South Carolina at a glance
- License
- Property manager or broker license to rent for others; owner exemption only
- Trust account
- “Trust” or “escrow” account in an insured institution; rental deposits within 48 hours
- Records kept
- 5 years
- Reconciliation
- Monthly worksheet per account (bank, journal, ledgers)
Details and citations for each point are below.
Who needs a license
- Acting as a broker, associate or property manager without a license is unlawful. A property manager is anyone who negotiates rentals or leases for compensation.S.C. Code tit. 40, ch. 57 (§§ 40-57-20, -30, -135, -136, -240, -710)
- There are five exemptions. The relevant one is an unlicensed owner renting out their own interest; we found no exemption for vacation rental managers, an owner’s employees or an attorney-in-fact. Unlicensed employees of a licensee may not do a listed set of acts, such as negotiating or explaining contracts.S.C. Code tit. 40, ch. 57 (§§ 40-57-20, -30, -135, -136, -240, -710)
Short-term rental rules
- The South Carolina Vacation Rental Act covers rentals of residential property for fewer than 90 days. A “rental management company” is a licensed property manager-in-charge or broker-in-charge and their associates and employees who manage vacation rentals.S.C. Code §§ 27-50-210 to -270 (Vacation Rental Act)
- The Act excludes hotels and motels, timeshares, and weekly or monthly rentals under the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.S.C. Code §§ 27-50-210 to -270 (Vacation Rental Act)
- A rental management company places any money received from a vacation tenant in a trust account.S.C. Code §§ 27-50-210 to -270 (Vacation Rental Act)
The trust account
- The broker-in-charge or property manager-in-charge keeps a demand deposit account whose title includes the word “trust” or “escrow”, at an insured financial institution authorized to do business in South Carolina.S.C. Code tit. 40, ch. 57 (§§ 40-57-20, -30, -135, -136, -240, -710)
- Commingling client trust funds with your own money is prohibited. A clearly identified amount of company funds may be kept to cover bank service charges; the statute sets no dollar cap.S.C. Code tit. 40, ch. 57 (§§ 40-57-20, -30, -135, -136, -240, -710)
- Interest-bearing accounts are allowed. The broker or property manager-in-charge may keep the interest only if owners were told of their right to it and gave it up in writing.S.C. Code tit. 40, ch. 57 (§§ 40-57-20, -30, -135, -136, -240, -710)
- Cash rental deposits are deposited within 48 hours of receipt, not counting weekends and bank holidays; for checks, the statute counts 48 hours from when the lease or rental agreement is signed. The statute lists exactly which forms of payment fall in each group.S.C. Code tit. 40, ch. 57 (§§ 40-57-20, -30, -135, -136, -240, -710)
Advance rents and deposits
- An advance rental deposit is a trust fund. Security, pet and damage deposits and advance rents stay in the trust account until the lease or rental ends; earned rent goes to the landlord within a reasonable time after the deposit clears.S.C. Code tit. 40, ch. 57 (§§ 40-57-20, -30, -135, -136, -240, -710)
- Under the Vacation Rental Act, a rental management company may collect rent, a security deposit and fees in advance, with the terms — including anything non-refundable — set out in the vacation rental agreement.S.C. Code §§ 27-50-210 to -270 (Vacation Rental Act)
- If the property is sold, the buyer takes it subject to stays within 90 days of recording; guests with later stays are refunded within 45 days.S.C. Code §§ 27-50-210 to -270 (Vacation Rental Act)
Records and how long to keep them
- Records required by the chapter are kept for at least five years, and failing to make them available to the Commission is grounds for discipline.S.C. Code tit. 40, ch. 57 (§§ 40-57-20, -30, -135, -136, -240, -710)
Reconciliation and ledgers
- Each trust account is reconciled monthly (unless it had no deposits or disbursements that month), with a written worksheet comparing the reconciled bank balance with the journal balance and the ledger total.S.C. Code tit. 40, ch. 57 (§§ 40-57-20, -30, -135, -136, -240, -710)
Check with the South Carolina Real Estate Commission (SC LLR)
We could not confirm these from a primary source, so we don’t state them as rules:
- The Commission’s regulations (S.C. Code Regs. ch. 105) could not be read for this page; any trust or vacation rental rule there is not covered here.
- The Vacation Rental Act points to “Section 40-57-135(B)” for trust account requirements; the trust account rules now sit in § 40-57-136.
- Whether “insured” in § 40-57-136 means federally insured, and how the Vacation Rental Act’s refund timing relates to the Landlord-Tenant Act.
Sources
Each source was read on 2026-10-25.
- S.C. Code tit. 40, ch. 57 (§§ 40-57-20, -30, -135, -136, -240, -710) — South Carolina Legislature
- S.C. Code §§ 27-50-210 to -270 (Vacation Rental Act) — South Carolina Legislature
The reconciliation itself
Whatever your state’s rules, the monthly check is the same idea: the bank, your books and what you hold for each owner and guest should agree. Our three-way reconciliation guide walks through it with a free worksheet. If your reservations run on VacayOps, trust accounting is part of the Full Platform: guest payments are recorded into trust, owner statements build each owner’s balance, and the month’s reconciliation is signed off and exported as a PDF for your accountant. VacayOps records and reconciles the money in your own bank and processor accounts. It never holds or moves funds.