South Carolina landlord rules: deposits, late fees and notices

The rules Occupella applies to properties in South Carolina, from our jurisdiction data. This is general information, not legal advice. Check the statute, or a local attorney, before you act.

Data version: 2026-08All 50 states and DC

Security deposit

Maximum deposit
No statewide cap
Return deadline
30 days after the tenancy ends
Penalty for late return
none specified
Interest owed
No

Work out the return date for a move-out

Source: S.C. Code §27-40-410

Late fees

Rule
none set by statute
Grace period
Not in our data

No statute cited in our data

Notice periods

Notice to pay or quit
5 days
Ending a month-to-month tenancy
30 days
Notice before entering a unit
24 hours

Work out the last day of a notice

No statute cited in our data

Screening

Source-of-income protection
No statewide protection.

No statute cited in our data

Licensing

To manage for others
A dedicated property-management license.
Note
property-manager-in-charge license regime

No statute cited in our data

How long an eviction takes

Among the fastest: about 2 to 4 weeks. This is a rough tier from our data, not a court timeline.

Also worth knowing

  • The 5-day nonpay notice can be satisfied ONCE by conspicuous lease language - a compliant lease clause acts as permanent standing notice, allowing immediate filing

A federal rule that can override this

Notice for nonpayment on covered properties
30 days
Note
Applies to 'covered properties' (federally backed mortgage or federal housing program). The 30-day notice requirement has no statutory sunset and courts are split - safest practice is a 30-day nonpayment notice on any covered property, regardless of shorter state timelines.

Source: CARES Act §4024

Data version 2026-08. This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, and the version is when our data was last reviewed, not a promise that every rule is still current.

Landlord rules for every state

Rules applied per property

Occupella looks up these rules for each property's own state and does the date arithmetic, like the day a deposit is due back. 14 days free, no card.

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