The eviction process in South Carolina is a court-supervised sequence that begins with written notice from the landlord and ends with a magistrate’s writ carried out by a constable or sheriff. When uncontested, the whole thing usually takes three to six weeks. A tenant who fights the case can stretch it well beyond that. Skipping any step, or trying to remove a tenant without going through the magistrate court, exposes the landlord to serious liability, no matter how strong the underlying reason for the eviction.
Start With Written Notice
Nothing gets filed in court until the landlord has given the tenant written notice, and the notice period depends on why the eviction is happening.
For nonpayment of rent, the landlord must deliver a written five-day notice stating that rent is overdue and that the lease will terminate if payment isn’t made within five days of the due date. South Carolina law lets landlords put language in the lease itself that satisfies this notice requirement for the entire tenancy. When the lease contains that language, there is no separate warning each time rent is late, and the landlord can move directly to court once five days have passed.1South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-40-710 – Noncompliance With Rental Agreement; Failure to Pay Rent; Removal of Evicted Tenant’s Personal Property
For lease violations other than nonpayment, the landlord must deliver a written fourteen-day notice that identifies the specific violation and states the lease will end if the tenant doesn’t fix the problem within those fourteen days.1South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-40-710 – Noncompliance With Rental Agreement; Failure to Pay Rent; Removal of Evicted Tenant’s Personal Property
Either notice should list the tenant’s name, the property address, and a clear description of the problem. Delivery can be in person or by mail, but the landlord needs to document how and when it was delivered because the court will ask. A notice with the wrong name, wrong address, or a vague description of the breach gives the tenant an easy way to challenge the whole case later.
Locking a Tenant Out Is Not an Option
Changing the locks, shutting off water or power, removing doors, or putting a tenant’s belongings on the curb without a court order are all illegal in South Carolina. A tenant subjected to any of these tactics can sue and recover three months’ rent or double their actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees, and the court can order the tenant restored to the property.2South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 27 Chapter 40 – South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act – Section 27-40-660 The magistrate court is the only legal path.
Filing for Ejectment in Magistrate Court
Once the five-day or fourteen-day notice window closes without resolution, the landlord files an Application for Ejectment at the magistrate court in the jurisdiction where the property sits. The magistrate then issues a Rule to Vacate or Show Cause, which orders the tenant to leave or appear in court and explain why they should stay.3South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-37-20 – Ejectment Proceedings
The application needs to state the grounds for eviction (nonpayment, a specific lease violation, or holdover) and the details should match the earlier notice exactly. A mismatch between the notice and the court filing hands the tenant a procedural argument. Filing and service fees vary by county but typically run around $40 when a court constable handles service.4Orangeburg County, SC. Fees and Filings
Serving the Rule to Vacate
The Rule to Vacate has to be formally served. A court constable, a sheriff’s deputy, or a private process server can deliver it using the same methods allowed for a summons in any civil case, and the server files a return with the court confirming when and how service happened.5South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-37-30 – Service of Rule; Posting and Mailing Requirements
If two personal service attempts fail, the server can post a copy on the most visible part of the property and mail another copy to the tenant.5South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-37-30 – Service of Rule; Posting and Mailing Requirements If the court later finds service was defective, it loses jurisdiction over the case entirely, and the landlord has to start over.
The Tenant’s Ten-Day Window
After being served, the tenant has ten days to move out or file an answer with the court asking for a hearing.3South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-37-20 – Ejectment Proceedings If the tenant does nothing within those ten days, the magistrate issues a warrant of ejectment and a constable or the county sheriff removes the tenant.6South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-37-40 – Tenant Ejected on Failure to Appear and Show Cause Default judgments are common because many tenants never respond.
The Hearing
When a tenant does request a hearing, both sides present evidence to the magistrate. The landlord should bring the original lease, a copy of the notice served on the tenant, proof of service, and a ledger showing any unpaid rent. For lease-violation cases, photographs, inspection reports, or witnesses matter.
Tenants raise several defenses routinely. Defective notice is one: the landlord didn’t give proper written notice, served it incorrectly, or filed before the notice period expired. Retaliation is another, because South Carolina prohibits landlords from evicting a tenant, raising rent above fair-market value, or cutting essential services because the tenant exercised a legal right such as reporting a code violation or requesting required repairs.7South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 27 Chapter 40 – South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act – Section 27-40-590 A tenant can also point to the landlord’s failure to meet habitability or lease obligations. Discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability violates the federal Fair Housing Act, and a tenant who can show the eviction is pretextual has a strong defense.8U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act In nonpayment cases, proof that rent was actually paid, or tendered and refused, defeats the claim.
Verbal claims without documentation rarely succeed in magistrate court. Judges want receipts, photos, written complaints, or inspection reports.
If the magistrate rules for the landlord, the court issues a writ of ejectment authorizing physical removal.
Execution of the Writ
The writ doesn’t mean the tenant is out that same day. A constable or deputy sheriff first delivers the writ and gives the tenant twenty-four hours to leave voluntarily. If the tenant is still there when the officer returns, the officer physically removes the occupants and their belongings.9South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 27-37-160 – Execution of Writ of Ejectment
The tenant’s personal property is placed on the public roadway next to the premises and must remain there for at least forty-eight hours, not counting weekends and holidays, before municipal or county officials can remove it as debris. If the property is in an area without public trash collection, the landlord may dispose of the belongings after that forty-eight-hour window.10South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 27 Chapter 40 – South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act – Section 27-40-710 The eviction notice itself has to inform the tenant of these property-removal rules.
Appeals
A tenant who loses at the magistrate level can appeal to the circuit court within thirty days of receiving written notice of the judgment. When the judgment is announced in open court with both sides present, the thirty-day clock starts right away.11South Carolina Judicial Branch. South Carolina Magistrate Court Rule 18 The notice of appeal goes to the magistrate who ruled and to the circuit court, and it has to state the specific grounds.
Filing the appeal by itself does not stop the eviction. To pause enforcement, the tenant must post a surety bond covering the full judgment amount plus costs.12South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 18 Chapter 7 – Section 18-7-10 – Appeals From Inferior Courts; Supersedeas Without that bond, the writ can be executed while the appeal is pending, which makes the appeal right more theoretical than real for many tenants.
Active-Duty Servicemembers
Federal law changes the standard timeline when the tenant is on active military duty. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a court must stay eviction proceedings for at least ninety days if the servicemember’s military duties prevent them from taking part in their own defense. A default judgment entered during service or within sixty days after can be reopened if the servicemember petitions within ninety days of leaving the military.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments Before any default judgment, the landlord has to file an affidavit stating whether the tenant is on active duty, and a false affidavit is a criminal offense.
A servicemember who receives permanent change-of-station orders or a deployment of ninety days or more can also terminate a residential lease without penalty by delivering written notice and a copy of the orders to the landlord. The lease ends thirty days after the next rent payment comes due following that notice, and a spouse or dependent can terminate the lease within one year if the servicemember dies during service.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3955 – Termination of Residential or Motor Vehicle Leases With several major military installations in the state, these rules come up more often than landlords expect.
How an Eviction Follows a Tenant
An eviction judgment is a civil court record, and under the Fair Credit Reporting Act it can stay on a tenant’s record for up to seven years from the date of entry.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports Most landlords and property managers run tenant screening reports that pull housing court records, so a judgment on file makes it much harder to find the next place to live. Any unpaid rent or damages awarded as part of the eviction can also be sent to collections and reported separately as a delinquent account.
Tenants who settle or pay the judgment should get written confirmation and check that screening services reflect the resolution. The seven-year clock runs from when the judgment was entered, not from the date the tenant eventually pays.