South Carolina Squatters Rights: Adverse Possession and How Removal Actually Works
How long adverse possession takes in South Carolina, whether there is a fast-track removal law, and what you legally can and cannot do about an unauthorized occupant. Last reviewed August 2026.
The question that decides everything: is the occupant a squatter or a tenant? Anyone who ever had permission to be there — a former tenant, someone who paid you rent even once, an ex-partner of your tenant on the lease — is generally a tenant in the law's eyes and must go through the eviction process. South Carolina's squatter rules below apply to true trespassers only.
How long does adverse possession take in South Carolina?
South Carolina's adverse possession period is 10 years, resting on the 10-year limitation in S.C. Code § 15-3-340 and the possession presumptions in §§ 15-67-210 through 15-67-260, which address possession under written instruments (color of title) and possession founded on occupancy alone. The claimant must show actual, open, notorious, exclusive, hostile and continuous possession for the full decade by clear and convincing evidence. Color of title mainly affects how much land the possession covers, not the length of the period.
How to remove a squatter in South Carolina
Act H.3387, signed June 30, 2026 and effective immediately, created a new Article 3 in Chapter 37 of Title 27 giving owners an expedited path against unlawful occupants of residential dwellings. The owner files a verified petition with the clerk of court attesting that the occupant has no permission, was told to vacate, is not a tenant or immediate family member, and that no litigation over the property is pending; the court can issue an ex parte order, with a hearing held within 24 hours of filing, and the sheriff or a constable then removes the occupants. The act also created criminal penalties in § 16-11-790 — violating an ejectment order and causing $1,000-plus damage while unlawfully occupying are felonies, and presenting false property documents or fraudulently renting out property you don't own are crimes as well. Before this law, owners had to use magistrate ejectment or common-law ejectment, and police typically refused once any occupancy claim was raised.
Squatter or tenant? Why it matters
The H.3387 procedure defines an unlawful occupant as someone occupying a residential dwelling without permission and without legal occupancy rights as a tenant; tenants with valid leases (or any landlord-tenant relationship) and immediate family members are expressly excluded. Those occupants can only be removed through the magistrate ejectment process under §§ 27-37-10 et seq., with the five-day rent notice and hearing rights of the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Filing a false petition exposes the owner to perjury and damages.
What you absolutely cannot do
Locking an occupant out, cutting essential services, or hauling out belongings without a writ remains unlawful. Under S.C. Code § 27-40-660, a tenant unlawfully removed or excluded, or whose essential services are willfully interrupted, may recover possession or terminate the agreement and recover three months' periodic rent or twice actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees. Only a constable or sheriff executing a court order may remove an occupant.
Recent changes to the law
H.3387, passed unanimously by both chambers on June 25, 2026, ratified June 29 and signed by Governor McMaster on June 30, 2026, took effect immediately. It created the expedited unlawful-occupant removal process (new Article 3, Chapter 37, Title 27), added the § 16-11-790 crimes for squatting-related fraud and damage, and amended § 27-40-800 to let tenants appealing ejectment judgments stay execution by affidavit promising rent payments rather than posting traditional undertakings. An earlier version, H.5375, died in the 2023-2024 session.
What South Carolina property owners get wrong
The new fast lane is only weeks old, so expect county-by-county variation in how clerks and sheriffs handle the petitions — call the clerk of court before filing. The petition is verified, and every attestation (no permission, notice to vacate given, no tenancy, no pending litigation) must be literally true; using it against a holdover tenant or a family member is the fastest way to turn a quick removal into liability. Owners also still confuse this with magistrate ejectment: tenants, even badly behaved ones, stay on the §§ 27-37-10 track with its notices and hearing rights.
The law itself
Frequently asked questions
How long does a squatter have to stay in South Carolina to claim ownership?
10 years. Under the limitation in S.C. Code § 15-3-340 and the adverse possession provisions of §§ 15-67-210 et seq., a squatter needs 10 years of actual, open, notorious, exclusive, hostile and continuous possession, proven by clear and convincing evidence, before claiming title.
How do I remove a squatter in South Carolina?
Since June 30, 2026, file a verified petition with the clerk of court under the new Article 3 of Chapter 37, Title 27 (enacted by H.3387). If the occupant has no permission, was told to leave, and is not a tenant or immediate family member, the court can issue an ex parte removal order — with a hearing within 24 hours of filing — and the sheriff or a constable removes them. Anyone with a tenancy claim must instead go through magistrate ejectment under §§ 27-37-10 et seq.
What penalties do squatters face under South Carolina's 2026 law?
The new § 16-11-790 makes violating an ejectment order a felony punishable by up to 3 years or a $3,000 fine, and unlawful occupation causing $1,000 or more in damage a felony punishable by up to 5 years. Presenting false property documents carries up to a year in jail, and fraudulently selling or renting out property you don't own is a misdemeanor with up to 30 days and a $1,000 fine.
Did South Carolina's squatter law change eviction appeals?
Yes. H.3387 amended § 27-40-800 so a tenant appealing an ejectment judgment stays execution by filing an affidavit promising to pay rent as it comes due, replacing the old undertaking mechanism, with the court able to modify payment terms. It changes appeal mechanics for tenants — it does not give squatters appeal rights against the new removal orders beyond the statute's own wrongful-removal remedies.
Keep reading
Vacant units attract squatters. Documented ones repel them.
Vantric tracks your leases, tenants, and payment history in one place, so proof of who belongs in your property is always one click away — built for landlords with 1–10 units.
Start Free TrialThis page is general information, not legal advice. Squatter, trespass, and adverse possession law turns on specific facts — verify against the official statute text linked above, and talk to a local attorney or law enforcement before acting.