Legal Question in Real Estate Law in South Carolina

Past Rent And Damages

A few years ago (about 3 I would say) I had rented out my property to a family. They became very behind on rent. I let it slide a bit because the mother told me she had been in the hospital and out of work. She promised me that she would catch up and make double payments. This never happened. The last time that I spoke to her she said that she was vacating the premises because she could not pay. She refused to give me a forwarding address or phone number. I lived out of state at the time and when I came to check on the property it was destroyed. Windows were busted. Belongings were left everywhere. Holes left in the wall, etc. The washer, dryer and refrigerator were also stolen. I have pictures to show the damage. I had not pursued this as I could not find the people that the home was rented to. Mail for them still continues to come to this address. I do believe that I have tracked them down. Is there a time limit of when I can sue for damages and past rent that was owed. Or has the amount of time already passed. I have had to spend thousands of dollars replacing things and fixing the house up and there are still things that need to be done.


Asked on 3/18/09, 1:56 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Johnston Law Offices of Robert J. Johnston

Re: Past Rent And Damages

I'm very sorry to hear all of this. I have a couple renters myself and I feel for you. I apoligize for not recalling specifically, but its either 2 years or 3 years. At the moment I just don't recall. There is another problem though. Its called the Turnip Factor. Getting a judgment in South Carolina is one thing. But collecting on it is an entirely different matter and quite frankly, those don't sound like the type of people that you would ever be able to collect on. I'm not telling you not to try. I'm just letting you know that you might be wasting your time and money. If a person you get a judgment against does not own real estate, or anything else of much value, then the judgment can become useless.

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Answered on 3/18/09, 3:08 am


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