A South Carolina sublease agreement is a rental contract between a current tenant (“sublessor”) and a new tenant (“sublessee” or “subtenant”). The sublessor is the tenant already on the existing lease agreement who pays rent to the landlord.
A sublease must be approved by the original landlord and comply with the initial lease’s terms. The sublessor is ultimately responsible for the premises if the subtenant does not abide by the original lease and inflicts damages on the landlord’s property.
Laws & Requirements
Sublease and Assignment Provision Laws: SC Code § 27-35-60
Landlord-Tenant Laws: SC Code Title 27, Property and Conveyances (Chapter 33)
Security Deposit Obligations: A sublessor must return a subtenant’s security deposit within 30 days of the end of the lease.
Notices: A sublessor must give a subtenant five days’ written notice to pay rent or leave. They must also provide 30 days’ written notice if they intend not to renew the sublease or original lease. Furthermore, 14 days’ notice is required to inform a tenant that they’ve violated the lease and must correct it or face eviction.
Permission to Sublet
- Laws: State law declares that a sublease is null if the sublessor doesn’t have the landlord’s permission.
- Explicit Written Consent: The sublessor (primary tenant) must seek the landlord’s explicit written consent before subletting.
- Landlord’s Right to Reject: If the landlord hasn’t already granted written consent for subletting, they can deny a subletter. Some reasons a landlord may deny a subletter are that they have reason to believe the subletter won’t be able to pay rent or the subletter has bad character and could ruin the landlord’s reputation.
Tax Obligations
Short-Term Rental Tax
- STR Application: Accommodations tax only applies to spaces or rooms in boarding houses, campgrounds, condos, hotels, homes, and other sleeping accommodations that guests rent for less than 90 days (SC § 12-36-920).
- Other Exceptions: Accommodations tax doesn’t apply to facilities with six or fewer bedrooms if the owner lives on the premises and doesn’t rent the rooms using an online travel company or rental agency.
Tax Rates
- Sales Tax: 5%.
- Accommodations Tax: 2%.
- Additional Accommodations Tax: Local governments can charge up to 3% in additional accommodations tax. However, the Department of Revenue must allocate those funds for tourism-related programs and projects under SC Code § 6-1-530.
- Tax Rates by Municipality: The Department of Revenue provides information on sales tax rates by municipality.
Filing Frequency
- Monthly: The tax return for accommodations tax is due on or before the 20th day of the month after the end of the relevant period.
- Annually: An individual providing accommodations for one week or less in any calendar quarter can remit the tax annually by April 15 of the subsequent year.
Making Payments
- Retail License: You must obtain a retail license if you’re directly booking short-term rentals. You must obtain a retail license for each rental location you have.
- Please note that an individual providing accommodations for one week or less in any calendar quarter doesn’t need to obtain a retail license.
- Submitting Payments: You can submit payments to the South Carolina Department of Revenue.
Sample
Related Documents
Rental Application
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