Landlord retaliation in South Carolina: what 27-40-910 stops you from doing
A South Carolina landlord may not retaliate against a tenant who complained to a code enforcement agency about a health or safety violation, or complained to the landlord about a violation of the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Section 27-40-910 bars raising the rent above fair-market value, cutting essential services and bringing an action for possession as payback. A landlord who does it can owe three months' rent or treble damages, and the tenant can use it as a defense in an eviction case.
What does the South Carolina retaliation law say?
Section 27-40-910(a) says that, except as the section provides, a landlord shall not retaliate by increasing rent to an amount in excess of fair-market value, by decreasing essential services, or by bringing an action for possession after one of two things happens. Either the tenant complained to a governmental agency charged with enforcing a building or housing code about a violation applicable to the premises that materially affects health and safety, or the tenant complained to the landlord of a violation of the chapter.
Notice what the first clause leaves alone. The statute does not freeze rent. It bars a rent increase to an amount above fair-market value. A modest increase that matches the market and that you would have made anyway is a different thing from a jump that follows a repair request. The order of events and your records decide which one a court sees.
When can a landlord still bring an action for possession?
Subsection (c) keeps three doors open even after a complaint. A landlord may bring an action for possession if the code violation was caused primarily by a lack of reasonable care by the tenant, a family member or a person on the premises with the tenant's permission. A landlord may also act if there is material noncompliance by the tenant under section 27-40-710 (rent and other breaches) or 27-40-720 (health and safety breaches). The third door is work that makes the unit unusable: compliance with the housing code requires alteration, remodeling or demolition that would effectively deprive the tenant of use of the dwelling unit.
Subsection (e) adds one more rule that helps larger owners. A landlord who rents more than four adjoining dwelling units on the premises may increase rent without a presumption of retaliation, provided the increase applies uniformly to all tenants, or so long as the rent does not exceed fair-market value. So a building-wide increase that hits every unit equally is not treated the same way as a single increase aimed at the one tenant who complained.
Even when an exception applies, subsection (d) says bringing an action under subsection (c) does not release a landlord from liability under section 27-40-610(b). A landlord who is suing on a real breach still has to deal with the original repair problem.
What about refusing to renew a lease?
Subsection (g) covers nonrenewal. If a landlord retaliates for protected conduct by refusing to renew the lease, and the tenant is not in default on rent, the landlord may not recover possession for seventy-five days. During that time the landlord also may not raise rent above fair-market value or decrease essential services while it pursues the recovery of the unit. This protection applies only if the tenant proves the landlord's violation of the chapter, the landlord had notice of the violation, and the landlord had notice of the tenant's complaint before the lease expired.
Example a made-up tenant emails the landlord on Monday, September 14, 2026 about a broken heater, and the lease ends Saturday, October 31, 2026. The landlord sends a nonrenewal notice on Friday, October 2. If the tenant later proves the elements in subsection (g), the landlord cannot recover possession for seventy-five days after the lease ends, which runs through Thursday, January 14, 2027. The date is made up, and a court would count the period under its own rules, so treat it as a rough guide only.
What does retaliation cost a landlord?
Under subsection (b), a tenant who proves retaliation is entitled to the remedies in section 27-40-660 as a defense to the landlord's action for possession. Section 27-40-660 gives a tenant who is unlawfully ousted the option to recover possession or end the rental agreement, plus an amount equal to three months of periodic rent or twice the actual damages, whichever is greater, and reasonable attorney's fees. Subsection (h) says a landlord who retaliates is liable for damages up to three months of rent or treble the actual damages, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney's fees.
The statute cuts the other way too. If a tenant's retaliation defense is without merit, the landlord is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees, and if the defense is raised in bad faith the landlord may recover up to three months of periodic rent or treble the actual damages, whichever is greater. Under subsection (f), a tenant who plans to raise the defense must notify the landlord in writing within ten days after service of the Rule to Vacate or Show Cause.
What habits keep you safe?
- Answer every repair request in writing and fix it promptly. Our post on South Carolina landlord repair laws covers the 14-day clock.
- Keep the rent increase schedule on a calendar you set before any complaint, and apply it to every unit the same way.
- If you must end a tenancy for a real breach, document the breach with dates, photos and the notice under section 27-40-710 or 27-40-720.
- Do not change locks, remove doors or shut off water or power. See how to evict a tenant in South Carolina for the court route.
Where does DoorKeeping fit?
DoorKeeping stores the lease, the rent ledger, work orders and a copy of every notice you send, so the dates are on file if a court or a tenant asks. You still write, serve and track the notice yourself, and anything with a legal step waits for your one-tap approval. This is general information, not legal advice: check the current statute, and ask a local attorney if the tenant disputes what you did.
Sources
Questions
- What counts as retaliation by a South Carolina landlord?
- Raising rent above fair-market value, cutting essential services or bringing an action for possession after the tenant complained to a code agency or to the landlord about a violation (27-40-910(a)).
- Can a landlord still evict a tenant who complained?
- Yes, for tenant-caused code violations, material noncompliance under 27-40-710 or 27-40-720, or work that makes the unit unusable (27-40-910(c)).
- What does retaliation cost a South Carolina landlord?
- Damages up to three months of rent or treble the actual damages, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney's fees (27-40-910(h)).