South Carolina Eviction Notice
South Carolina eviction notice: 5-day pay-or-quit and 14-day cure-or-quit rules under S.C. Code Section 27-40-710. Free template. Attorney review available.
Introduction
South Carolina splits its eviction notice by day count, not by a uniform period like some states use: nonpayment of rent gets 5 days, while a general lease violation gets 14 days, and the days run differently too, from the rent due date for nonpayment, but from receipt of the notice for a lease violation. What follows on this page is the actual notice document a landlord fills in and serves, not a broader explainer of how South Carolina eviction law works: an eviction notice is a written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing for ejectment in magistrate's court. South Carolina's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, S.C. Code Ann. Section 27-40-10 and following, sets these rules. A material lease violation other than nonpayment gets 14 days to cure under Section 27-40-710(A), and the tenant keeps the lease by fixing the problem, or starting a good-faith fix, before the deadline. Illegal activity on the premises is folded into the same 5-day track as nonpayment under Section 27-40-710(B), an unusual pairing worth noting on its own. There's no mandatory statewide notice form, but a landlord who wants a lease clause to substitute for a separate nonpayment notice must use specific statutory wording. Serve the wrong day count, or the wrong wording, and the eviction case can stall or be dismissed.
Key Things to Know
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An eviction notice is a written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing for ejectment in magistrate's court.
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Nonpayment of rent gets 5 days' notice, counted from the date rent was due, not from when the notice is served. (S.C. Code Ann. Section 27-40-710(B))
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A material lease violation other than nonpayment, a health-and-safety issue, or an illegal-use violation gets 14 days' notice from receipt of the notice, and it's curable: fixing the problem, or starting a good-faith fix, by the deadline keeps the lease alive. (S.C. Code Ann. Section 27-40-710(A))
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Illegal activity or using the unit for something other than a dwelling (Section 27-40-540) is explicitly carved out of the 14-day cure track and instead follows the same 5-day notice as nonpayment of rent, though the statute's cure language there is written in terms of paying rent. (S.C. Code Ann. Section 27-40-710(A), (B))
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A health-and-safety violation under Section 27-40-510 gets its own 14-day notice, or an immediate deadline "as promptly as conditions require" if it's an emergency. (S.C. Code Ann. Section 27-40-720(b))
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Notice may be delivered in hand to the tenant, or mailed by registered or certified mail to the tenant's designated address or last known residence; the landlord doesn't need proof the tenant actually received it, only proof of mailing. (S.C. Code Ann. Section 27-40-240)
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There's no state-mandated form for the notice itself. A nonpayment notice requirement can instead be satisfied permanently by putting a specific statutory warning sentence directly in the written lease, in conspicuous language, so no separate notice is needed for that lease term or the month-to-month tenancy that follows it. (S.C. Code Ann. Section 27-40-710(B))
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Eviction Notice in South Carolina, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Eviction Notice guide walks through them.
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South Carolina Requirements for Eviction Notice
5-day notice, counted from the rent due date, not from service of the notice. The landlord must give written notice of nonpayment and intent to terminate if rent isn't paid within that period. This duty is fully satisfied, for the current lease term and any month-to-month tenancy that follows it, by a specific statutory warning sentence placed in conspicuous language directly in the written lease.
14-day notice from receipt of the notice, for material noncompliance with the rental agreement other than nonpayment of rent, an illegal-use violation, or a health-and-safety violation. Curable: the tenant may remedy the breach before the deadline, or, if the remedy can't be finished within 14 days, start it within that window and pursue it in good faith to completion within a reasonable time.
Notice may be delivered in hand to the tenant, or mailed by registered or certified mail to the tenant's designated address for notices, or in the absence of a designation, to the tenant's last known place of residence. Proof of mailing alone constitutes notice; the landlord does not additionally need proof the tenant received it. Either method is sufficient on its own, with no statutory order of preference.
The South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, South Carolina Code of Laws Section 27-40-10 and following, sets the notice requirements for each eviction ground and the ejectment process that follows if the tenant does not comply.
Illegal use or activity under Section 27-40-540 is excluded from the 14-day cure track and instead follows the 5-day nonpayment track under Section 27-40-710(B), though that subsection's cure-avoidance language is phrased in terms of paying rent, an unresolved textual mismatch flagged for attorney review. A Section 27-40-510 health-and-safety violation gets its own 14-day notice under Section 27-40-720(b), or an immediate deadline (as promptly as conditions require) if it is an emergency.
There is no government-mandated form for the pre-filing notice itself. The magistrate's court forms that exist (Application for Ejectment, Rule to Vacate or Show Cause) apply only after filing, once the notice period has run. A landlord relying on a lease clause instead of a separate nonpayment notice must use the specific statutory sentence, or substantially equivalent conspicuous wording, set out in Section 27-40-710(B).
Distinct from the for-cause notices above: either the landlord or the tenant may end a month-to-month tenancy without cause with at least 30 days' written notice, or a week-to-week tenancy with at least 7 days' written notice, before the termination date stated in the notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
South Carolina uses two day counts depending on the cause. Nonpayment of rent gets 5 days, counted from the rent due date, and illegal activity or illegal use of the unit follows that same 5-day track. A material lease violation, or a health-and-safety issue under Section 27-40-510, gets 14 days instead, counted from receipt of the notice, with a chance to fix the problem first.
No, not for these grounds. S.C. Code Ann. Section 27-40-710 requires written notice, either 5 days or 14 days depending on the reason, before a landlord can pursue an ejectment action for nonpayment of rent, illegal use, or a lease violation. Skipping the notice, or using the wrong day count, can stall or sink the eviction case.
The 5-day notice covers nonpayment of rent and illegal use or activity on the premises, and it counts from the rent due date, not from service. The 14-day notice covers a general material lease violation, or a health-and-safety issue under Section 27-40-510, counted from receipt of the notice, and it comes with a defined chance to cure: fixing the problem, or starting a good-faith fix, by the deadline keeps the tenancy alive.
There's no statewide mandatory form for the notice itself. The forms that exist, like the magistrate's court Application for Ejectment or Rule to Vacate or Show Cause, come into play only after the landlord files in court, once the notice period has already run. A landlord can write their own pre-filing notice, as long as it states the correct day count, the reason, and, for a nonpayment notice relying on a lease clause instead of a separate notice, the specific statutory wording.
Yes, for nonpayment specifically. If the written lease contains the exact statutory sentence, or substantially equivalent conspicuous language, warning the tenant that unpaid rent within 5 days of the due date can start an eviction with no further notice, that clause satisfies the landlord's notice duty on its own. No separate per-incident notice is then required, even into a month-to-month tenancy that follows the lease term. This doesn't apply to the 14-day lease-violation or health-and-safety tracks, which still need their own written notice each time.
For nonpayment, count 5 days from the date rent was due, not from the date the notice goes out. For a lease violation or a health-and-safety issue, count 14 days from the tenant's receipt of the notice, which under Section 27-40-240 happens either when the notice is delivered in hand or, if mailed by registered or certified mail, on mailing (proof of mailing is enough; the landlord doesn't need proof the tenant opened it).
If the tenant hasn't paid, cured, or vacated by the deadline, the notice itself doesn't remove anyone. The landlord's next step is to file for ejectment in the magistrate's court for the county where the property sits. The magistrate issues a written rule for the tenant to vacate or show cause within 10 days of service, and if the tenant doesn't prevail, a warrant of ejectment is executed by a constable or the county sheriff, not the landlord.
No. The notice is the first step, giving the tenant a chance to pay, cure, or vacate depending on the ground. If the deadline passes without resolution, the landlord must still file for ejectment in magistrate's court and get a ruling before anyone is removed. Even then, a constable or the sheriff carries out the physical removal, not the landlord.