Breaking a Lease Early in South Carolina: What Are My Options?

If you leave without a legal reason

1. 1

   If your lease ends early, your landlord has a right to the home and to rent. Your landlord also has a separate claim for actual losses from the broken lease and for reasonable lawyer fees.

   Source:

   1. § 27-40-750, South Carolina Code of Laws. Law.
   Tip.

   Read your lease before you decide. Check whether it lets you end it early and what penalty you must pay.

2. 2

   If you abandon (leave for good) your home, your landlord must try to rent it at a fair rental. If your landlord rents it to someone whose term starts before your lease ends, your lease ends that day. If your landlord does not try, your lease ends the day your landlord learns you left. It ends then too if the landlord accepts that you left as a surrender (a giving back of the home).

   Source:

   1. § 27-40-730(c), South Carolina Code of Laws. Law.
3. 3

   The law counts your home as abandoned (left for good) in two cases. One is 15 days away with no explanation after you miss rent. The other is turning off your own utilities (water, electric, gas) and being away with no explanation after you miss rent. Then it counts as abandoned at once.

   Source:

   1. § 27-40-730(a)-(b), South Carolina Code of Laws. Law.

When you can leave early

4. 4

   If your landlord seriously breaks the lease, send a written notice that says what is wrong. Send one too if your landlord fails to make repairs that seriously affect health and safety or the property's condition. Give an end date at least 14 days after your landlord gets it. If your landlord does not fix the problem within 14 days, your lease ends. If a court later disagrees, you can still owe the rent.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. § 27-40-440(a)(2), South Carolina Code of Laws. Law.
   Think before you call an inspector.

   You or a neighbor can ask the city to send a code inspector. Be careful: if the home is in very bad shape, the inspector can condemn it (say no one may live there). Then everyone must move out, you too, sometimes on short notice. Think about where you would go before you call.

   Tip.

   Write down each problem, every time you contacted your landlord, and the day you moved out.

   Tip.

   Keep a copy of every letter you give your landlord, and keep your mail receipt. Save the texts and emails you send your landlord, and any replies.

5. 5

   Your lease does not end after your written notice if your landlord fixes the problem before the date in the notice. A problem that does not affect health and safety may take more than 14 days to fix. Your lease does not end if your landlord starts the fix within 14 days. The landlord must keep at it in good faith and finish within a reasonable time.

   Source:

   1. § 27-40-610(a)(1), South Carolina Code of Laws. Law.
6. 6

   You cannot end your lease over a problem that you caused on purpose or by being careless. The same goes for a problem caused by your family. It also covers anyone on the property with your permission or whom you let in.

   Source:

   1. § 27-40-610(a)(2), South Carolina Code of Laws. Law.
7. 7

   If fire or other damage leaves your home so damaged that normal use is substantially impaired, you may move out at once. Tell your landlord in writing within 7 days after you move out that you are ending the lease. Your lease ends on the day you move out. If a court later disagrees, you can still owe the rent.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. § 27-40-650(a), South Carolina Code of Laws. Law.

How to leave

8. 8

   A notice counts as received when your landlord learns of it. It also counts when it is delivered to the office where you made your lease, or to another place your landlord names for notices.

   Source:

   1. § 27-40-240(B), South Carolina Code of Laws. Law.

After you move out

9. 9

   Your landlord may keep money from your security deposit for unpaid rent and for damage you caused. The law gives your landlord 30 days to send you a written list of each amount kept, with any money due. The days start after your lease ends and you hand over the home, or after you ask, whichever is later.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. § 27-40-410(a), South Carolina Code of Laws. Law.
   Tip.

   Before you leave, clean the home and take photos of how you left it.

10. 10

    Give your landlord a forwarding address in writing. If you do not, you cannot recover money for a late deposit notice if your landlord had no notice of where you are. The landlord must also have mailed the notice and any money due to your last known address.

    Source:

    1. § 27-40-410(a), South Carolina Code of Laws. Law.
11. 11

    Your landlord may fail to return your deposit with the required notice. You can then recover 3 times the amount kept without a legal right to it, plus reasonable attorney's fees. For example, if $200 was kept, 3 times $200 is $600. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. § 27-40-410(b), South Carolina Code of Laws. Law.
    Tip.

    This is only an example to show how the rule works. If it goes to court, a court decides the real amount.

12. 12

    If your landlord says you owe more, a debt collector may call or write to you. The collector must tell you how much, who it is for and how to say it is wrong. You have 30 days after you get that notice to write back. Then the collector must stop trying to get that money until it answers you.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. What information does a debt collector have to give me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
    3. What should I do when a debt collector contacts me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
13. 13

    Your landlord can take money from your pay or benefits only after winning in court. The court must issue a judgment (the court's final decision) that you owe the debt. If you are sued, do not ignore it. You can lose the case if you do not go to court.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. Can a debt collector take or garnish my wages, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
    Tip.

    If you get court papers, do not ignore them. Go to court, or you can lose the case.

    From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.