South Carolina renters sometimes hesitate to report a leaking roof, a broken furnace, or a code problem because they worry the landlord will respond with a rent hike or an eviction notice. The Residential Landlord and Tenant Act anticipates that fear. Section 27-40-910 of the South Carolina Code makes certain landlord responses to a protected complaint unlawful, and it gives the tenant both a shield in an eviction case and a claim for money damages. This guide walks through exactly what the statute prohibits, when a landlord can still act, and how the numbers work.
The three prohibited retaliatory acts
The statute does not prohibit every landlord response to a complaint. It names three specific acts that a landlord may not take in retaliation: raising the rent above fair-market value, cutting off essential services, or filing an eviction (an action for possession).
Two kinds of complaint trigger the protection. The first is a complaint to a government agency (a code enforcement office, for example) about a building or housing code violation that materially affects health and safety. The second is a complaint made directly to the landlord about a violation of the Act itself, such as the landlord's failure to keep the unit in a habitable condition. A protected complaint has to be about one of these things; a general disagreement or an unrelated grievance is not covered by this section.
The presumption and its limits
Unlike some states, South Carolina's statute does not set a fixed number of days after a complaint during which any rent increase or eviction is automatically presumed retaliatory. Instead, it works from the other direction: it tells you when a rent increase is not presumed to be retaliation. Under subsection (e), a landlord who rents more than four adjoining dwelling units may raise the rent without a presumption of retaliation, as long as the increase applies uniformly to all tenants or the new rent does not exceed fair-market value.
There is also a specific rule for lease non-renewal. If a landlord retaliates by refusing to renew the lease of a tenant who is current on rent, subsection (g) blocks the landlord from recovering possession for seventy-five days and from raising rent above fair-market value or cutting essential services in the meantime, provided the tenant proves the landlord's violation, that the landlord had notice of it, and that the landlord knew of the tenant's complaint before the lease expired.
When a landlord may still evict
The protection is not absolute. Subsection (c) lists three situations in which a landlord may bring an action for possession even after a protected complaint.
In plain terms: a landlord can still pursue possession if the tenant caused the code problem, if the tenant is in material noncompliance with the lease (which includes nonpayment of rent under Section 27-40-710), or if fixing the code violation would require work so extensive that the tenant could not keep using the unit. Good faith also matters. Subsection (b) provides that if a tenant raises the retaliation defense in bad faith, the landlord may recover up to three months' rent or treble actual damages, and if the defense is simply without merit the landlord is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees.
What each side should know
For landlords
- A rent increase to fair-market value, applied uniformly across more than four adjoining units, is not presumed retaliatory under subsection (e).
- You can still evict for the reasons in subsection (c): tenant-caused code violations, material lease noncompliance (including unpaid rent), or repairs that would displace the tenant.
- Document the non-retaliatory reason. Timing that lines up with a complaint invites scrutiny, so keep records that show the real basis for the action.
- A retaliation defense raised in bad faith exposes the tenant to your damages and fees under subsection (b).
For tenants
- You are protected only after a qualifying complaint: to a government agency about a health-and-safety code violation, or to the landlord about a violation of the Act.
- The three protected-against acts are a rent increase above fair-market value, a cut in essential services, and an eviction filing.
- Stay current on rent. Nonpayment is material noncompliance and lets the landlord evict regardless of your complaint; the seventy-five-day non-renewal protection in subsection (g) applies only if you are not in default on rent.
- To use retaliation as a defense in an eviction, subsection (f) requires you to notify the landlord in writing within ten days after service of the Rule to Vacate or Show Cause.
What a retaliating landlord owes
The money consequence sits in subsection (h). A landlord who retaliates against a tenant for protected conduct is liable for damages up to three months' rent or treble (three times) the tenant's actual damages, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney's fees.
The "whichever is greater" language matters. If three months' rent is larger than three times the tenant's proven out-of-pocket loss, the tenant recovers the three months' rent figure, and vice versa. Attorney's fees are added on top. The section also preserves a separate damages action after a landlord has recovered possession under subsection (c), if the ejectment was primarily in retaliation for the tenant's protected conduct.
Retaliation is both a shield and a sword. Under subsection (b) the tenant can raise retaliation as a defense to an eviction (invoking the remedies in Section 27-40-660), and under subsection (h) the tenant can separately pursue damages. A landlord's timing near a complaint is the fact that most often decides these cases, which is why documenting an independent, lawful reason for any rent change or eviction is the landlord's best protection.
The statute at a glance
| Rule | Detail | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Prohibited acts | Rent increase above fair-market value, decrease in essential services, or an action for possession, done in retaliation | Section 27-40-910(a) |
| Protected complaints | Complaint to a government agency about a health-and-safety code violation, or to the landlord about a violation of the Act | Section 27-40-910(a) |
| Tenant defense to eviction | Retaliation may be raised as a defense; bad-faith defense exposes tenant to landlord damages and fees | Section 27-40-910(b) |
| Landlord exceptions | Tenant-caused code violation; material noncompliance (incl. unpaid rent); or repairs that would displace the tenant | Section 27-40-910(c) |
| No presumption | Uniform, fair-market rent increase across more than four adjoining units | Section 27-40-910(e) |
| Tenant notice deadline | Written notice of intent to raise the defense within 10 days after service of the Rule to Vacate or Show Cause | Section 27-40-910(f) |
| Retaliatory non-renewal | No possession for 75 days; no rent hike above fair value or service cut, if tenant is current on rent and proves the violation and notice | Section 27-40-910(g) |
| Damages | Up to three months' rent or treble actual damages, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney's fees | Section 27-40-910(h) |
Related guides: For the eviction process itself, see the South Carolina eviction process guide. For the landlord's habitability obligations that a tenant's complaint often concerns, see the landlord repair duties guide. For the deposit rules that come up at the end of a tenancy, see the move-out inspection guide.
Sources
- South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 27, Chapter 40, Section 27-40-910 (Retaliatory Conduct Prohibited), South Carolina Legislature. Read the full chapter at scstatehouse.gov
- South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Title 27, Chapter 40, South Carolina Legislature. 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.