南卡的押金:法律怎么规定的
房东扣了我的押金
法条怎么规定的
- 退还/列明扣项的法定期限
- 30 天
Thirty days (statute says 'thirty days' with no business-day qualifier; treat as calendar days). The clock starts on the LATEST of three events: termination of the tenancy, delivery of possession, and demand by the tenant ('whichever is later').
展开完整规定
The tenant must give the landlord a forwarding or new address in writing; if the tenant does not, the tenant loses subsection (a) damages provided the landlord (1) had no notice of the tenant's whereabouts and (2) mailed the written notice and any amount due to the tenant's last known address. The statute does not prescribe a form for the tenant's 'demand'.
- 法定赔偿倍数
- 3×
- 是否必须提供扣项清单
- 是
- 小额诉讼上限
- $7,500
- 法条编号
- S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410
- Deposit cap
- None. § 27-40-410 sets no maximum deposit. The only related rule is § 27-40-410(c): a landlord renting more than four adjoining units who uses different deposit standards for different tenants must post or hand out the standards before the lease; otherwise the excess over the lowest comparable deposit cannot be applied…
展开完整规定
to damage deductions.
- Local stacking
- None. Under South Carolina's Home Rule Act (§ 5-7-30) and the statewide reach of the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, no municipality has its own deposit deadline or penalty. Pending 2025-2026 bills, including H.3232, leave § 27-40-410's deadline and treble damages unchanged.
- Penalty detail
- Under § 27-40-410(b) the tenant recovers three times the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney's fees. Prevatte v. Asbury Arms settles the measure: the award is 3x the withheld amount in total, not the deposit returned plus a separate 3x.
展开完整规定
The word 'may' gives the tenant the choice to pursue the statutory remedy; once a court finds the withholding wrongful, the treble award follows.
- Penalty measure
- three times the amount wrongfully withheld, in total (not the deposit plus three times)
- Penalty statute
- S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410(b)
- Deadline statute
- S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410(a)
- Penalty case law
- Prevatte v. Asbury Arms
- Penalty mandatory
- 是
- Interest or escrow
- None required. Chapter 40 contains no interest, separate-account, or escrow requirement (searched the full chapter text for 'interest' and 'escrow'). § 27-40-210(18) defines a security deposit as money 'held in trust by the landlord', but no section mandates a segregated account or interest payments.
- Small claims statute
- S.C. Code Ann. § 22-3-10 (Magistrates Court concurrent civil jurisdiction; subsections (1)-(2) cap money claims at $7,500; subsection (10) expressly covers landlord-tenant matters under Title 27, Chapters 33-41)
- Itemized list statute
- S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410(a)
- Written demand detail
- § 27-40-410(a) requires the tenant to give a forwarding or new address in writing, so the demand itself should be in writing and state that address.
- Written demand required
- 是
§ 27-40-410(a) requires the tenant to give a forwarding or new address in writing, so the demand itself should be in writing and state that address.
看完上面的数字,请务必读这一段
South Carolina's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (S.C. Code Ann. 27-40-10 et seq.) governs deposits through section 27-40-410. The landlord must return the deposit, less accrued rent and damages for the tenant's non-compliance with section 27-40-510, and must itemize any deduction in a written notice with the amount due within thirty days. The thirty days do not necessarily start when the tenant moves out: the statute runs the clock from the later of termination of the tenancy, delivery of possession, and demand by the tenant. The tenant also has to give the landlord a forwarding or new address in writing. A tenant who never supplies an address forfeits subsection (a) damages if the landlord had no notice of the tenant's whereabouts and mailed the notice and any refund to the last known address. A written demand letter that states the forwarding address therefore does double duty: it satisfies the tenant's own statutory obligation and it fixes the date from which the thirty days are counted.
The penalty is unusually tenant-friendly on its face. Under section 27-40-410(b), if the landlord fails to return the prepaid rent or deposit together with the required notice, the tenant may recover an amount equal to three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees. Unlike many states, the text requires no showing of bad faith or wilfulness, and subsection (d) preserves any other damages. Two things the text leaves open: whether 'three times the amount wrongfully withheld' is the entire recovery or is stacked on the return of the deposit itself, and whether a court treats the treble award as mandatory or discretionary ('may recover'). Successor owners are bound by the section (subsection (e), subject to section 27-40-450).
There is no statutory cap on deposit amounts, no interest requirement, and no escrow or separate-account rule; the only deposit-sizing rule is the posting requirement in subsection (c) for landlords with more than four adjoining units who use different deposit standards. Claims are normally filed in Magistrates Court, whose civil jurisdiction is capped at $7,500 (S.C. Code Ann. 22-3-10) and which expressly covers landlord-tenant matters; larger claims go to Circuit Court. No state agency enforces deposit returns. The S.C. Department of Consumer Affairs offers educational material on the Act and a general complaint line, but the remedy in practice is a demand letter followed, if needed, by a Magistrates Court action.
South Carolina's penalty is three times the amount wrongfully withheld in total, not the deposit back plus three times on top (Prevatte v. Asbury Arms). The statute's 'may' is the tenant's choice to pursue the remedy, not the court's discretion to withhold it: once a court finds the withholding wrongful, the treble award follows.
Give the forwarding address in writing. § 27-40-410(a) makes it a condition, which is why the demand belongs in a letter and not a phone call.
自己去读原文
官方来源。如果下面某个数字对你的案子有影响,请打开法条自己读一遍 —— 法律会修订,而且很多城市会在州法之上叠加更严的地方条例。
- S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410(a) — 30-day deadline: runs from the LATER of termination, delivery of possession, and tenant demand
- S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410(a) — Itemized written notice of deductions required
- S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410(a) — Tenant must supply a forwarding/new address in writing
- S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410(a) — Consequence of no forwarding address: subsection (a) damages lost if landlord mailed to last known address
- S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410(b) — Penalty: three times the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees
- S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410(c) — No deposit cap; only a posting rule when more than four adjoining units use different deposit standards
- S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-210(18) — Definition: deposit is 'held in trust' by landlord (no interest or escrow mandate anywhere in the chapter)
- S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-110 — Act applies statewide to every dwelling unit in South Carolina
- S.C. Code Ann. § 22-3-10(1) — Magistrates Court (small claims) civil limit: $7,500
- S.C. Code Ann. § 22-3-10(10) — Magistrates have jurisdiction over landlord-tenant matters under Title 27, Chapters 33-41
- S.C. Judicial Branch - Magistrate Court page — Court's own statement of the $7,500 civil jurisdiction limit
- S.C. Judicial Branch - FAQ in Magistrates Courts (PDF) — Self-help FAQ: only claims of $7,500 or less may be brought in Magistrates Court
- S.C. Department of Consumer Affairs - Housing & Mortgages FAQ — SCDCA offers a Landlord Tenant Act overview webinar covering security deposit rules (education, not adjudication)
最近核实: 2026-09-04
Jab 起草信件,执业律师审核,然后用 USPS Certified Mail 挂号寄出,带签收回执。一口价 $29。你也完全可以自己写 —— 这一页的信息就够用。
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