What does the landlord have to do before filing an eviciton lawsuit?

A landlord must properly terminate your lease before filing for an eviction.  The rules for properly terminating a lease are found in the lease itself, in the South Carolina Residential Landlord Tenant Act; and possibly in federal law for dwelling units that receive a financial subsidy from an agency of the federal government. 

Terminating a lease usually just means that the landlord must give you a proper notice.  The kind of notice that the landlord must give you depends on the reason that the landlord wants to terminate the lease.  Remember, there are only three reasons for a landlord to evict (see prior Lesson).  This means there are only three reasons why a landlord should send you a lease termination notice: 

1. If you have failed to pay rent you are entitled to one five (5) day notice.

2. If the landlord does not want to renew your lease you might be entitled to a notice.

3. And if you have you have breached the lease in a material way, you likely are entitled to a notice.