South Carolina Residential Lease Agreement

• No statewide deposit limit. The landlord must return the deposit, with a written itemized notice of any deductions, within 30 days after the tenancy ends, possession is delivered and the tenant asks for it, whichever is later. A landlord who fails can owe three times the amount wrongfully kept plus attorney fees (S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410).

Reviewed 5 Oct 2026 · S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410

Reviewed 5 Oct 2026 · S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410

• Written notice given at least thirty days before the termination date specified in the notice (27-40-770(B)); either party.

Quoted from the source: “terminate a month-to-month tenancy by a written notice given to the other at least thirty days before the termination date specified in the notice”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · S.C. Code Ann. 27-40-770(B)

• Written notice at least seven days before the termination date specified in the notice (27-40-770(A)).

Quoted from the source: “terminate a week-to-week tenancy by a written notice given to the other at least seven days before the termination date specified in the notice”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · S.C. Code Ann. 27-40-770(A)

• 27-40-770(C): tenant remaining without consent after expiration/termination — landlord may bring an action for possession; attorney's fees if not in good faith; up to three months' rent or twice actual damages for a wilful holdover. No separate holdover notice period.

Quoted from the source: “If the tenant remains in possession without the landlord's consent after expiration of the term of the rental agreement or its termination, the landlord may bring an action”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · S.C. Code Ann. 27-40-770(C)

• No just-cause requirement; either party may end a periodic tenancy on 27-40-770 notice.

Quoted from the source: “The landlord or the tenant may terminate a month-to-month tenancy by a written notice”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · S.C. Code Ann. 27-40-770

• Landlord may terminate if rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay within five days from the DATE DUE, provided the landlord has given written notice of nonpayment and of the intention to terminate if rent is not paid within that period (S.C. Code 27-40-710(B)).
• One-time notice: the obligation is satisfied for any lease term after one such notice, or if the rental agreement contains the conspicuous statement 'IF YOU DO NOT PAY YOUR RENT ON TIME ... You will get no other notice as long as you live in this rental unit.' — then no separate notice is needed even after the original term expires.
• Notice is 'received' when delivered in hand or mailed by registered/certified mail to the tenant's designated address or last known residence; proof of mailing constitutes notice without proof of receipt (27-40-240).

Quoted from the source: “the tenant fails to pay rent within five days from the date due”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · S.C. Code Ann. 27-40-710(B); 27-40-240

• Noncompliance with the rental agreement (other than nonpayment, 27-40-510 health/safety matters or 27-40-540 illegal activity): written notice specifying the acts and omissions and stating that the agreement terminates on a date not less than fourteen days after RECEIPT if the breach is not remedied in fourteen days (27-40-710(A)).
• No termination if the tenant adequately remedies before the date, or if the remedy cannot be completed in 14 days but is commenced within the period and pursued in good faith to completion within a reasonable time.
• Health/safety noncompliance under 27-40-510: 27-40-720 — remedy as promptly as conditions require in an emergency, or within fourteen days of written notice.

Quoted from the source: “upon a date not less than fourteen days after receipt of the notice, if the breach is not remedied in fourteen days”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · S.C. Code Ann. 27-40-710(A); 27-40-720

• Illegal activity (violation of 27-40-540): 27-40-710(B) lets the landlord terminate 'provided the landlord has given the tenant written notice'; the text states no separate waiting period for this ground (the five-day period in (B) is tied to the rent due date).
• No repeat-violation or waste/nuisance shortcut found in 27-40-710.

Quoted from the source: “or the tenant is in violation of Section 27-40-540, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement provided the landlord has given the tenant written notice”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · S.C. Code Ann. 27-40-710(B); 27-40-540

• S.C. Code 27-40-240: the tenant receives notice when it is delivered in hand or mailed by registered or certified mail to the place the tenant held out for receipt of communications or, absent a designation, to the tenant's last known place of residence; 'Proof of mailing pursuant to this subsection constitutes notice without proof of receipt.'

Quoted from the source: “Proof of mailing pursuant to this subsection constitutes notice without proof of receipt.”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · S.C. Code Ann. 27-40-240

• No prescribed form for a separate notice; but 27-40-710(B) prescribes the exact conspicuous lease clause that substitutes for the nonpayment notice: 'IF YOU DO NOT PAY YOUR RENT ON TIME This is your notice. If you do not pay your rent within five days of the due date, the landlord can start to have you evicted. You will get no other notice as long as you live in this rental unit.' A 27-40-710(A) breach notice must specify the acts and omissions and the termination date.

Quoted from the source: “The presence of this provision in the rental agreement fully satisfies the 'written notice' requirement under this subsection”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · S.C. Code Ann. 27-40-710(A), (B)