Just cause eviction rules in Charleston, SC — sometimes called tenant protection or "for cause" eviction ordinances — list the specific legal reasons a landlord can end a tenancy.
Charleston has no just-cause eviction ordinance because South Carolina's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act sets uniform statewide grounds, leaving landlords free to non-renew month-to-month tenancies with thirty days written notice for any non-discriminatory reason.
South Carolina's URLTA (SC Code Title 27, Chapter 40) governs residential evictions exclusively. Landlords may end month-to-month tenancies with a thirty-day written notice without stating cause, and fixed-term leases simply expire. Charleston has not enacted, and likely cannot enact, a just-cause overlay because state law occupies the field. Landlords still must avoid retaliation (SC §27-40-910) and discrimination (federal Fair Housing Act, SC Human Affairs Law). Tenants facing eviction receive a Rule to Vacate from magistrate court and ten days to respond before a writ of ejectment issues.
Retaliatory or discriminatory evictions expose landlords to actual damages, three-month rent penalty, and attorney's fees under SC §27-40-910 and the Fair Housing Act.
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See how Charleston's just cause eviction rules stack up against other locations.
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