Landlord & Housing · free generator

South Carolina Notice to Vacate Letter

Fill in your details, review the south carolina notice to vacate letter, and edit the wording before you send. Copy the finished text or download a Word file for free.

[Your full name]

[Date]

[Your landlord's name]

Re: Notice to vacate — [Rental property address]

Dear [Your landlord's name],

Please accept this letter as my formal written notice that I will terminate my tenancy at [Rental property address] and vacate the premises on [Move-out date].

Under South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act — Periodic Tenancy; Holdover Remedies (S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-770), a month-to-month tenancy may be terminated by the tenant on 30 days written notice. This notice is given in accordance with that requirement and with any additional notice period my lease provides.

I will leave the unit clean and in good condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, and will return all keys and access devices on or before my move-out date. I would like a move-out inspection during my final week; please propose a date and time.

Please send my security deposit, with any itemized statement required by law, to my forwarding address: [Your forwarding address]. Kindly confirm receipt of this notice in writing.

Sincerely,

[Your full name]

Know your rights

Notice to vacate law in South Carolina

Tenant notice required: 30 days
Governing statute: S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-770
How the clock runs: Either party may end a month-to-month tenancy by written notice given at least 30 days before the termination date specified in the notice. The statute counts back from the date the tenant names and does not expressly require that date to fall on a rent-due boundary, though matching the rental period end is safest.
Delivering the notice: Under § 27-40-240, notice to the landlord should be delivered in hand or sent by registered or certified mail to the address the landlord holds out for receiving communications.
Fixed-term leases: A fixed-term lease ends on its stated date; remaining afterward without the landlord's consent invites a possession action, and a willful holdover not in good faith exposes the tenant to damages up to three months' periodic rent or twice actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees. Holding over with consent and rent acceptance creates a periodic tenancy.

Worth knowing: Week-to-week tenancies need only 7 days' written notice. South Carolina's holdover damages provision has real teeth, so tenants should never simply linger past a termination date they set themselves. The Act applies statewide with no rent control or local just-cause overlays, making the 30-day letter genuinely uniform across the state.

Last reviewed August 2026 · General information, not legal advice · Read the statute · Also for South Carolina: security deposit demand letter

Field notes

Three tips before you send

Under § 27-40-240, notice to the landlord should be delivered in hand or sent by registered or certified mail to the address the landlord holds out for receiving communications.
Either party may end a month-to-month tenancy by written notice given at least 30 days before the termination date specified in the notice. The statute counts back from the date the tenant names and does not expressly require that date to fall on a rent-due boundary, though matching the rental period end is safest.
Date math is unforgiving — the clock usually runs from the day your landlord receives the notice, not the day you write it. Build in a few days of cushion, and photograph the empty unit when you hand back the keys.

Straight answers

Questions people ask

How much notice does a tenant have to give in South Carolina?

Either party may end a month-to-month tenancy by written notice given at least 30 days before the termination date specified in the notice. The statute counts back from the date the tenant names and does not expressly require that date to fall on a rent-due boundary, though matching the rental period end is safest. The governing statute is South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act — Periodic Tenancy; Holdover Remedies.

What happens when a fixed-term lease ends in South Carolina?

A fixed-term lease ends on its stated date; remaining afterward without the landlord's consent invites a possession action, and a willful holdover not in good faith exposes the tenant to damages up to three months' periodic rent or twice actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees. Holding over with consent and rent acceptance creates a periodic tenancy. Check your lease for a renewal or notice clause — where the statute allows it, the lease controls.

Anything else South Carolina renters should know before moving out?

Week-to-week tenancies need only 7 days' written notice. South Carolina's holdover damages provision has real teeth, so tenants should never simply linger past a termination date they set themselves. The Act applies statewide with no rent control or local just-cause overlays, making the 30-day letter genuinely uniform across the state.

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When to use this letter

Moving out should be the easy part — but in South Carolina, when you give notice and how you deliver it decide whether you owe another month of rent. The rule that matters: for a month-to-month tenancy, South Carolina law generally requires 30 days written notice from the tenant, under South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act — Periodic Tenancy; Holdover Remedies. This generator writes a tenant's notice to vacate that cites S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-770 by name, states your move-out date, and asks for the move-out inspection and your deposit instructions in the same letter — so nothing gets renegotiated later. No blank template to fight with: fill in your landlord, the address, and the date, then send it in a way you can prove, because notice clocks here run from delivery, not from the day you write it.