code Title 27, Chapter 40)

Ending a tenancy

Nonpayment of rent. If rent is unpaid when due, the landlord may give written notice of intent to terminate if the rent is not paid within 5 days of the due date; a specific statutory warning notice included in the lease can satisfy this requirement for the full lease term rather than notice-by-notice (S.C. Code 27-40-710)

Month-to-month termination. Either party may terminate by giving the other written notice at least 30 days before the stated termination date (S.C. Code Title 27, Chapter 40)

Landlord entry

Landlord must give at least 24 hours' notice and may enter only at reasonable times for inspection or repairs; no notice is required in an emergency, and entry between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. for regularly scheduled periodic services is allowed if the right is conspicuously stated in writing in the lease with prior announcement (S.C. Code Title 27, Chapter 40)

Required disclosures

• Federal lead-based paint disclosure and EPA pamphlet for units built before 1978 (42 U.S.C. 4852d)
• Name and address of the owner of the premises, or of the person authorized to act on the owner's behalf, for service of process and receiving notices (S.C. Code Title 27, Chapter 40)

Lease clauses that do not hold up

• Clauses requiring the tenant to waive or forego rights or remedies under the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act
• Confession-of-judgment clauses
• Clauses requiring the tenant to indemnify the landlord for liability arising under the law (violation lets the tenant recover actual damages plus an amount up to the security deposit and attorney's fees, or up to three months' rent if the violation was willful)

Notes for landlords

South Carolina lets a landlord fold the mandatory nonpayment warning language directly into the lease itself, which then covers every future rent default for that tenancy without a fresh notice each time; this is a lighter compliance burden than states requiring a separate demand letter per default. The Act sets no cap on deposit size or late fees, so those terms are largely left to the lease as long as they are not unconscionable.

Sources

• https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t27c040.php