I’m a South Carolina landlord with a difficult tenant. I’ve given the tenant the proper South Carolina termination notice, but he still won’t leave. What next? What is the South Carolina eviction process?

If you are a South Carolina landlord and your tenant won’t leave, pay rent, or has otherwise breached the lease, you can start the eviction process. After notifying the tenant (in the case of a breach of the lease or holdover) that you are terminating the tenancy, you will have to go to your local Magistrate Court. There, you can file an affidavit that states the reason you are evicting your tenant. Your tenant will then be served with a copy of your filing and you will both be given a hearing date. At the hearing, you will each argue your side and the judge will find for one of you. If you win, you must file for “a writ of ejectment” within 5 days of the hearing (or you will have to start all over). Once you receive the writ of ejectment, the tenant must be given 24 hours to voluntarily leave the premises. If the tenant does not leave, a court constable will oversee the process of removing the tenant. You will have to provide the labor, but the constable will be there to make sure everything goes smoothly.

If the legal eviction process becomes too much for you to handle individually, remember that you can consult an experienced South Carolina landlord tenant attorney at any time to handle the procedures and act as your legal advocate.