South Carolina

NLIHC has estimated a need for no less than $100 billion in emergency rental assistance and broke down the need and cost for each state (download Excel spreadsheet). 

In response to COVID-19 and its economic fallout, many cities and states are creating or expanding rental assistance programs to support individuals and families impacted by the pandemic, and NLIHC is tracking in-depth information on these programs.  

You can use the interactive map and searchable database to find state and local emergency rental assistance programs near you. You can also see the latest news on rental assistance programs through the state-by-state news tracker. Note that this is not a comprehensive list of all rental assistance programs as we continue to update frequently. If you are aware of a program not included in our database, please contact [email protected]. 

COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Programs

Across the country, homeless service providers are struggling to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to follow public health guidelines and help ensure people’s safety, some shelters are being forced to reduce services, restrict admittance, or close entirely. The loss of these critical resources puts people experiencing homelessness at even higher risk of illness. Check NLIHC's cumulative list of shelter closings.

Below is a list of shelters that have had to majorly alter services or completely close:

No information at this time.

Charleston County temporarily stopped taking applications for rental assistance on October 7 after distributing nearly all available funds. The pause is meant to prevent a backlog of applications that exceeds the amount of available assistance. The county expects to resume accepting applications when it receives additional federal funds.

Updated on October 19, 2021

The Charleston City Paper reports housing organizations and advocacy groups throughout South Carolina are seeing staggering numbers of renters at risk of eviction after the end of the federal eviction moratorium. Nearly 740,000 households in the state are behind on rent or report low confidence in their ability to pay rent.
Updated on September 27, 2021

The Post and Courier reports that the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority has not distributed any of the $271 million it received for federal rent and utility assistance. The authority started taking applications the first week in May and is currently processing about 5,000 applications, but it has not yet distributed any aid. 
Updated on June 14, 2021

Within one week of launching the S.C. Stay rental and mortgage assistance program, more than 7,000 people had applied for aid. Nearly 5,000 of those applicants were deemed eligible, and housing officials think those 5,000 will exhaust the existing federal rent relief funds. The SC Stay program was funded through $25 million in CDBG-CV funds. South Carolina will receive $340 million in rent relief from the most recent COVID-19 relief legislation. Up to 180,000 renters in South Carolina are at risk for eviction when the moratorium is lifted on March 31.

Updated on March 31, 2021

Housing advocates are bracing for a wave of evictions in Horry County, which has the highest unsheltered homeless population in the state. An estimated 35% to 52% of families across South Carolina will be at risk of losing their homes when the federal eviction moratorium is lifted at the end of January, with communities of color disproportionately harmed by the eviction crisis.

Updated on January 25, 2021

An article in the State discusses actions Midlands area homeless service providers have taken to protect the health and safety of people experiencing homelessness. 

Updated on October 19, 2020

Housing assistance organizations in Greenville County have been receiving non-stop phone calls requesting assistance. Local housing experts estimated that 43% of South Carolina tenants were at risk of eviction after the statewide moratorium ended in May. 

Despite the federal eviction moratorium, Myrtle Beach shelters are bracing for an increase in the need for shelter. 

Even with the federal moratorium, housing and homeless service providers in Horry County are concerned about an increase in evictions and homelessness. The Eastern Carolina Housing Organization has seen a 139% increase in requests for homeless prevention assistance this August compared to August of 2019. 

Updated on September 15, 2020

Myrtle Beach Online reports that the Eastern Carolina Housing Organization, which typically serves about 30 people per month, assisted 84 households in June and between 70-75 in July. Since South Carolina’s eviction moratorium ended in mid-May, more than 1,300 evictions have been filed in Horry County.

Updated on September 2, 2020.

According to the magistrate courts in Tri-County, hundreds of evictions have been filed since South Carolina’s eviction moratorium was lifted May 14. Organizations have seen a sharp increase in the number of requests for rent, mortgage, and utility payment assistance.

NBC examines South Carolina’s looming eviction crisis as a result of the pandemic. Before COVID-19, South Carolina faced a long-term housing crisis and had the highest eviction rate in the country. According to Stout research, 52% of renter households in South Carolina are at risk of eviction, and NLIHC research indicates that the state’s rental assistance needs will grow to nearly $835 million.

The Sun News spoke with three Horry County residents facing housing insecurity amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Updated on August 19, 2020.

The Deep Well Project, a nonprofit financial assistance organization on Hilton Head Island, says non-profits have been able to support people on the verge of eviction. But in more rural areas, such financial help may not be available. South Carolina has the country’s highest eviction filing rate, at 18.7%, according to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University.

Updated on August 11, 2020.

Eviction filings in South Carolina have been rising since the end of May, when the state’s eviction moratorium expired. Now that the federal eviction moratorium expired on July 24, advocates are preparing for an avalanche of eviction filings. 

The Eastern Carolina Housing Organization will use funding from the CARES Act to help people facing eviction in the 13 counties it serves. Applications are available online at: www.echousing.org/get-help. 

Updated on August 4, 2020.

The South Carolina Housing Authority allocated $5 million to an emergency rental assistance program. The authority had $5 million in an emergency fund, and the money comes from bonds sold by the authority, not taxpayers. The program will be administered through SC Thrive, a statewide nonprofit organization. Eligible households could receive a one-time payment up to $1,500 made directly to landlords.

Nearly 60 individuals experiencing homelessness in Mecklenburg County are suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19.

Charleston County

With the unemployment rate in North Charleston now five times greater than pre-COVID levels and no eviction moratorium in place, advocates and tenants are concerned about a surge in evictions that could overwhelm the court system. The Charleston County Magistrate courts received 120 new eviction filings in the first two days of the moratorium being lifted.

Updated on June 29, 2020.

Spartanburg County

Spartanburg County will receive $919,036 in Community Development Block Grant - Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funds. The Upstate Family Resource Center, one of 14 agencies in the county to receive CARES Act funding, will receive $188,634 to provide rent, mortgage, and utility payments to households impacted by the pandemic.

Updated on June 22, 2020.

Federal, state, and local eviction moratoriums are rapidly expiring and the CARES Act supplemental unemployment benefits will end soon; at that time, millions of low-income renters will be at risk of losing their homes. The NLIHC estimates at least $100 billion in emergency rental assistance is needed to keep low-income renters stably housed during and after the pandemic. This tracker links to news reports of the growing evictions crisis in various cities and states. Check NLIHC's cumulative list of eviction updates.

NBC examines South Carolina’s looming eviction crisis as a result of the pandemic. Before COVID-19, South Carolina faced a long-term housing crisis and had the highest eviction rate in the country. According to Stout research, 52% of renter households in South Carolina are at risk of eviction, and NLIHC research indicates that the state’s rental assistance needs will grow to nearly $835 million.

Updated: August 28

In South Carolina, 52 percent of renter households can't pay their rent and are at risk of eviction. About 185,000 evictions could be filed in the state over the next four months.

Updated: August 12

State Supreme Court issued an order to resume evictions (remotely) on May 15.  Eviction hearings are being conducted remotely and in person. 

Updated: July 31

In the third week of July, 27.6% of adults in South Carolina reported they had missed their previous housing payment or had little confidence they would make their next one on time, according to a weekly survey conducted by the Census. In the same survey, 292,410 renters reported they had not paid their previous rental payment.

Updated: July 29

South Carolina – already the #1 state for evictions – is bracing for a surge in eviction cases. According to a weekly survey by the Census, 27% of adults in the state either missed their last housing payment or have little/no confidence of being able to make next month’s housing payment. 

Updated: July 16