Can I shut off utilities if the lease says the tenant is responsible for paying them?

No. Even if your lease makes utilities the tenant's responsibility, you cannot personally shut them off. That's still an illegal self-help eviction under South Carolina law. If the tenant isn't paying utilities, you can pursue eviction for non-payment of rent, but the utility company—not you—is responsible for shutting off their service if they don't pay their bill directly.

What if utilities are included in the rent I charge?

If utilities are included in the rent, you have a legal obligation to maintain them. Stopping payment to the utility company or allowing services to be cut off is a breach of your lease and your legal duty to provide habitability. Your tenant can withhold rent or sue you for damages if you fail to provide utilities you agreed to include.

Is there any situation where I can shut off a tenant's utilities in Myrtle Beach?

Not legally, no. South Carolina law doesn't allow landlords to shut off utilities as a collection or eviction method under any circumstances. Your only legal remedy for non-payment of rent is to file for eviction in magistrate court. The utility company can shut off service if the tenant doesn't pay their bill, but that's their action, not yours.

Utility Shutoff Rules for Landlords in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

The Thing You Need to Know Right Now About Shutting Off Utilities

Here's the thing: in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, you as a landlord can't shut off your tenant's utilities to pressure them into paying rent or leaving, no matter how frustrated you are.

Period. This is considered an illegal "self-help" eviction under South Carolina law, and it can expose you to serious liability—we're talking damages, attorney's fees, and even criminal charges in some situations.

South Carolina Code § 27-40-730 is pretty clear on this point. You don't get to cut the power, water, or gas as a workaround to formal eviction. If you do, your tenant can sue you, and they'll almost certainly win.

Why Landlords Make This Mistake (And Why It Costs Them)

Look, I get it—you've got a tenant three months behind on rent, utilities are racking up in your name, and you're frustrated. The temptation to just shut things off feels like the fastest solution. Don't do it.

The biggest mistake landlords make is thinking utility shutoffs are a legitimate collection tool. They're not. Even if the lease says the tenant is responsible for utilities, you can't use shutoffs to enforce that responsibility. The law separates the landlord's right to evict from the landlord's right to shut off services, and you don't get to skip straight to shutoffs.

Tenants in Myrtle Beach have successfully sued landlords for damages when utilities were illegally cut, and courts have awarded them compensation for:

The cost of staying elsewhere (hotels, relatives), spoiled food, medical issues related to heat or cooling loss, and emotional distress. They've also ordered landlords to pay the tenant's attorney's fees, which can easily run into thousands of dollars. On top of that, you might face civil liability under South Carolina's Residential Tenancies Act.

What the Law Actually Says About Utilities in Myrtle Beach

South Carolina's residential tenancy law requires that rental properties be fit for human habitation. That means certain utilities and services aren't optional—they're part of what you're legally required to provide.

Honestly, the specifics of what utilities you must maintain depend on whether your lease says you or the tenant pays for them. If the lease makes you responsible for utilities, you can't legally cut them off (that would violate the habitability requirement). If the lease makes the tenant responsible, you still can't cut them off yourself—but you can pursue eviction for non-payment of rent through the proper legal channels. — even if it doesn't feel that way right now

Here's the practical distinction: utilities aren't rent. Failure to pay utilities isn't automatically grounds for eviction on its own. You'd need to evict for non-payment of rent, and that's a separate legal process requiring proper notice and a court order.

The Right Way to Handle Non-Payment

If your tenant isn't paying rent, here's what you actually do instead of shutting off utilities.

First, serve them with a written notice to pay or quit. In South Carolina, this notice must give the tenant at least 3 days to pay the full amount owed or vacate. Use certified mail and keep proof of delivery—you'll need this in court. The notice has to be in writing and clearly state the amount owed and the deadline.

If they don't pay within those 3 days, you file for eviction in magistrate court in Horry County (where Myrtle Beach is located). You're not cutting off power while this happens. You're going through the system. Yes, it takes longer than just flipping a switch, but it's legal, it's enforceable, and it protects you from liability.

The court process typically takes a few weeks, and if you win, you get a judgment and a writ of ejectment that a constable actually enforces. That's how you legally remove someone who isn't paying.

When Utilities Actually Are Your Responsibility

Many landlords in Myrtle Beach include utilities in the rent—especially in smaller rentals or furnished units. If that's your setup, you legally have to maintain those services. The tenant is paying you for a habitable unit with utilities included, and you can't suddenly stop providing what they're paying for.

If you stop paying the utility company and they shut things off, that's a breach of your lease agreement and your legal obligation. Your tenant can withhold rent, repair-and-deduct (paying to restore utilities and deducting from rent), or sue for damages. Don't create that situation.

Even if utilities are the tenant's responsibility in the lease, you can't be the one who cuts them off. Let the utility company do that if the tenant fails to pay their bill directly. Your job is to pursue eviction if they're not paying rent.

What Counts as "Utilities" Anyway

It's not just electricity and gas. Water, sewer, and trash collection are all considered essential utilities in a habitable dwelling. Some landlords try to get creative—shutting off hot water, for example—thinking it's not "really" a utility shutoff. That doesn't work. Courts view hot water as part of habitability, and cutting it off is still illegal.

Internet and cable? Those are different—they're generally not considered essential utilities for habitability purposes, so the rules aren't quite the same. But your safer bet is still not to shut anything off yourself.

The Real Cost of Getting This Wrong

Let's talk numbers. If you illegally shut off utilities and your tenant sues, you could be liable for actual damages (their out-of-pocket costs), consequential damages (hotel stays, food loss), statutory damages (some states allow extra penalties), and their attorney's fees. In a case involving several months of illegal shutoff, landlords have paid settlements and judgments ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 or more.

That's way more than the rent money you were trying to collect in the first place. Plus, you might end up with a judgment against you that affects your ability to do business in South Carolina in the future.

Bottom line: take the legal route. Serve notice, file for eviction if necessary, and let the court system handle it. It takes longer, but you stay on the right side of the law and you actually get to keep your rental business.