I’m Living in a Hotel: Can They Evict Me and How?

Описание: *In South Carolina, landlord tenant relationships are governed by the South Carolina Residential Landlord Tenant Act. This act determines the rights and the remedies that are available under the law to both Landlords and Tenants, including:
*Evictions for Nonpayment of Rent, Violation of Terms of Lease, or Termination of Rental Agreement
*No Self-Help Evictions (meaning the Landlord tries to evict without following proper legal procedures)

Do these protections apply to hotels? The Residential Landlord Tenant Act applies to a "rental agreement" for a "dwelling unit"
*Rental agreements can be written or oral and concern the occupancy of a "dwelling unit"
*Dwelling unit = "Structure used as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one person who maintains a household or by two or more persons who maintain a common household"

BUT it excludes "“transient occupancy in a hotel, motel, or other accommodations subject to the sales tax on accommodations as provided by Section 12-36-920"

"Transient occupancy" is not clearly defined in the South Carolina Landlord Tenant Act. That means in order to determine how to interpret it, we must look to other places:
*Whether the taxes in Section 12-36-920 apply as they would to hotels, motels, etc
*Looking at the "totality of circumstances" (the whole picture) to determine whether the stay fits into the idea of transient or not.

THE TAX APPROACH
Section 12-36-960 defines the taxes placed on “Accommodations for Transients." This specifically includes “the gross proceeds derived from the rental or charges for any rooms . . . Or sleeping accommodations furnished to transients." Those people paying the tax are people “engaged . . . in the business of furnishing accommodations to transients.”

These taxes do not apply if:
*Someone is renting fewer than 6 rooms and also live on the premises; or
*Someone leases or rents sleeping accommodations to the same person for a period of ninety (90) continuous days
*90 consecutive days applies more to the establishment as a whole as opposed to the exact room.

CIRCUMSTANCE APPROACH
The Legislature did not use Section 12-36-920 to define “transient occupancy." Instead, it used this Section of the law to list all the establishments that may not identify as a hotel or motel but still provide transient accommodations, including:
*Inns
*Campgrounds
*Motor lodges
*Etc.

This means it is also important to look at the full picture of why someone is where they are.

Even If The SCRLTA Doesn’t Apply, Can an Innkeeper Evict For No reason?
Section 45-2-80 states “nothing in this chapter prohibits an innkeeper from denying accommodations to a guest or ejecting a guest for any valid nondiscriminatory reason not otherwise provided in this chapter."

Valid nondiscriminatory reasons include:
*Nonpayment;
*Visibly Intoxicated;
*Innkeeper believes someone is using the premises for unlawful purposes;
*Innkeeper believes someone has brought dangerous property onto premises; or
*Violation of any federal, state, or local laws, or of any rules of the premises.

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