Free South Carolina Security Deposit Itemization — overview

A South Carolina Security Deposit Itemization is the written notice a landlord sends under S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410(a) when keeping any part of a security deposit or prepaid rent. The statute allows deductions only for accrued rent and for damages the landlord suffered because the tenant did not meet the maintenance duties in § 27-40-510, and it requires every deduction to be itemized in a written notice to the tenant, sent together with any amount due, within thirty days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession and demand by the tenant, whichever is later. If the landlord fails to return the deposit with that notice, § 27-40-410(b) lets the tenant recover three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney’s fees. The form on this page produces a complete itemized notice with a built-in deductions calculator; the rest of this guide explains the legal framework, what can and cannot be deducted, and the records that support each line.

What this itemization does

A South Carolina Security Deposit Itemization is the written notice a landlord gives a tenant under S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410(a) at the end of a tenancy when any part of the security deposit or prepaid rent is kept. It does three jobs at once.

First, it itemizes every deduction. The statute says “Any deduction from the security/rental deposit must be itemized by the landlord in a written notice to the tenant.” A general line such as “deductions for cleaning and damage” does not tell the tenant what each charge is for or how it was priced. Each line should identify the item, the amount and whether it is accrued rent or a repair for damage the tenant caused, so the tenant — and a court, if it comes to that — can check it against the lease and the move-in condition.

Second, it delivers the money. Section 27-40-410(a) requires the itemized notice to go to the tenant “together with the amount due, if any.” Sending the notice now and the refund later, or holding the refund until the tenant agrees with the deductions, does not match that text, and the remedy in § 27-40-410(b) attaches to a failure to return the deposit “with the notice required.”

Third, it fixes the timing. The 30 days run from “termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession and demand by the tenant, whichever is later.” Recording the date the tenancy ended, the date the keys came back and the date of any written demand from the tenant lets the landlord show the notice was on time. Section 27-40-240(D) adds that the time within which an act is to be done is computed by reference to the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure.

The form on this page produces a complete itemized notice with a built-in deductions calculator, automatic balance computation, the statutory references and a delivery block. The rest of this guide explains the legal framework, what can and cannot be deducted, and the records that make each line defensible.

South Carolina legal framework — S.C. Code § 27-40-410

South Carolina’s security deposit rules are in the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, S.C. Code Title 27, Chapter 40. The core provision is S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410, captioned “Security deposits; prepaid rent.” It is short — five subsections — and it does not contain several rules found in other states’ deposit statutes, such as a dollar threshold for attaching receipts, a pre-move-out inspection or a cap on the deposit amount. What it does contain is set out below.

The provisions that matter for itemization

§ 27-40-410(a) — what may be kept, and the itemized notice. On termination of the tenancy, property or money held as security “must be returned less amounts withheld by the landlord for accrued rent and damages which the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant’s noncompliance with Section 27-40-510.” Any deduction “must be itemized by the landlord in a written notice to the tenant together with the amount due, if any, within thirty days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession and demand by the tenant, whichever is later.”

§ 27-40-410(a) — forwarding address. The tenant “shall provide the landlord in writing with a forwarding address or new address.” If the tenant does not, the tenant “is not entitled to damages under this subsection provided the landlord (1) had no notice of the tenant’s whereabouts and (2) mailed the written notice and amount due, if any, to the tenant’s last known address.”

§ 27-40-410(b) — the remedy. If the landlord “fails to return to the tenant any prepaid rent or security/rental deposit with the notice required to be sent by the landlord pursuant to subsection (a), the tenant may recover the property and money in an amount equal to three times the amount wrongfully withheld and reasonable attorney’s fees.”

§ 27-40-410(c) through (e). Subsection (c) applies to a landlord who rents more than four adjoining dwelling units on the premises and uses different standards to calculate deposits: the standards must be posted or given to each prospective tenant, or the part of a tenant’s deposit above the lowest deposit for a comparable unit cannot be used for damage deductions. Subsection (d) preserves any other damages either party may recover under the chapter, and subsection (e) binds the holder of the landlord’s interest at the time the tenancy ends, subject to § 27-40-450.

The tenant duties that define “damages” — § 27-40-510

Because damage deductions are tied to “the tenant’s noncompliance with Section 27-40-510,” that section sets the standard. It requires the tenant to, among other things, keep the dwelling unit and the part of the premises the tenant uses reasonably safe and reasonably clean; dispose of ashes, garbage and other waste in a reasonably clean and safe manner; keep plumbing fixtures reasonably clean; use electrical, plumbing, heating, air-conditioning and other facilities and appliances in a reasonable manner; and “not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the premises” or knowingly permit a guest to do so. A move-out condition that traces back to one of those duties is a candidate for a deduction; one that does not is not. Our South Carolina Move-In/Move-Out Checklist is the simplest way to document the starting and ending condition.

Notice, good faith and fair housing

Section 27-40-240 explains when a tenant “receives” a notice: when it comes to the tenant’s attention, or when it is “delivered in hand to the tenant or mailed by registered or certified mail” to the place the tenant designated for receiving communications or, if there is none, “to the tenant’s last known place of residence.” It adds that “Proof of mailing pursuant to this subsection constitutes notice without proof of receipt.” Section 27-40-220 imposes an obligation of good faith on every duty under the chapter, and § 27-40-210(5) defines good faith as “honesty in fact in the conduct of the transaction concerned.”

Independent of the state statute, the federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.) prohibits discrimination in the terms and conditions of a rental because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin or disability. Applying stricter deduction standards to some tenants than to others on one of those bases is a fair-housing problem separate from § 27-40-410.

When and how to deliver

The 30-day clock

The statute counts from “termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession and demand by the tenant, whichever is later.” In practice, record three dates: the date the tenancy ended under the lease or the notice, the date the tenant returned the keys or otherwise delivered possession, and the date of any written demand the tenant made for the deposit. Calendar 30 days from the latest of them — and aim to finish well before that, because a late notice is the easiest defect for a tenant to prove. Section 27-40-240(D) points to the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure for computing time.

Within that window the landlord should send both the itemized notice and any amount due. Section 27-40-410(a) ties them together (“together with the amount due, if any”), and the § 27-40-410(b) remedy turns on a failure to return the deposit “with the notice required.”

Method of delivery

Section 27-40-410 does not prescribe a delivery method, but § 27-40-240(B)(3) says a tenant receives a notice when it is “delivered in hand to the tenant or mailed by registered or certified mail” to the place the tenant designated or, absent a designation, the tenant’s last known place of residence, and that proof of that mailing “constitutes notice without proof of receipt.” Certified mail with a mailing receipt is therefore the method that leaves the landlord with a clean record. First-class mail or email may reach the tenant, but neither is a method named in § 27-40-240, so if you use one, keep evidence that the tenant actually received the notice.

Delivery address

The tenant is required to give the landlord a forwarding address in writing. If the tenant did, send the notice and the amount due there. If the tenant did not, § 27-40-410(a) protects a landlord who “had no notice of the tenant’s whereabouts” and “mailed the written notice and amount due, if any, to the tenant’s last known address” — which is often the rental unit itself. If you do know where the tenant went (for example, a new address in an email or text), that protection may not apply, so send the notice to the address you know as well.

Damage discovered after the notice is sent

Section 27-40-410 does not address supplemental itemizations. The practical answer is to finish the inspection, obtain contractor pricing and assemble photographs before the notice goes out, so the notice is complete the first time. Section 27-40-410(d) preserves other damages a landlord may be entitled to recover under the chapter, but a claim outside the deposit notice is a separate matter to raise with counsel.

What South Carolina lets you deduct

Section 27-40-410(a) names only two things a South Carolina landlord may withhold from a security deposit: “accrued rent” and “damages which the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant’s noncompliance with Section 27-40-510.” Every line on the itemization should fit one of those.

1. Accrued rent

Rent that came due and was not paid. The Act defines “rent” in § 27-40-210(11) as “the consideration payable for use of the premises including late charges,” so late charges payable under the rental agreement are part of rent for this purpose. Support the line with the lease, the rent ledger and the date each missed payment was due.

2. Damages from the tenant’s noncompliance with § 27-40-510

Physical damage the tenant or a guest caused deliberately or negligently — holes, broken fixtures, pet damage, burns, stains — and costs caused by a failure to meet the other § 27-40-510 duties, such as hauling away garbage left behind or cleaning plumbing fixtures the tenant did not keep reasonably clean. Describe what was damaged, where, and what it cost to repair. Repairs are covered in detail in section 5.

3. Cleaning

Cleaning is not a separate statutory category in South Carolina; it is deductible to the extent it traces to a § 27-40-510 duty, such as the duty to keep the premises “reasonably clean.” A unit returned reasonably clean does not generate a cleaning charge; heavy grease, trash left behind, pet waste or odor remediation may. Itemize what was cleaned and why.

4. Utilities and other lease charges

Section 27-40-410(a) does not list utilities or other fees separately. An unpaid utility bill that the lease makes the tenant’s responsibility may be recoverable from the tenant under the lease, but whether it can be taken from the deposit depends on how it fits the two statutory categories. If you include it, label it clearly and enclose the bill.

What does not fit either category: deterioration from ordinary, reasonable use of the unit; repairs to conditions that existed before the tenancy; the landlord’s routine turnover work such as repainting on a normal cycle; advertising or leasing costs for the next tenant; flat “move-out” or administrative fees; and any charge you cannot tie to accrued rent or a § 27-40-510 breach.

Wear and tear vs. damage — the standard</