(A) An owner or rental management company and tenant shall use a written vacation rental agreement for all vacation rentals subject to the provisions of this article. No vacation rental agreement is valid and enforceable unless the tenant has accepted the agreement as evidenced by at least one of the following:

(1) the tenant's signature on the vacation rental agreement, including electronic signatures transmitted over the Internet or other similar medium;

(2) the tenant's payment of any monies towards the vacation rental agreement; and

(3) the tenant's taking possession of the property subject to the vacation rental agreement.

(B) A rental management company in a vacation rental agreement shall place in a trust account conforming with the requirements of Section 40-57-135(B) any monies received from the tenant. The rental management company may require the tenant to pay all or part of any required rent, security deposit, or other fees in advance of the tenancy. The terms of these advanced payments, which may be nonrefundable, must be stated in the vacation rental agreement.

(C) A rental management company that executes a vacation rental agreement that does not conform to the provisions of this article or fails to execute a vacation rental agreement is subject to disciplinary action by the South Carolina Real Estate Commission under Section 40-57-145.

(D) A rental management company has a duty to inform each owner under contract with the rental management company of the owner's obligations under this section. If the rental management company has performed this duty, the rental management company is not liable for the owner's refusal or failure to comply with the requirements of this article. Nothing in this section may be construed to conflict with, or alter, the rental management company's duties under the rules and regulations of the South Carolina Real Estate Commission.

HISTORY: 2002 Act No. 336, Section 2.

Editor's Note

2016 Act No. 170 rewrote Chapter 57, Title 40. Section 40-57-145, referenced in (C), was renumbered as 1976 Code Section 40-57-710.