The two statutes that govern eviction
South Carolina residential eviction is built on two chapters of Title 27 of the state code. The South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (S.C. Code Ann. Title 27, Chapter 40) sets out when and how a landlord may terminate a rental agreement and what notice the tenant is owed. The separate ejectment statute (S.C. Code Ann. Title 27, Chapter 37) sets out the court procedure that actually removes the tenant once the tenancy is properly terminated. Both sit under the state code published by the South Carolina General Assembly (scstatehouse.gov). You need both: notice under Chapter 40, court process under Chapter 37.
One rule frames everything below. A landlord may not take back the unit by self-help. Under Section 27-40-760, the landlord may not recover possession by locking the tenant out, removing belongings, or shutting off essential services. Possession is recovered through the court, not around it.
Step 1: Establish a legal ground
Ejectment requires one of three grounds. Section 27-37-10 lists them: the tenant fails or refuses to pay rent when due or when demanded, the term of tenancy has ended, or the terms or conditions of the lease have been violated.
| Ground | What it covers | Governing section |
|---|---|---|
| Nonpayment of rent | Rent unpaid within five days of the due date | 27-37-10(A)(1); 27-40-710(B) |
| Lease violation | Breach of a term other than nonpayment (unauthorized occupants, pets, etc.) | 27-37-10(A)(3); 27-40-710(A) |
| Holdover | Tenant stays after the term or a periodic tenancy is properly ended | 27-37-10(A)(2); 27-40-770 |
Step 2: Give the required notice
The notice a tenant is owed depends on the ground. This is the step landlords most often get wrong, and a defective notice is a defense the tenant can raise at the hearing.
Nonpayment: the five-day notice
Under Section 27-40-710(B), if rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay within five days of the due date, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement, but only after giving the tenant written notice of the nonpayment and the intention to terminate if the rent is not paid.
The five-day notice can be waived in the lease
This is the part landlords and tenants most often miss. The same subsection lets the written notice requirement be satisfied in advance, inside the lease itself. Section 27-40-710(B) says the landlord's obligation to give a separate notice is satisfied for any lease term after one such notice has been given, or if the notice is contained in conspicuous language in the written rental agreement. The statute provides the exact language that does it:
If the lease contains this provision (or a substantially equivalent one), the landlord is not required to furnish any separate or additional written notice before beginning ejectment. The ejectment statute confirms the crossover: Section 27-37-10(B) says that for residential agreements, nonpayment within five days of the due date constitutes legal notice to begin ejectment if the written agreement specifies in bold conspicuous type that nonpayment constitutes such notice, and that this is satisfied by the language in Section 27-40-710(B). In practice, most standard South Carolina residential leases include this clause, which means many tenants receive no separate five-day letter at all.
Lease violations other than nonpayment: fourteen days
For a breach that is not nonpayment of rent, Section 27-40-710(A) requires a written notice specifying the acts or omissions constituting the breach and stating that the agreement will terminate on a date not less than fourteen days after receipt, if the breach is not remedied within fourteen days.
The agreement does not terminate if the tenant adequately remedies the breach before the date in the notice, or if the remedy cannot be completed within fourteen days but is commenced within that period and pursued in good faith to completion within a reasonable time (Section 27-40-710(A)(1) and (2)). Certain health-and-safety breaches are handled under Section 27-40-720 instead. Where the tenant uses the unit for illegal activity in violation of Section 27-40-540, the landlord proceeds under the nonpayment-style path in Section 27-40-710(B).
Holdover: ending a periodic tenancy first
When there is no fixed term, the landlord must first end the periodic tenancy before there is a holdover to eject. Under Section 27-40-770, either party may end a week-to-week tenancy on at least seven days' written notice, and a month-to-month tenancy on at least thirty days' written notice. If the tenant then remains without the landlord's consent, Section 27-40-770(c) lets the landlord bring an action for possession, and if the holdover is not in good faith the landlord may recover reasonable attorney's fees.
Step 3: File the Rule to Vacate or Show Cause
Once the tenancy is properly terminated, the landlord applies to a magistrate. Under Section 27-37-20, the magistrate issues a written rule requiring the tenant to vacate the premises immediately or to show cause why he should not be ejected, before the magistrate, within ten days after the rule is served.
This document is the Rule to Vacate or Show Cause (also called the Rule to Show Cause). It is filed in the magistrate court for the county where the property is located. Eviction application forms are published by the South Carolina Judicial Branch (sccourts.gov); the magistrate, not the landlord, issues the rule.
Step 4: Service on the tenant
Section 27-37-30 governs how the rule is served. It may be served the same way a summons is served in circuit or magistrate court (Section 27-37-30(A)). If no one can be found in possession and the premises have been abandoned for fifteen days or more (abandonment is defined in Section 27-40-730 for residential agreements), the rule may be served by affixing it to the most conspicuous part of the premises (Section 27-37-30(B)).
If personal service is attempted twice without success, Section 27-37-30(C) allows service by posting the rule to the premises together with documentation of the two attempts and mailing a copy by ordinary mail through the clerk of the magistrate court. The two attempts must be at least forty-eight hours apart and at times of day at least eight hours apart. When service is by this mail method, the ten-day period to show cause begins on the eleventh day after mailing, unless the tenant contacts the court sooner, in which case it runs from the time of contact (Section 27-37-30(C)(3)).
Step 5: The tenant's ten-day response window
The tenant has ten days after service to appear and show cause. What happens next turns entirely on whether the tenant responds.
Tenant does not respond
Under Section 27-37-40, if the tenant fails to appear and show cause within the ten days, the magistrate issues a warrant of ejectment and the tenant is ejected by the constable or the sheriff of the county.
Tenant contests
Under Section 27-37-60, if the tenant appears and contests the ejectment, the magistrate hears and determines the case as any other civil case, allowing a jury trial if either party demands one (Section 27-37-80).
Step 6: The hearing
If the tenant shows cause, the magistrate holds a hearing. Section 27-37-60 directs the magistrate to hear and determine the case like any other civil matter. Either the landlord or the tenant may demand a jury (Section 27-37-80). Common defenses a tenant may raise include payment or tender of the rent, a defective or missing notice, or that the landlord's own conduct excused the breach. If the magistrate (or jury) finds for the landlord, the court proceeds to the writ. If it finds for the tenant, the ejectment does not go forward.
Step 7: The writ, and who executes it
Whether by default (Step 5A) or after a hearing (Step 6), a decision for the landlord produces a writ of ejectment. Section 27-37-160 governs how it is carried out, and it is not the landlord who carries it out. A constable or deputy sheriff goes to the premises, presents a copy of the writ, and gives the occupants twenty-four hours to vacate voluntarily.
If the occupants do not vacate within twenty-four hours, the officer announces his identity and purpose, and if necessary a deputy sheriff (but not a constable) may enter by force using the least destructive means possible. If the premises appear occupied but no one responds, the officer posts the writ at the corners and top of a door and, twenty-four hours after posting, a deputy sheriff may enter by force. The statute allows the officer discretion to grant a delay for ill or elderly tenants. Only after this step is possession lawfully returned to the landlord.
What happens to the money owed
Ejectment returns possession; it is a separate question from the rent and damages the tenant owes. Under Section 27-40-750, if the rental agreement is terminated the landlord has a right to possession, to rent, and to a separate claim for actual damages for breach plus reasonable attorney's fees. For a bad-faith holdover, Section 27-40-770(c) additionally allows the landlord to recover up to three months' periodic rent or twice the actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees. Rent that accrues after the proceeding is filed is addressed in Section 27-37-150.
Appeals
Either party may appeal an ejectment decision, and the appeal is handled like other civil appeals from magistrate court (Section 27-37-120). Filing an appeal does not, by itself, stop the ejectment. Under Section 27-37-130, an appeal will not stay ejectment unless the tenant posts an appeal bond in an amount fixed by the magistrate, conditioned on paying the costs and damages the landlord may sustain; if the tenant fails to file the bond within five days after serving the notice of appeal, the appeal is dismissed.
What this means for landlords
The process is fast when it is done correctly and slow (or fatal) when a step is skipped. The two failure points that cost landlords the most time are self-help and notice. Section 27-40-760 makes lockouts, belonging-removals, and utility shutoffs unlawful; a landlord who does any of them can be the one facing a claim. And because a defective notice is a live defense at the show-cause hearing, the notice step deserves care.
- Check the lease for the Section 27-40-710(B) nonpayment clause. If it is present in conspicuous type, no separate five-day letter is required; if it is absent, send the written five-day notice before applying.
- Use the fourteen-day notice for non-rent lease violations, and state the specific breach and the remedy period (Section 27-40-710(A)).
- End a periodic tenancy with the correct seven-day or thirty-day notice before treating a stay as a holdover (Section 27-40-770).
- Apply to the magistrate for the Rule to Vacate or Show Cause; let the court issue and serve it. Do not attempt to remove the tenant yourself at any stage, including after the writ. Execution belongs to the constable or deputy sheriff (Section 27-37-160).
- Keep dated records of the condition of the unit. If damages are part of the claim, documentation of condition is what proves them. See our guide to South Carolina move-out inspection law for how condition disputes and deposit deductions are handled.
What this means for tenants
The clock is short, so the response window matters more than anything else. Once a Rule to Vacate or Show Cause is served, a tenant who does nothing for ten days will face a warrant of ejectment by default under Section 27-37-40, with no hearing.
- Read the rule immediately and note the service date. The ten-day window to show cause runs from service (Section 27-37-20), and by mail it runs from the eleventh day after mailing unless you contact the court sooner (Section 27-37-30(C)(3)).
- Appear and show cause in writing or in person within the ten days if you have a defense: rent was paid or tendered, the notice was defective or never given, or the alleged breach was remedied in time (Section 27-40-710(A)).
- You may demand a jury trial (Section 27-37-80).
- If you lose and want to appeal, remember that an appeal does not stop the ejectment unless you post the appeal bond the magistrate fixes, within five days of serving the notice of appeal (Section 27-37-130).
- A landlord cannot lawfully lock you out, remove your belongings, or cut off utilities to force you out (Section 27-40-760). Only a constable or deputy sheriff executing a writ can remove you, and only after the twenty-four-hour steps in Section 27-37-160.
Where these cases are heard: Residential ejectment is handled in South Carolina Magistrate Court in the county where the rental property is located. The magistrate issues the rule, hears any contested case, and issues the warrant or writ. Eviction and civil case forms are published by the South Carolina Judicial Branch (sccourts.gov).
The process at a glance
| Step | What happens | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Ground | Nonpayment, lease violation, or holdover | Section 27-37-10 |
| Notice, nonpayment | Five days; can be waived by conspicuous lease clause | Section 27-40-710(B) |
| Notice, other breach | Fourteen days to remedy | Section 27-40-710(A) |
| Notice, periodic tenancy | Seven days (weekly) or thirty days (monthly) to end the tenancy | Section 27-40-770 |
| Filing | Magistrate issues Rule to Vacate or Show Cause | Section 27-37-20 |
| Service | Personal, posting, or posting plus mail through the clerk | Section 27-37-30 |
| Response window | Ten days after service to show cause | Section 27-37-20 |
| No response | Magistrate issues a warrant of ejectment | Section 27-37-40 |
| Contested | Hearing as a civil case; jury on demand | Sections 27-37-60, 27-37-80 |
| Execution | Constable or deputy sheriff; twenty-four hours to vacate | Section 27-37-160 |
| Appeal | Allowed; does not stay ejectment without a bond | Sections 27-37-120, 27-37-130 |
| No self-help | Landlord cannot lock out, remove belongings, or cut services | Section 27-40-760 |
Sources
South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, S.C. Code Ann. Title 27, Chapter 40 (Sections 27-40-540, 27-40-710, 27-40-720, 27-40-730, 27-40-750, 27-40-760, 27-40-770), South Carolina General Assembly (scstatehouse.gov). Ejectment of Tenants, S.C. Code Ann. Title 27, Chapter 37 (Sections 27-37-10, 27-37-20, 27-37-30, 27-37-40, 27-37-60, 27-37-80, 27-37-120, 27-37-130, 27-37-150, 27-37-160), South Carolina General Assembly (scstatehouse.gov). Magistrate court eviction forms and civil procedure, South Carolina Judicial Branch (sccourts.gov).
Published September 2026. This guide is a reading of the South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (S.C. Code Ann. Title 27, Chapter 40) and the ejectment statute (S.C. Code Ann. Title 27, Chapter 37) and is not legal advice. Statutes change and individual cases turn on their facts. Confirm current requirements with an attorney, your county magistrate court, or the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs.