South Carolina has no statute capping residential late fees or setting a grace period before one applies. Late charges are governed entirely by the lease, and the Act treats agreed late charges as part of recoverable rent. A late fee must still be reasonable and disclosed in the agreement to be enforceable.
The South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (S.C. Code Title 27, Chapter 40) contains no provision limiting the amount of a late fee or requiring a grace period before it may be charged. Section 27-40-210 defines "rent" to include "late charges," so a properly disclosed late fee is recoverable as part of rent, but the statute sets no dollar or percentage ceiling. Because the law is silent, the amount and trigger for a late fee come from the lease agreement, which both parties must accept. Courts may still refuse to enforce a charge that operates as an unreasonable penalty rather than a genuine estimate of the landlord's loss, so an excessive or undisclosed late fee can be challenged. No statutory cap otherwise applies.
No specific statutory penalty. A late fee not disclosed in the lease, or one a court finds to be an unreasonable penalty rather than liquidated damages, may be unenforceable and recoverable by the tenant in a civil action.
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