A South Carolina 5 Day Notice To Quit is a letter which complies with state legal requirements to begin eviction against a tenant for nonpayment of rent, when any portion of the rent remains unpaid five (5) calendar days after normally due. The tenant must pay the balance due or move out within five (5) judicial days (i.e., not counting weekends or legal holidays) of receiving notice.
When To Use a South Carolina 5 Day Notice To Quit
A South Carolina 5 Day Notice To Quit begins the eviction process in South Carolina when the tenant is late on rent. A landlord may deliver this notice when any portion of the rent remains unpaid five (5) calendar days after the rent is normally due.
Some types of South Carolina lease termination notice may allow different reasons for termination, or different notice periods. This may also apply to an eviction notice issued because of a lease or legal violation.
How To Write a South Carolina 5 Day Notice To Quit
To help ensure the legal compliance of a Notice To Quit:
- Use the full name of the receiving party, and address of record, if known
- Specify the termination date of the lease or tenancy
- Specify the basis for terminating the tenancy, and payment required to avoid termination
- Fill in the full address of the rental premises
- Provide updated/current address and phone number information
- Print name and sign the notice
- Complete the certificate of service by indicating the date and method of notice delivery, along with printed name and signature
It is easy to lose an otherwise justified legal action because of improper notice. Check carefully to ensure enough time after notice is delivered, not when it’s sent.
How To Serve a South Carolina 5 Day Notice To Quit
South Carolina landlords may deliver an Notice To Quit by any means which causes the information to come to the tenant’s attention. The law specifically recognizes the validity of these methods:
- Hand delivery to the tenant
- Mailed notice via certified or registered mail, to the tenant’s address of record or last known residence
Mailed notice counts as notice without proof of receipt. It also extends the notice period by five (5) calendar days, to account for variable delivery times.
Sources
- 1 SC Code § 27-40-710(B)
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If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay rent within five days from the date due or the tenant is in violation of Section 27-40-540, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement provided the landlord has given the tenant written notice of nonpayment and his intention to terminate the rental agreement if the rent is not paid within that period.
Source Link - 2 SC Code § 27-40-710(B)
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The landlord’s obligation to provide notice under this section is satisfied for any lease term after the landlord has given one such notice to the tenant or if the notice is contained in conspicuous language in a written rental agreement. The written notice requirement upon the landlord under this subsection shall be considered to have been complied with if the rental agreement contains the following or a substantially equivalent provision: “IF YOU DO NOT PAY YOUR RENT ON TIME. This is your notice. If you do not pay your rent within five days of the due date, the landlord can start to have you evicted. You will get no other notice as long as you live in this rental unit. “The presence of this provision in the rental agreement fully satisfies the “written notice” requirement under this subsection and applies to a month-to-month tenancy following the specified lease term in the original rental agreement. If the rental agreement contains the provision set forth in this subsection, the landlord is not required to furnish any separate or additional written notice to the tenant in order to commence eviction proceedings for nonpayment of rent even after the original term of the rental agreement has expired.
Source Link - 3 S.C. Code § 27-40-240(B)
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A person “notifies” or “gives” a notice or notification to another person by taking steps reasonably calculated to inform the other in ordinary course whether or not the other actually comes to know of it. A person “receives” a notice or notification when:
(1) it comes to his attention; or (2) in the case of the landlord, it is delivered at the place of business of the landlord through which the rental agreement was made or at any place held out by the landlord as the place for receipt of the communication; or (3) in the case of the tenant, it is delivered in hand to the tenant or mailed by registered or certified mail to the tenant at the place held out by him as the place for receipt of the communication, or in the absence of the designation, to the tenant’s last known place of residence. Proof of mailing pursuant to this subsection constitutes notice without proof of receipt. Source Link - 4 South Carolina Judicial Court Rules of Civil Procedure - Rule 6(e)
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Additional Time After Service by Mail or Upon Statutory Agent. Whenever a party has the right or is required to do some act or take some proceedings within a prescribed period after the service of a notice or other paper upon him and the notice or paper is served upon him by mail or upon a person designated by statute to accept service, five days shall be added to the prescribed period.
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