In South Carolina a landlord evicts a tenant by filing an Application for Ejectment in the magistrate court for the county where the property is, after giving whatever notice the lease and the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act require. The magistrate issues a Rule to Vacate or Show Cause; the tenant has ten days after service to request a hearing; if the tenant does not, or loses at the hearing, the magistrate issues a Writ of Ejectment, and a constable or deputy gives the occupants twenty-four hours to leave (S.C. Code § 27-37-10 et seq.). Uncontested cases take roughly three to five weeks from filing. The filing fee is $40 plus a small fee for the writ.
Step 1: a lawful ground
S.C. Code § 27-37-10 allows ejectment on three grounds: the tenant failed to pay rent when due or when demanded; the term of the tenancy has ended; or the tenant violated a term or condition of the lease. Everything else, including a landlord’s wish to renovate or move a relative in, has to fit one of those three, usually by ending a month-to-month tenancy with thirty days’ written notice.
Step 2: the notice the ground requires
| Ground | Notice required | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Nonpayment of rent | Written notice and five days to pay. A written lease that states in conspicuous, bold type that nonpayment constitutes notice satisfies this for the entire term, so the landlord may file on the sixth day without a separate letter. | § 27-40-710(B); § 27-37-10(B) |
| Other lease violation (unauthorized occupants, pets, damage, nuisance) | Written notice specifying the violation and stating that the lease ends in fourteen days unless it is cured. If the tenant cures in time, no eviction. | § 27-40-710(A) |
| Month-to-month tenancy | Written notice at least thirty days before the termination date (seven days for week-to-week). | § 27-40-770 |
| End of a fixed-term lease (holdover) | None beyond the lease itself; a tenant who stays past the end date is a holdover and may be ejected, and a willful holdover owes up to three months’ rent or double damages plus attorney’s fees. | § 27-40-770 |
Most contested evictions turn on this step. A notice that names the wrong amount, the wrong date, the wrong cure period or the wrong tenant, or that was never delivered in a way the landlord can prove, is the tenant’s best defense and the landlord’s most expensive mistake.
Step 3: the Application for Ejectment
The landlord, or an agent or attorney, files the Application for Ejectment in the magistrate court for the county where the property is: the Summerville magistrate’s office on Deming Way for most of the Summerville area, St. George for upper Dorchester County, the Berkeley County magistrate courts for Goose Creek, Moncks Corner and the Berkeley side of Summerville, and the Charleston County civil magistrate court for North Charleston, Charleston and Mount Pleasant. The filing fee is $40, with a small additional fee when the writ issues. The application states the ground, the amount of rent owed if any, and the names of the tenants; adults who are not named are not covered by the writ, so landlords should name every adult occupant they know of. Back rent and damages up to the magistrate’s $7,500 civil limit can be claimed in the same case.
Step 4: the Rule to Vacate or Show Cause and the tenant’s ten days
The magistrate issues a written rule requiring the tenant to vacate or to show cause, within ten days after service, why they should not be ejected. A constable or deputy serves it. Those ten days are the tenant’s window: a written request for a hearing, filed with the magistrate, stops the writ and sets the case for trial. A tenant who does nothing is ejected on the eleventh day without a hearing (S.C. Code § 27-37-40). Paying the rent after the rule is issued does not end the case unless the landlord agrees; the statute says the landlord’s acceptance of rent after the rule does not waive the right to ejectment, and rent keeps accruing while the tenant stays.
Step 5: the hearing
Hearings are short and usually set within a few weeks. The landlord goes first and must prove the lease, the ground and the notice; the tenant answers. Either side may demand a jury trial, which lengthens the case. Common tenant defenses: the notice was defective or never given; the rent was tendered before the case was filed and refused; the landlord failed to repair a health or safety condition after written notice under § 27-40-610; the eviction is retaliation for a complaint to a housing or code agency, a complaint to the landlord about repairs, or joining a tenants’ organization (§ 27-40-910); the case names the wrong person or the wrong unit; or the lease has not ended. Counterclaims for a withheld deposit or for repair costs can be raised in the same case.
Step 6: the writ and the twenty-four hours
If the tenant does not request a hearing, or the magistrate rules for the landlord, the magistrate issues a Writ of Ejectment, within five days of a verdict for the landlord. Under S.C. Code § 27-37-160 the constable or deputy goes to the property, presents the writ and gives the occupants twenty-four hours to leave voluntarily. If they do not, or the premises appear unoccupied, a deputy sheriff (not a constable) may enter by force using the least destructive means. A writ posted on the door when no one answers works the same way after twenty-four hours.
Appeals
A tenant may appeal to the circuit court, but the appeal does not stop the eviction unless the tenant posts an appeal bond, in an amount the magistrate sets, within five days of serving the notice of appeal (§ 27-37-130). In practice very few tenants can, which is why the hearing is the place to win.
The timeline in a typical nonpayment case
| Day | What happens |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Rent is due and unpaid. |
| Day 6 | The five-day period has run; if the lease contains the conspicuous nonpayment clause, the landlord may file. |
| Days 6–8 | Application for Ejectment filed; the magistrate issues the Rule to Vacate or Show Cause. |
| Days 8–14 | The constable or deputy serves the rule. |
| Service + 10 days | The tenant’s deadline to request a hearing. |
| Day 20–25 (no hearing requested) | Writ of Ejectment issues; the deputy serves it and gives twenty-four hours. |
| Weeks 4–8 (hearing requested) | Hearing held; if the landlord prevails, the writ issues within five days and is executed. |
What landlords get wrong
- Filing on the wrong ground, or filing for nonpayment when the lease has no notice clause and no letter was sent
- Accepting partial rent with a side promise and then losing track of what was agreed
- Leaving an adult occupant off the application, so the writ does not cover them
- Any form of self-help: a changed lock, a cut utility, a removed door, a text that says “be out by Friday or I’ll put your things on the curb”
- Disposing of belongings left behind without following the Act’s abandonment procedure
What tenants get wrong
- Ignoring the rule because the rent is almost together; the ten days do not wait
- Requesting the hearing orally, by text to the landlord, or anywhere but with the magistrate
- Withholding rent for repairs without the written fourteen-day notice the Act requires
- Moving out without a written surrender and a forwarding address, then losing the deposit claim
- Appealing without the bond and expecting the eviction to stop
Frost first: whichever side you are on, the paperwork decides the case. A landlord should have us read the lease and the notice before filing; a tenant should call the day the rule is served, not the day before the hearing.
Need an eviction filed, or defended, in Dorchester, Berkeley or Charleston County?
Call. We will tell you what the magistrate will look for and what it will cost.
Questions people ask
How long does it take to evict a tenant in South Carolina?
About three to five weeks from filing in an uncontested nonpayment case: service of the rule, the tenant’s ten days, and the writ with twenty-four hours’ notice. A hearing or a jury demand adds weeks.
How much does it cost to file an eviction in South Carolina?
The magistrate court filing fee for an Application for Ejectment is $40, plus a small fee when the writ issues and the constable’s service costs. Attorney’s fees are separate; uncontested cases are usually a flat fee.
What is a Rule to Vacate or Show Cause?
The magistrate’s order, served on the tenant after the landlord files, requiring the tenant to leave or to show cause within ten days why they should not be ejected. Requesting a hearing within those ten days is how a tenant shows cause.
Can a landlord evict in South Carolina without a lease?
Yes. A tenant without a written lease is usually a month-to-month tenant, and the landlord can end the tenancy with thirty days’ written notice or file for nonpayment after written notice and five days.
Can a tenant stop an eviction by paying the rent?
Only if the landlord agrees or the payment was tendered before the case was filed. Once the rule is issued, the statute says accepting rent does not waive the landlord’s right to ejectment, though many landlords will dismiss on full payment.
What happens to belongings left behind after an eviction?
The Act has a procedure for property a tenant abandons, and the writ allows the deputy to set belongings out. Landlords should document everything and follow the Act rather than disposing of property immediately; tenants should take what matters before the deputy arrives.
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