South Carolina security deposit law

South Carolina sets no maximum on a security deposit. The Act defines a security deposit as money the tenant gives you that you hold in trust to secure the tenant's full performance of the lease.

S.C. Code Ann. §§ 27-40-10 to 27-40-940 S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-210 (18)

• If you rent more than four adjoining units on the premises and use different standards to calculate deposits for different tenants, you must, before the lease is made, post the standards in a conspicuous place on the premises or where rent is paid, or give each prospective tenant a written statement of them. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410 (c)
• If you skip that statement, the part of a tenant's deposit above the lowest deposit you charge for a comparable unit on the premises cannot be applied to damage the tenant caused. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410 (c)

When the tenancy ends you may keep only accrued rent and damages caused by the tenant's failure to meet the tenant's statutory duties. Send a written, itemized notice of any deductions with the amount due within 30 days after the later of the end of the tenancy and return of possession, or the tenant's demand.

S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410 (a)

• The tenant must give you a forwarding or new address in writing. A tenant who does not loses the right to damages only if you had no notice of the tenant's whereabouts and mailed the notice and any amount due to the tenant's last known address. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410 (a)
• If you fail to return prepaid rent or the deposit with the required notice, the tenant may recover three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees. The statute does not require bad faith for this. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410 (b)
• Whoever holds the landlord's interest when the tenancy ends is bound by the deposit rules. A seller stays liable for the deposit unless it is transferred to the buyer and the tenant is told in writing within a reasonable time. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410 (e) S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-450 (a)
• If a fire or casualty ends the lease and the tenant did not cause it, return the recoverable deposit and all prepaid rent. If you withhold because the tenant caused it, you still owe the 30-day itemized notice. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-650 (b)

The Act does not require a separate or interest-bearing account and does not require you to pay interest on a deposit. It does say the deposit is held in trust.

S.C. Code Ann. §§ 27-40-10 to 27-40-940 S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-210 (18)

The Act requires no move-in inspection, checklist or condition report. At the start of the term you must deliver possession in compliance with the lease and your duty to keep the home fit and habitable.

S.C. Code Ann. §§ 27-40-10 to 27-40-940 S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-430