When people talk about a landlord's "warranty of habitability" in South Carolina, they are describing a set of duties written directly into the South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. The central provision is Section 27-40-440, which lists what a landlord must do to keep a dwelling fit to live in. Unlike the security-deposit rules, this is a continuing obligation: a unit that was habitable at move-in can fall out of compliance later, and the duty to repair does not end when the lease is signed. This guide covers what the landlord must maintain and, separately, the three remedies a tenant has when repairs are not made. It reads the statute itself; it is not legal advice.
The landlord's duty to maintain: Section 27-40-440
Section 27-40-440(a) sets out the landlord's core maintenance duties. The full chapter is published by the South Carolina Legislature at scstatehouse.gov, Title 27, Chapter 40. The six duties are:
- Comply with the requirements of applicable building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety.
- Make all repairs and do whatever is reasonably necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition.
- Keep all common areas of the premises in a reasonably safe condition, and, for premises containing more than four dwelling units, keep them in a reasonably clean condition.
- Make available running water and reasonable amounts of hot water at all times and reasonable heat, except where the building is not required by law to be equipped for that purpose, or the unit is constructed so that heat or hot water is within the tenant's exclusive control and supplied by a direct public utility connection.
- Maintain in reasonably good and safe working order and condition all electrical, gas, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and other facilities and appliances, including elevators, supplied or required to be supplied by the landlord.
- Provide and maintain appropriate receptacles and conveniences for the removal of ashes, garbage, rubbish, and other waste, and arrange for their removal, for premises containing more than four dwelling units.
According to the statute, appliances present in the dwelling unit are presumed to be supplied by the landlord unless the rental agreement specifically excludes them, and no appliance or facility necessary to the provision of essential services may be excluded at all. That presumption matters in disputes over who is responsible for a failing water heater or HVAC unit.
The single-family written exception
For a single-family residence, the landlord and tenant may shift some of these duties by written agreement, but only within limits. Under Section 27-40-440(c), they may agree in writing that the tenant perform the landlord's duties in item (5) plus specified repairs, maintenance tasks, alterations, and remodeling, "but only if the transaction is entered into in good faith and not for the purpose of evading the obligations of the landlord." A blanket clause dumping all repairs on a tenant, drafted to dodge the statute rather than reflect a genuine arrangement, does not satisfy the good-faith requirement.
Tenant remedies when the landlord fails to maintain
The Act gives a tenant three separate tools when a landlord does not meet the duties above. They are not interchangeable, and one of them (essential services) cannot be combined with another for the same breach. Each begins with written notice to the landlord.
1. Notice, termination, and damages: Section 27-40-610
The general remedy is Section 27-40-610. If there is a material noncompliance with the rental agreement, or a noncompliance with Section 27-40-440 materially affecting health and safety or the physical condition of the property, the tenant delivers written notice specifying the breach.
Beyond termination, the tenant has a damages remedy. According to Section 27-40-610(b), the tenant "may recover actual damages and obtain injunctive relief in a magistrate's or circuit court, without posting bond, for any noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement or SECTION 27-40-440." The same subsection adds that "if the landlord's noncompliance is wilful, the tenant may recover reasonable attorney's fees." A tenant cannot terminate for a condition the tenant, a family member, or a guest deliberately or negligently caused.
2. Essential services: Section 27-40-630
When the failure involves an essential service (heat, running water, hot water, electricity, gas, or a comparable necessity), Section 27-40-630 provides a faster, sharper remedy. After written notice and a reasonable time for the landlord to act, the tenant may choose one of two paths.
Procure and deduct
The tenant may "procure reasonable amounts of the required essential services during the period of the landlord's noncompliance and deduct their actual and reasonable cost from the rent."
Damages by diminished value
Alternatively, the tenant may "recover damages based upon the diminution in the fair-market rental value of the dwelling unit," plus reasonable attorney's fees.
You cannot use both tracks for the same breach. Section 27-40-630 states that a tenant who proceeds under this section may not also proceed under Section 27-40-610 as to that breach. And the tenant cannot independently authorize repairs and deduct the cost as a lien; the essential-services remedy is procure-and-deduct or diminished-value damages, and the rights do not arise until the tenant has given notice and the landlord has failed to act within a reasonable time.
3. Raise the violation as a defense: Section 27-40-640
The third remedy is defensive. If the landlord sues to evict for nonpayment of rent, or sues for rent covering a period when the tenant is in possession, the tenant can raise the landlord's failure to maintain as a defense in that same case.
This lets a habitability problem be litigated inside the eviction rather than in a separate lawsuit. Under the same section, a tenant waives the defense for non-essential conditions if the landlord had no notice at least fourteen days before rent was due (or, for essential services, no notice allowing an emergency response), and a landlord can recover attorney's fees against a defense the court finds frivolous.
What this means
For landlords
- The duty to keep the unit fit and habitable is continuing, not a one-time move-in standard.
- Appliances in the unit are presumed yours to maintain unless the lease specifically excludes them, and essential-service equipment can never be excluded.
- Respond to a written 14-day notice in writing and on time. A willful failure exposes you to the tenant's attorney's fees under 27-40-610.
- On a single-family rental, a repair-shifting clause holds up only if it is a genuine, good-faith arrangement, not a device to evade the statute.
- Loss of an essential service is the fastest-moving exposure: the tenant can pay for the service and deduct it, or sue for lost rental value plus fees.
For tenants
- Every remedy starts with written notice that specifies the exact problem. Keep a dated copy.
- For most repair failures, use the 14-day notice under 27-40-610; you can seek actual damages and, for willful violations, attorney's fees.
- For a lost essential service, 27-40-630 is faster: procure the service and deduct the reasonable cost, or claim diminished rental value. You cannot also use 27-40-610 for the same breach.
- Do not stop paying rent on your own theory. If the landlord sues, 27-40-640 lets you raise the violation as a defense and counterclaim inside that case.
- A defense the court finds frivolous can cost you the landlord's attorney's fees.
The statute at a glance
| Provision | What it does | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Duty to maintain | Codes, fit-and-habitable repairs, safe common areas, running/hot water and heat, working electrical/plumbing/HVAC, waste removal | Section 27-40-440(a) |
| Single-family exception | Written good-faith agreement may shift item (5) and specified repairs to the tenant | Section 27-40-440(c) |
| Notice and termination | 14-day written notice to cure; termination if not remedied | Section 27-40-610(a) |
| Damages and fees | Actual damages and injunctive relief; attorney's fees if the noncompliance is willful | Section 27-40-610(b) |
| Essential services | Procure-and-deduct actual reasonable cost, OR diminished fair-market value plus attorney's fees, after notice and reasonable time | Section 27-40-630 |
| Defense in eviction/rent action | Raise the violation as a defense and counterclaim for amounts recoverable | Section 27-40-640(a) |
Related guides: See also South Carolina Move-Out Inspections: What the Law Actually Requires for the security-deposit rules at the end of a tenancy.
Sources
- South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Title 27, Chapter 40, South Carolina Legislature (Sections 27-40-440, 27-40-610, 27-40-630, 27-40-640) scstatehouse.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 is not legal advice. Confirm current requirements with an attorney or the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs.