Eviction attorneys in Columbia, South Carolina

Evictions for rental property in Columbia are filed in the Richland County Magistrate Court (or Lexington County for addresses west of the river, including West Columbia and Cayce). Richland County runs one of the highest-volume ejectment dockets in South Carolina, driven by the University of South Carolina rental market and the large apartment communities in the Northeast and St. Andrews areas, so hearings are often set two to three weeks out rather than the one week you may see in smaller counties. Filing is by Application for Ejectment; the county constables serve the Rule to Show Cause.

Columbia landlords should check two things before filing: whether the lease contains the statute's conspicuous five-day notice language under § 27-40-710(B) (without it, you must send a separate five-day written notice before filing), and whether the property has a federally backed loan or a voucher tenant, which adds the 30-day CARES Act notice. Student rentals near campus tend to produce lease-violation cases (unauthorized occupants, noise) that need the 14-day cure notice first. The firms listed below represent landlords in the Richland and Lexington magistrate courts, and several handle high-volume work for apartment operators. For the statewide process, see the South Carolina eviction guide.