Landlord & tenant · South Carolina
the short answer
South Carolina is strong on paper: money kept wrongly is worth three times that amount, plus reasonable attorney's fees, and the landlord has 30 days. What decides most of these cases is not the landlord's conduct but whether you put a forwarding address in writing.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
governing statute
S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
deadline
30 days
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Across the country. 23 of the 47 states written up answer this the same way as South Carolina. The shortest is 14 days, as in Alaska; the longest is 60 days, as in Alabama. Compare every state →
penalty
Three times the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney's fees.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
which court
Magistrate court
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
small claims limit
$7,500
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
also
You must give the landlord a forwarding address in writing. Fail to and you are not entitled to those damages at all, however plainly the landlord was wrong.
source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.
your situation
Everything above is the law as it reaches everyone in South Carolina. What it means for you turns on facts only you have. Tell us what happened and we'll ask the same questions a lawyer would — about 90 seconds, free, and anonymous.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Written by an AI model, which can be wrong. Not a lawyer, and not a prediction about your case. Terms · Privacy
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