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South Carolina 5-Day Notice
A South Carolina residential nonpayment packet built around the two things that get 5-day notices thrown out: the lease-language shortcut (you may not even need to serve a separate notice) and the five-day clock that runs from the rent due date, not from the day you serve. Four editable Word files — notice, step-by-step instructions, a service & filing record, and a mailing envelope.
This South Carolina nonpayment packet helps decide whether a separate notice may be required, documents the due-date-based five-day timing, keeps the amount limited to rent and lease late charges, and creates records a landlord can keep before deciding whether magistrate-court ejectment is the next step.
Start by checking whether the written rental agreement already contains the statutory or substantially equivalent conspicuous language, because a separate notice may not be required.
All four files are editable Microsoft Word documents. Complete and serve only the tenant notice; keep the instructions, service and filing record, and envelope for landlord records.
The tenant notice is the file to complete and serve; the instructions, service and filing record, and envelope are landlord companion materials for proof and records.
This product includes four editable Microsoft Word files: the 5-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Terminate Rental Agreement, South Carolina Notice Instructions, Notice Service and Filing Record, and #10 Mailing Envelope. Serve the completed tenant notice; keep the other files as landlord guidance and records.
Self-help notice overview
A written South Carolina 5-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Terminate Rental Agreement helps document ordinary residential nonpayment under S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-710(B), including the landlord, tenant, premises, rent due date, rent and lease late charges owed, due-date-based deadline, and records to keep before any magistrate-court filing.
South Carolina has two traps generic templates often miss: the statutory lease-language shortcut can mean a separate notice may not be required, and the five days run from the rent due date rather than from service. The state-specific guidance below explains the lease gate, § 27-40-240 delivery, rent-only amount limits, court-path separation, and no-self-help cautions before checkout.
This page highlights the current downloadable South Carolina 5-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Terminate Rental Agreement package, including the four editable Word files included with this product. The tenant notice is designed to be served; the instructions, service and filing record, and envelope support completion, delivery proof, and landlord records.
The complete South Carolina 5-Day Notice package is available immediately after checkout. Use the state-specific guidance below to check the lease-language shortcut, calculate the five-day due-date timing, document § 27-40-240 delivery, and keep the companion records before serving or filing.
Source review completed using the links here.
Primary sources are linked for self-help research. Confirm the lease, rent ledger, due-date calculation, mailing/timing assumptions, federal or subsidized-housing overlays, manufactured-home facts, and current magistrate-court practice before serving or filing.
Quick answer
Use this South Carolina 5-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Terminate Rental Agreement only for ordinary residential nonpayment under S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-710(B). Start with the lease: if it contains the statutory or substantially equivalent conspicuous language, a separate notice may not be required. If a separate notice is used, the five-day clock runs from the rent due date, not from service.
South Carolina is unusual because the separate written-notice obligation can be satisfied by prior notice or by statutory or substantially equivalent conspicuous language in the written rental agreement. The packet starts with this gate so a landlord does not serve a confusing or unnecessary separate notice without checking the lease first.
Section 27-37-10(B) also recognizes bold conspicuous lease language for beginning later ejectment proceedings. The public page should describe the shortcut conditionally — “may not be required” — and direct users to confirm local magistrate practice or counsel.
Section 27-40-710(B) focuses on rent that is unpaid when due and remains unpaid within five days from the date due. Generic templates often turn that into a service-date countdown; this page should not.
The packet includes a due-date worksheet because the deadline can be affected by the lease due date, any longer lease grace period, and conservative local timing decisions. If mailing could affect the calculation, use the later/conservative date or confirm locally rather than asserting a hard extension rule.
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South Carolina does not publish an official nonpayment notice, and generic templates often skip the two things that decide these cases: whether your lease already satisfies the notice requirement, so a separate notice may not be required, and that the five days run from the rent due date, not from service. This packet walks you through both, keeps the amount limited to what South Carolina counts as rent, and gives you a service and filing record to prove delivery — the details that get cases dismissed.
Maybe not. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-710(B) says the written-notice obligation may be satisfied after one such notice or if the written rental agreement contains the statutory notice, or a substantially equivalent provision, in conspicuous language. Check the lease first and confirm local magistrate practice or South Carolina counsel before deciding whether to serve a separate notice.
From the rent due date. Section 27-40-710(B) focuses on rent that is unpaid when due and not paid within five days from the date due. Do not treat service as starting a new five-day period.
For Residential Landlord and Tenant Act notice to a tenant, § 27-40-240 uses in-hand delivery to the tenant or registered/certified mail to the tenant’s designated place for communications or, if none, the tenant’s last known residence. Proof of mailing constitutes notice without proof of receipt. Do not use Chapter 37 court-service/posting rules as the pre-suit notice-delivery method unless South Carolina counsel confirms it for your facts.
Use rent as defined by § 27-40-210(11): consideration for use of the premises, including lease late charges and excluding security deposits or other charges. Keep utilities, damages, future rent, attorney fees, court costs, filing fees, and other non-rent items separate unless South Carolina counsel approves.
No. A notice is not a court order. If the matter is not resolved, the later path is a magistrate-court ejectment case using court forms such as SCCA 732 Application for Ejectment, SCCA 733A Rule to Vacate or Show Cause, and SCCA 734 Writ of Ejectment. Those court forms, court service, judgment, writ/warrant, and officer execution are separate from this packet.
Complete the notice for every tenant named in the lease, and consider serving each adult tenant separately — especially if they have different addresses or local practice requires it. Keep proof of service for each tenant, plus the lease, ledger, exact notice copy, mailing or delivery records, payment notes, and any counsel/local-court confirmation.
People sometimes search for a South Carolina 5-day notice to quit or pay-or-quit notice, but this product is framed as the § 27-40-710(B) residential nonpayment notice: a 5-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Terminate Rental Agreement. It should not be treated as a generic notice to vacate, official court form, or Chapter 37 court-service document.
Section 27-40-710(B) says the landlord’s written-notice obligation is satisfied after one such notice to the tenant or by qualifying conspicuous lease language. Because repeat nonpayment, waiver, lease language, and local magistrate practice can matter, confirm the lease and counsel/local practice before deciding whether a new notice is useful or required.
No. ILRG provides self-help legal forms and information, not legal advice. You are responsible for reviewing the completed notice, lease-language gate, due-date calculation, rent ledger, § 27-40-240 delivery proof, federal or subsidized-housing overlays, manufactured-home facts, South Carolina law, and local magistrate-court requirements before serving or relying on it.