South Carolina late fee laws for rent: late charges count as rent
South Carolina's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act names no cap on late charges. It does define "rent" to include late charges, and it lets a landlord end a tenancy when rent stays unpaid five days after the due date and written notice has been given.
What does South Carolina law say about late charges?
The one place chapter 40 mentions them is the definitions. Section 27-40-210(11) says "rent" means the consideration payable for use of the premises, including late charges, whether payable in a lump sum or periodic payments, and excluding security deposits and other charges.
The rest of the sections on terms give the parties room. Section 27-40-310(a) lets a landlord and tenant include terms not prohibited by the chapter or other rule of law, including rent and other provisions governing their rights and obligations. Rent is payable without demand or notice at the time and place agreed, under 27-40-310(c). There is no dollar or percentage ceiling in either section.
How does the five-day notice work?
Section 27-40-710(B) says that if rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay within five days from the date due, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement, provided the landlord has given written notice of nonpayment and of the intention to terminate if the rent is not paid in that period.
The notice requirement is satisfied for a lease term after one notice has been given, or if the notice is in conspicuous language in a written rental agreement. The statute supplies sample wording that begins "IF YOU DO NOT PAY YOUR RENT ON TIME" and says the tenant will get no other notice, and a substantially equivalent provision in the lease complies.
Example a made-up owner of a duplex in Greenville rents a side for $1,100 and the lease adds a $50 late charge. Because the statute's definition of rent includes late charges, the $50 is part of what the chapter calls rent. Whether an unpaid late charge by itself supports a five-day termination is a question to put to a South Carolina attorney before relying on it.
Can a court strike a late fee clause?
Section 27-40-230 is the chapter's unconscionability rule. If a court finds as a matter of law that a rental agreement or a provision of it was unconscionable when made, it may refuse to enforce the agreement, enforce the rest without the provision, or limit the provision to avoid an unconscionable result. If unconscionability is raised, both sides get a reasonable chance to present evidence about the setting, purpose and effect.
The statute does not say a late fee of any size is unconscionable. The practical reading is that a fee far out of line with the rent and the cost of a late payment invites that argument, while a modest, clearly written fee does not.
How do you keep a South Carolina late charge simple?
Write it as one dollar amount in the lease and say the date it applies. Put the five-day wording from the statute in the lease in conspicuous type, so the notice requirement is already met for every month of the term.
Because the definition of rent includes late charges, owners often wonder whether to show the charge inside the rent balance. A cleaner habit is to show it as its own line that adds to the balance due. The tenant can see what is rent and what is the charge, and you can show a court exactly how the total was built. Check the layout with a South Carolina attorney once, then reuse it on every lease.
How DoorKeeping handles it in South Carolina
DoorKeeping posts the late fee you approved from your lease as its own line and sends the tenant a reminder first, so the charge is easy to see apart from the monthly rent. Rent and payments stay in your own bank accounts. DoorKeeping never holds your money and sends a payment only when you approve it. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your lease and your notice wording with your own South Carolina attorney.
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Questions
- Is there a maximum late fee in South Carolina?
- Chapter 40 names no cap. Section 27-40-210(11) defines rent to include late charges.
- How long does a South Carolina tenant have to pay before eviction can start?
- Under 27-40-710(B), the tenant must pay within five days from the date due, and the landlord must have given written notice of nonpayment and of the intention to terminate.
- Can the five-day notice be in the lease?
- Yes. The statute treats the notice as given if conspicuous language in a written rental agreement says it, such as the sample provision in the statute.