South Carolina Lease Agreement: What to Include

A South Carolina residential lease needs to reflect this state's actual rules on security deposits, entry notice, late fees, and required disclosures — not a generic template written for a different state. The figures below come from South Carolina's residential landlord-tenant statute; where the state sets no fixed number, that's stated plainly rather than glossed over, since "the state doesn't specify" is itself something you need to know.

Security deposit

Security deposit limit: No statewide statutory limit. South Carolina does not require interest on held deposits. Return deadline after move-out: 30 Days.

Entry notice, late fees, and rent increases

Entry notice: 24 Hours. Late fees: No statewide fixed cap; should be reasonable and stated in lease; no statewide grace period requirement. Rent increase notice for month-to-month tenancies: 30 days. (Entry notice citation: S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-530 (24 hours).)

Required disclosures

A South Carolina lease should include or accompany:

• • Federal lead-based paint
• • owner/agent disclosures

Eviction notice for nonpayment

For nonpayment of rent, South Carolina's standard notice period is 5 days. This is the minimum notice before you can move to the next step in the eviction process — actual court timelines run longer once a case is filed. (Eviction notice citation: S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-710 (5 days).)

What actually distinguishes South Carolina

South Carolina sets no statewide statutory cap on the security deposit amount — the lease itself is what controls how much you can charge, so put the amount and any pet/move-in fees in writing.

South Carolina requires 24 hours notice before a landlord enters an occupied unit for routine, non-emergency purposes.

Sources and the bottom line

The figures above reflect South Carolina's residential landlord-tenant statute as summarized on LeasePilot HQ's South Carolina landlord-tenant law page, which lists the specific sources behind each number. Security deposit rules specifically are codified at S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410 (no statutory cap), with the return deadline set by S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410 (30 days). Primary and cross-reference sources used in compiling this page:

• • https://ipropertymanagement.com/laws/security-deposits
• • https://www.justia.com/real-estate/landlord-tenant/information-for-landlords/right-of-entry/
• • https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/state-landlord-tenant-laws

State landlord-tenant law changes through legislative sessions and court decisions — treat the numbers above as a starting point, verify against South Carolina's current statute (linked above) before relying on them for an actual lease, and see LeasePilot HQ's full South Carolina landlord-tenant law summary for the complete breakdown, or generate a lease with South Carolina-specific clauses built in automatically.