How to Evict a Roommate in South Carolina (and Other Household Situations)
What South Carolina law says about roommates who are not on the lease, guests who won't leave, family members, renting a room in your own home, and tenancies at will — each with the statute or official source.
Short answer: Under South Carolina's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, a tenant is a person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit, and a rental agreement may be written or oral. A roommate who is not on the written lease is a tenant only if they have their own agreement with the landlord. Separately, when a person uses another's premises without agreement or permission, the owner may choose to treat that person as a tenant at will and collect a reasonable rent. S.C. Code §§ 27-40-210(12), (15); 27-35-40
| Roommate not on the lease | Under South Carolina's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, a tenant is a person entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit, and a rental agreement may be written or oral. A roommate who is not on the written lease is a tenant only if they have their own agreement with the landlord. Separately, when a person uses another's premises without agreement or permission, the owner may choose to treat that person as a tenant at will and collect a reasonable rent. Tenant at will rule: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t27c035.php. |
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| Removing a roommate or subtenant | No roommate-specific statute. A tenant may be ejected on the landlord's application when rent is unpaid, the term of tenancy or occupancy has ended, or the lease is violated: the magistrate issues a rule requiring the tenant to vacate or show cause within ten days after service. A month-to-month tenancy is ended first with at least 30 days' written notice (7 days for week-to-week). Whether a tenant can act as 'landlord' against a roommate depends on whether a rental agreement exists between them. |
| Guests who won't leave | No statute sets when a guest becomes a tenant. When a person enters or uses another's premises without agreement or permission, the owner may treat them as a tenant at will (entitled to 20 days' written notice to vacate). Since June 30, 2026, an owner can instead file a verified petition for fast removal of 'unlawful occupants', but the petition must state that the occupants are not guests of the owner, are not current or former tenants, and are not immediate family members of the owner. Tenant-at-will sections: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t27c035.php. The unlawful-occupant article was added by 2026 Act No. 252 (H.3387). |
| Removing a family member or partner | No statute directly addresses removing a family member without a lease. The 2026 fast-track unlawful-occupant procedure cannot be used against immediate family members of the property owner, so ordinary procedures apply (for example, ending a tenancy at will with 20 days' written notice and then seeking ejectment through the magistrate). |
| Renting a room in your own home (lodgers) | No separate lodger exclusion. South Carolina's act defines a 'roomer' (a person in a unit lacking its own bathroom or kitchen facilities that shares them with other occupants) and treats a roomer as a tenant; unless the rental agreement fixes a definite term, a roomer paying weekly rent has a week-to-week tenancy. The act's exclusions do not include renting a room in the owner's home. |
| Tenancy at will | Tenants at will must vacate on 20 days' written notice. All tenancies of real estate other than agricultural land are presumed month-to-month unless agreed otherwise, but this presumption does not apply to tenants at will. Failure to pay agreed rent when due, or a reasonable rent when demanded, ends a tenancy at will without notice. A person using premises without permission may be treated by the owner as a tenant at will. A tenant at will who holds over for three months after a written demand for possession forfeits double the value of the use of the premises (§ 27-35-170). |
| Hotel and extended-stay guests | Transient occupancy in a hotel, motel, or other accommodations subject to the state sales tax on accommodations (S.C. Code § 12-36-920) is not governed by South Carolina's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. So whether a long stay is covered generally turns on whether the accommodations tax still applies. Source: S.C. Code § 27-40-120(4) |
Never remove someone by changing the locks or taking their belongings: if the person has become a tenant, only a court can order them out. If there is violence or a threat, call 911 and ask about a protective order.
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South Carolina eviction laws · Free legal help in South Carolina · Roommate rules in other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.