SC landlords sue tenants over and over, using threat of eviction to collect rent
Landlords in South Carolina use the state’s eviction courts as a cheap but powerful cudgel to collect rent, suing the same tenants again and again at a pace almost unheard of in America.
In South Carolina, the courts are often a landlord’s first stop when they encounter an issue like late rent. For many property managers here, filing for an eviction is hardly different than sending a late notice.
That’s far different than most of the country, where an eviction filing is the end of the line — a legal last resort for landlords who decide it’s time to end a rental.
Landlords’ aggressive use of the courts is a defining feature of the state’s eviction problem and a major contributor to North Charleston’s highest-in-the-country eviction rate. In Charleston County, researchers found that in 2016 alone there was roughly one eviction filing for every five renters, signaling that the threat of being put out was widespread.
Read more: https://www.postandcourier.com/news/sc-landlords-sue-tenants-over-and-over-using-threat-of-eviction-to-collect-rent/article_01eac40e-fcdf-11ea-acac-a3853e2459b3.html