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South Carolina room rental agreement
Written for South Carolina law, checked October 1, 2026 General information, not legal advice
Rentari offers a general room-rental agreement form, but it is not tailored to South Carolina or every local rule. Review the room, shared spaces, occupancy requirements, and applicable South Carolina and city rules before using a form. The state table below covers selected deposit and entry rules, not every room-rental requirement.
South Carolina rules that apply
- Security deposit limit
- No limit
- South Carolina sets no maximum
- S.C. Code Ann. §§ 27-40-10 to 27-40-940
- Entry notice
- 24 hours
- except emergencies and some service visits
- S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-530 (b), (c)
Security deposit limit
Not set by statuteSouth 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)
More detail (2)
- 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)
The Rentari South Carolina lease states the deposit amount and says no South Carolina statute caps it; a deposit standards notice is attached whenever the lease has a deposit.
Landlord entry
Give at least 24 hours' notice of your intent to enter, and enter only at reasonable times. The tenant may not unreasonably refuse entry to inspect, repair, supply services or show the home.
S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-530 (a), (c)
More detail (5)
- No notice is needed in an emergency. A coming change in the weather that is likely to endanger the property may count as one. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-530 (b)(1)
- To provide services the tenant asked for, you may enter between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. without the 24 hours' notice, but you must announce your intent to enter first. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-530 (b)(3)
- For regularly scheduled services such as filter changes or pest treatment, you may enter between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. without the 24 hours' notice only if the lease conspicuously says so in writing and you announce your intent first. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-530 (b)(2)
- Otherwise you may enter only under a court order, to fix a tenant's health and safety violation or after abandonment as the Act allows, with a law officer serving eviction papers, or after the tenant abandons or surrenders the home. Do not use access to harass the tenant. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-530 (c), (d)
- If the tenant refuses lawful access, you may get a court order or end the lease and recover actual damages and attorney's fees. If you enter unlawfully or harass with repeated entries or demands, the tenant may get a court order or end the lease and recover the same. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-780
The Rentari South Carolina lease requires at least 24 hours' notice (or the longer period you set) with the emergency and tenant-requested service exceptions; it does not include the scheduled services exception, so routine service visits need the full notice.