Rental Property Rules in South Carolina (2026)
31 rules on the books across South Carolina, 16 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Rent Control
Local limits on how much landlords can raise rent each year, including which properties are covered and exemptions for newer buildings.
South Carolina: statewide
StatewideFew RestrictionsSouth Carolina law preempts local rent control. Under S.C. Code Ann. § 27-39-60, no county or municipal corporation may…
Read full rule →Dorchester County
Few RestrictionsSouth Carolina bans local rent control outright. Under S.C. Code Section 27-39-60, no county or city may regulate the…
Read full rule →York County
Few RestrictionsRent control is illegal across York County. South Carolina Code §27-39-60 bars every county and municipal corporation…
Read full rule →Just Cause Eviction
Protections requiring landlords to have a valid reason to evict tenants, such as nonpayment of rent, lease violations, or owner move-in.
Dorchester County
Few RestrictionsSouth Carolina has no just-cause eviction law, and Dorchester County adds none. The Residential Landlord and Tenant Act…
Read full rule →York County
Few RestrictionsSouth Carolina has no just-cause eviction rule, and York County cannot add one. Under S.C. Code §27-40-710 a landlord…
Read full rule →Rental Registration
Requirements for landlords to register rental properties with the city, including inspection programs, fees, and occupancy standards.
Charleston
Significant RestrictionsCharleston requires landlords to register each rental unit located in a designated residential rental registration…
Read full rule →Columbia
Significant RestrictionsEvery residential rental unit in Columbia must hold a current city rental permit before an owner can lease it, under…
Read full rule →Rock Hill
Significant RestrictionsEvery residential rental unit in Rock Hill needs a city registration before it can be occupied. City Code § 10-606…
Read full rule →Dorchester County
Some RestrictionsSouth Carolina has no statewide rental-registration or landlord-license law, and Dorchester County runs no…
Read full rule →Richland County
Some RestrictionsOwners of non-owner-occupied habitable rental property in unincorporated Richland County must register the unit in the…
Read full rule →Security Deposit Rules
Caps on how much landlords may collect as security deposits, return deadlines, itemized-deduction requirements, and tenant remedies for wrongfully withheld deposits.
Landlord Entry & Notice
How much advance notice a landlord must give before entering an occupied unit, the permitted reasons (repairs, showings, inspections), allowed hours, and the emergency exceptions under state law.
Repairs & Habitability
The implied warranty of habitability, how long a landlord has to fix essential services (heat, water, plumbing, mold), and tenant remedies such as repair-and-deduct, rent withholding, or breaking the lease.
South Carolina: statewide
StatewideHeavy RestrictionsUnder S.C. Code § 27-40-440, landlords must comply with building and housing codes, keep the premises fit and…
Read full rule →Aiken County
Significant RestrictionsAiken County's building official can order repair, vacating or demolition of any dwelling that is unsafe, unsanitary or…
Read full rule →Dorchester County
Significant RestrictionsDorchester County can declare a rental or any dwelling unfit for human habitation for dilapidation, structural defects…
Read full rule →York County
Significant RestrictionsYork County can order a rental or any dwelling repaired or torn down if it's unfit to live in. Section 56.061 lets a…
Read full rule →Anderson County
Some RestrictionsAnderson County has no landlord-specific habitability code; instead, § 8-172 lets the codes director declare any…
Read full rule →Beaufort County
Some RestrictionsBeaufort County can order any dwelling repaired, closed or demolished when the county administrator finds it unfit for…
Read full rule →Charleston
Some RestrictionsCharleston requires every rental dwelling to have a code-compliant exit, an approved water and sewer connection…
Read full rule →Charleston County
Some RestrictionsCharleston County's unsafe dwellings ordinance sets minimum habitability standards for every rental unit in the…
Read full rule →Columbia
Some RestrictionsColumbia enforces minimum habitability and upkeep standards on every rental property through the 2021 International…
Read full rule →Florence County
Some RestrictionsFlorence County's Unsafe Structure Abatement Code sets the baseline habitability standard for rentals in the…
Read full rule →Greenville County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Greenville County enforces the International Property Maintenance Code, 2021 Edition, against landlords…
Read full rule →Lexington County
Some RestrictionsLexington County Code § 14-77 defines when a dwelling is unfit for human habitation: conditions dangerous or injurious…
Read full rule →North Charleston
Some RestrictionsNorth Charleston requires every rental dwelling unit to have running water, a working toilet and bath, windows, and…
Read full rule →Pickens County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Pickens County, no one may let or sublet a dwelling unit, or let a vacant dwelling stand, unless it…
Read full rule →Rock Hill
Some RestrictionsRock Hill, South Carolina's amendments to the adopted International Property Maintenance Code fix the heating season an…
Read full rule →Sumter County
Some RestrictionsFor dwellings in unincorporated Sumter County, including rental units, Sec. 22-129 lets the county's public officer…
Read full rule →Lease Termination & Notice to Vacate
Notice required to end a month-to-month tenancy, the rules and penalties for breaking a fixed-term lease early, and early-termination protections for active-duty military, domestic-violence survivors, and medical hardships.
Eviction Notice & Process
The notice a landlord must give before filing to evict, pay-or-quit and cure-or-quit periods, no-cause termination notice, how long the court eviction process takes in this state, and the tenant's options to respond or cure.
Squatter's Rights & Adverse Possession
When an occupant without a lease gains legal protections, the line between a trespasser and a squatter, how many years of continuous possession adverse possession requires in this state, and how an owner lawfully removes a squatter.