A South Carolina lease agreement is a legally binding contract between a landlord and tenant that documents the agreed-upon terms and conditions for renting a property. It includes the names and contact information of the landlord and the tenant, the address of the premises, the lease term, payment details, and disclosures.
Rental Lease Laws Overview
- Rent Control: No.
- Limit on Late Fees: No.
- Late Fees in Rental Agreement: Yes.
- Grace Period: Yes.
- License Required for Landlord: No.
Landlords often necessitate the completion of a rental application by tenants before they proceed with a lease agreement.
By Type (6)
Month-to-Month Rental Agreement
Lets a landlord rent their property to a tenant for a month at a time.
Room Rental Agreement
Documents conditions and rules set by a landlord for a tenant's use and maintenance of a rented room.
Sublease Agreement
Lets a tenant rent their leased property to a subtenant for a specific period.
Required Lease Disclosures
Review the disclosures that South Carolina landlords must make:
- Lead-Based Paint Disclosure. Federal law requires landlords to communicate if their property was built before 1978 and could possibly contain lead-based paint. [1]
- Identification. A landlord must disclose in writing to the tenant before the lease begins the name and contact details of the property owner or agent authorized to act on behalf of the owner. [2]
- Unequal Deposits. If a landlord owns more than four adjacent units and charges varying amounts for their security deposits, they must explain their reasonings within the lease agreements or post them in a visible manner. [3]
- Notice of Abandoned Personal Property. If there is an unexplained absence of the tenant for more than fifteen (15) days after a default of rent payment, then there will be a presumed abandonment of the property. The landlord may then enter the premises and dispose of personal property with a total value of less than $500. A landlord should attempt to notify all tenants of the presumed abandonment of personal property before proceeding with the disposal. [4]
- Security Deposit Notice. A tenant must provide in writing to the landlord the details of their new or forwarding address. Otherwise, they may forfeit their deposit. [5]
Security Deposit
- Maximum Amount: No statute.
- Receipts: Not specified.
- Interest Payments: Not required.
- Bank Account: Not required.
- Returning Requirements: A landlord must return the security deposit to the tenant within 30 days after the end of the lease. [5]
- Withholding Rules: The landlord can deduct some of the security deposit for accrued rent and/or damages caused by the tenant’s failure to maintain the unit. The landlord must provide a written statement listing any deductions they take. [5]
Rent Payments
- Laws: The tenant must make their rent payment on the first of the month unless the lease says otherwise. [6]
- Rent Control: South Carolina doesn’t impose a cap on the amount a landlord can increase the rent. Furthermore, counties and cities can’t establish rent increase maximums. [7]
- Landlords must act in good faith in all acts they perform, [8] , so they can provide reasonable notice when increasing the rent.
- Late Fees and Grace Period: State law doesn’t specify a cap on late fees, but the landlord should list them in the lease agreement. A tenant has five days from the due date to catch up on rent. Otherwise, the landlord can issue a 5-day notice to quit for non-payment of rent. [9]
- Withholding Rent: If the landlord is negligent or willingly fails to provide essential services, the tenant can notify the landlord, procure the necessary services, and subtract the actual cost from the rent amount. [10]
Landlord Right of Entry
- Notice Requirements: A landlord must give at least twenty-four hours’ advance notice to the tenant before entering the premises and must only enter at reasonable hours. Exceptions include emergencies, such as repairing a broken gas pipe or providing regularly scheduled periodic services or services requested by the tenant. [11]
- Keys, Locks, and Security: The tenant must obtain the landlord’s permission before changing the locks. [12]
Property Repairs
- Landlord Responsibilities: A landlord’s responsibilities include keeping common areas in a reasonably safe condition, making running and hot water available, and complying with housing and building codes. [13]
- Tenant Repairs: A tenant must keep the dwelling unit and the part of the premises they use in reasonably safe and clean condition and [14]
- Abandonment: The landlord can deem the property as abandoned when the tenant has voluntarily canceled the utilities, failed to pay rent, and is gone from the property without a reason. [15]
Terminating a Lease
- Month-to-Month Tenancy: The landlord must issue a 30-day notice to end a month-to-month tenancy. [16]
- Unclaimed Property: If a landlord places personal property belonging to a tenant who was evicted on a public street or highway, the appropriate county or municipal officials should remove it within 48 hours. Suppose the premises is in a county that doesn’t collect trash from public streets. In that case, the landlord may remove the personal property from the premises after 48 hours and dispose of it following the city or county’s normal procedures. [17]
- The eviction notice must clearly outline these protocols.
Sample
Below, you can view our South Carolina lease agreement template and download it as a PDF or Word file to customize it to your situation:
