Free South Carolina Lease Agreement Template

Last updated July 17, 2026

Download a free South Carolina lease agreement template

A South Carolina residential lease agreement records the deal between a landlord and tenant for a home in South Carolina. It identifies the parties and premises, sets the rent and term, allocates utilities and maintenance responsibilities, and provides a written place for property rules. The free PDF and Word versions on this page are labeled for South Carolina and are intended as a practical starting document—not a substitute for checking which statutes, disclosures, or local rules apply to a particular property.

The principal research authority for this page is South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, S.C. Code title 27, chapter 40, including 2026 Act 184. Research scope: Official South Carolina General Assembly sources governing residential scope, agreement terms, deposits, owner disclosures, habitability, access, tenant and landlord remedies, periodic termination, retaliation, protected-tenant termination, execution, and local-code overlays. Because residential rules can depend on property type, tenancy length, location, and regulated-housing status, review the completed agreement and any required addenda before signing.

South Carolina lease topics to review

The current research draft for South Carolina identifies the following topics as relevant to residential lease preparation. Use them as a checklist, and verify each rule's scope, current text, and exceptions before adding a term to the lease.

• South Carolina's residential Act covers dwelling units in the state but expressly excludes several listed occupancy arrangements.
• South Carolina supplies default periodic terms and limited ways an unsigned agreement may take effect, with a one-year limit on the resulting term.
• South Carolina does not state a general deposit ceiling in section 27-40-410, but limits deductions and imposes a 30-day itemization-and-return process.
• South Carolina requires code-compliant, habitable premises, maintained common areas and systems, and specified essential services.
• A South Carolina landlord with more than four adjoining units must disclose differing deposit-calculation standards before contracting or taking the deposit.
• South Carolina gives a tenant a written 14-day cure-and-termination procedure for material landlord noncompliance and separate essential-service remedies.
• South Carolina's statute of frauds requires covered land-interest and longer-than-one-year agreements to be written and signed by the party to be charged or an authorized agent.
• South Carolina's Act incorporates applicable codes, so every property needs a city-and-county overlay review before a lease is released.

The final lease should not waive protections that cannot lawfully be waived. If a selected term conflicts with a controlling statute, official form, court order, housing-program rule, or local ordinance, the controlling rule applies even when the parties signed different language.

What to include in a South Carolina residential lease

• Landlord, tenant, and premises details — use the parties' full legal names, the complete South Carolina property address, and a clear description of included parking, storage, furnishings, or shared spaces.
• Term and rent — state whether the tenancy is fixed-term or periodic, when it begins, when rent is due, accepted payment methods, and what happens at the end of the stated term.
• Deposits and charges — identify each deposit, prepaid amount, fee, and late-payment term separately so it can be compared with the current South Carolina rule that applies to the property.
• Utilities, maintenance, and access — allocate day-to-day responsibilities without attempting to transfer a nonwaivable landlord or tenant duty.
• Rules and addenda — document pets, smoking, parking, guests, insurance, association rules, and any federal, state, local, or property-specific disclosure that applies.
• Notices and signatures — provide reliable notice addresses and retain a complete signed copy for every party.

State and local checks before signing

South Carolina's Act incorporates applicable codes, so every property needs a city-and-county overlay review before a lease is released. Confirm the property address and the current local text before signing.

Federal requirements can also apply. For example, most pre-1978 housing requires the federal lead-based-paint disclosure process. Manufactured housing, short-term occupancy, owner-occupied rooms, subsidized housing, and rent-regulated property may follow a different legal path from an ordinary residential lease.

Use the official source linked below to confirm the current statewide text. For a disputed tenancy, an eviction or termination, unusual fees, regulated housing, or a property in a city with additional renter protections, obtain advice about the specific facts before relying on a template.

How to use the free South Carolina template

1. Download the South Carolina PDF when you want a printable blank, or the Word file when you want to edit the text electronically.
2. Complete the parties, property, rent, term, deposit, utilities, maintenance, access, and notice fields.
3. Attach the disclosures and property-specific addenda that actually apply.
4. Compare the completed document with the current official source and local requirements.
5. Give every party the same final version to review before anyone signs, then retain the fully executed copy.

The guided builder is available when you prefer questions and a generated preview. Whether you use the free template or the builder, confirm the final agreement against the property and the parties' actual arrangement.