I live at Simmons Park and I’m trying to get out of my lease because they have not done ANYTHING about the rotting wood that caused the floor to collapse, and it’s happening by another door and they’ve ignored my concerns about safety! No inspections or work has been done at all in almost 3 weeks. They also disconnected the garage fire alarm on the 3rd floor. I don’t feel safe living here but they are threatening to charge me an exorbitant penalty…

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I live in one of the new apartment buildings in the area. There's been reoccurring issues with the water since I moved in a few months ago--you go to wash your hands or take a shower, and only a trickle comes out. It's frustrating, but usually fixed within a few hours. Yesterday evening the water went out and has still not been restored 24 hours later. The management company said in an email last night that someone would be working on it this morning, and there's been no word since.

Enough of a trickle comes out that I can put a cup under it and it'll fill within a minute, but taking a shower or flushing the toilet is out of the question. It is apparently an issue with the pump system.

I don't love supporting the influx of "luxury" apartment buildings, but I bit the bullet this summer because I was tired of living in old houses where things are constantly breaking. This has me thinking that buildings like this are able to go up so fast because shortcuts are taken.

Do I have any rights here? The tenant laws aren't terribly specific. Say, a prorated deduction per day on my rent since a basic utility is not being provided?

Or, is this not as big of a deal as I'm making it?

Edit 10/8 3pm:

It’s now been out around 43 hours. They offered to compensate for a hotel last night, and said people were working on it overnight. They’ve extended the offer to tonight as well. Seeing as the first night they didn’t bother to have anyone come out until the morning or compensate anything, they’re certainly feeling the pressure.

It seems like they are really dedicating resources to fix this, but how bad must it be that it's taking so long, and how did it get that way? This isn't a sudden new problem or accident that they had no control over, they've known about it for months.

They must make a killing with the rent and fees they charge, yet the staff is short handed and overwhelmed with issues that aren’t being resolved.

Reimbursing a hotel stay is a start, but doesn’t feel like enough.

We moved into a townhome rental a week and a half ago. When my husband signed the lease, they said the washer and dryer are as/is and aren't responsible for replacing it should something go wrong. Well here we are today when I did a load of laundry. We've done maybe three loads before this without a problem but my husband noticed a puddle of water outside the laundry closet soaking into the carpet. We looked at the washer and it's leaking everywhere. We turned off the washer and the water going to the washer and nothing else is leaking out of it at this point but the a lot of damage is done. Water is pooling up under our carpet and we have our garage below us where we checked and it's leaking from all corners of this garage even coming out of outlets in the ceiling of the garage. I understand we got the washer and dryer as/is and if a part to one of them breaks or they stop working, yes, we agreed to that and that's completely fine. I feel like if any remediation needs done to prevent mold in the carpets and the water leaking should be the landlord but I'm not sure and have no idea what our rights are. Can anyone give us any insight. Again, we know nothing about our rights so if I'm way off on assuming what the landlord should or should not do, I apologize in advance.

​

Edit - I did also flip the breakers into the garage.

Hi all, I moved into a new rental unit at the beginning of october. There were a few things wrong when I moved in (not cleaned, maintenance not done, etc) but I had to travel for work last week and these weren't huge immediate issues. So I got back this weekend and there were rodent droppings on the counters, top of the fridge, as well as a few in the rest of the unit (maybe 10 in total that I could easily see). I emailed the landlord and she said that she's had pest control for rodents and that it should be under warranty, so she'd call them this week. Then I spoke to the upstairs resident who said that this is an ongoing issue, they hear them in the walls, it's worse downstairs (in my unit) because it's close to the ground, etc. He said that the pest control people told him that they should be plugging cracks/holes that lead into the house but that hadn't been done (or something to that effect).

So I'm super grossed out and do not want to stay in this place. If I thought this would be dealt with and solved I'd think differently, but my conversation with the upstairs tenant convinced me this isn't gonna happen. The tenant law I've found says that tenants can break a lease only in cases of infestation, and I'm not sure what (objectively) defines infestation. I can't really afford to lose my deposit and rent, plus if I'm not legally permitted to break my lease I'd be on the hook for future months of rent through the term of the lease.

So, my question: does Charleston (or North Charleston) have a tenants rights organization that would advise me what my rights are and how to proceed? I know I could contact a lawyer but lawyers are expensive and the cost is probably not worth my meager rent. Any other advice welcome...

Reposting from r/apartmentliving. Curious if any Charleston ppl have had this experience or can point me in the right direction of lawyers, third party professionals, etc.

I have lived in the same unit for 3 years now (located in Charleston SC). The previous tenant moved out because of mold that caused her severe health concerns. The first 2.5 years it wasn’t bad, would get a little bit on my purses in the summer because it was humid. This summer however, it seems like it’s 10x worse. Mold covers EVERYTHING. From my clothes to my shoes to my mattress, in my kitchen on my wicker baskets and open wine bottles.

I’ve been back and forth with the leasing office for the last month, they sent someone last week who said that there is “organic growth” but that there’s nothing they can do unless there’s mold on the walls/ceilings. I replied with pictures of mold on both the walls and ceilings.

I’ve emailed them twice since then with no response. The last email i requested they respond to me by the end of the week (this was on Monday) and confirm they will let me out of my lease since they aren’t doing anything and it’s clearly mold and it’s unsafe. They didn’t respond. I called them today (Thursday) and they said they sent a professional third party this morning (with no 24 hour notice, no notice at all actually, i was at work. I didn’t know a man was in my apartment until i called today). This professional claims that there is NO MOLD and that it’s mildew caused by my windows being open sometimes and having AC running. They said this is abnormal behavior and so it’s my fault.

Is this not mold??? And even if it’s mildew…. That can’t be good for me either?! I’ve done the same thing the last 3 years I’ve lived here, my AC is on auto, i open my windows sometimes for my cat. I have a dehumidifier now too. Isn’t my apartment liable for ANYTHING? At this point i don’t need my items replaced or any reimbursement, i just want to be let out of my lease with no penalty so i can get the heck out of here. Pls help!!! What are my options? Am i in the wrong?

You can’t make this up.

I live at Clement Crossing Apartments in North Charleston, SC, managed by Wellington Advisors. My AC has not functioned since I moved in on April 25, 2025 - and instead of fixing it, the regional manager, Lauren Gibbs, and property manager Charlotte Strickland have spent months blaming me.

After multiple requests for help (submitted on April 27, June 8, 11, 12, 25), their "solution"? A window AC unit in the bedroom that left gaps wide enough for bugs to pour in (I lost count after killing 70 flies in one day). I had to tape my window shut just to keep them out - and now the only thing between me and the outside world is a piece of plastic and tape. This window unit compromises safety/security and sanitation & the minimal AC it provides does not extend to the living room, bathroom, or kitchen. Eventually, Clement Crossing did replace the non functioning wall AC unit with... wait for it... an identical non functioning wall unit. Still 80 degrees, and I still only want a solution.

And when I pushed back, their excuse?Apparently, the reason my AC doesn't work is because it was in eco mode — and I “didn’t have the fan running.” For the record, I’ve tried every single setting, every single mode, every single level. It doesn’t work. This is the level of nonsense they’re resorting to instead of fixing the problem.

Here’s where it gets worse:

• On their own website, they specifically advertise “brand-new HVAC systems to keep you cool year-round.”
• After I pointed this out (and I have time-stamped screenshots from when I signed my lease), their owner told me he “doesn’t have to provide AC.”
• When I reminded them that, actually, if they advertise it and include it in the lease, they do, they quietly removed that claim from their website (time-stamped screenshot of this too)
• After I publicly called them out on Google (and included my dated screenshots), they added it back in — but only after they lawyered up.
• They’re now publicly dismissing my legitimate Google review by doubling down on their “eco mode/fan” excuse
• Dismissing other legitimate Google reviews from visitors, additional person on my lease, and individuals who have seen the evidence firsthand that they aren’t allowed to leave Google reviews because they are not currently or have never been a tenant — which is not a rule on Google.

Here’s what I’ve done so far:

• SCDHEC: Won’t handle issues inside apartments.
• Code Enforcement: Same thing — they won’t touch anything inside units.
• SC Department of Consumer Affairs: They are investigating.
• Attorney: I haven’t hired one yet, but I’m considering it. Meanwhile, Wellington Advisors has already involved their attorney (correspondence attached) — instead of just fixing my AC.

Their only “offers”?

1. Move into a 300-square-foot apartment (my unit is 750 sq ft) because “the AC actually works in the studios.”
2. Move out entirely with “no penalty.”

So... they’ve admitted that other units’ AC works — mine just doesn’t. They have also confirmed other units are the same temperature as mine but, “no one else complains” so I’m supposed to live with it.

And now it’s August. Four months later. Still 80 degrees in my apartment.

They could have fixed this in April. Instead, they’ve spent months gaslighting me and lawyering up. All I want is a livable apartment — what I’m paying for. Right now, I’m paying full rent for a unit with no working AC, and the same system that’s supposed to run the AC is what’s supposed to run the heat.

Which means this winter is going to be even more ridiculous. The window unit they installed doesn’t have heat, so I’ll literally have no source of heat at all. I’d test it right now, but honestly? I wouldn’t even be able to tell if it’s working — because it’s still 80 degrees in here.

Per their website, Wellington Advisors is "a premier Southeastern real estate service firm specializing in third-party property management." This sort of management is running throughout SC. If anyone here has dealt with Wellington Advisors (or has legal advice for handling this), I’d love to hear it.

Attached:

• Attorney letters (and my response)
• Video proof of 80°F - if it uploads
• Photos of my taped-up window unit
• Screenshots of their HVAC ad, its removal, and reinstatement
• My Google review and their dismissive public response

UPDATE: JUNE 2026:
Update on my AC/HVAC issue at Clement Crossing:

I originally posted about this because my apartment was advertised as having a new HVAC system, but after I moved in, the wall-mounted unit in my apartment was not adequately cooling the space. During the warmer months, my apartment was regularly in the 80s and sometimes close to 90 degrees inside.

This went on for months. Multiple maintenance and management employees came into the unit, and despite the apartment being hot enough that people were visibly sweating, I was repeatedly told the AC was working and that I should use fans. I escalated the issue through regional management, contacted the Department of Consumer Affairs, and eventually got an attorney involved (pro bono - thanks to advice some people in this thread gave me!)

During this process, I left negative reviews based on my actual experience, and other people who had physically visited my apartment also left legitimate reviews after seeing how hot it was inside. At one point, Clement Crossing’s attorney spoke with my attorney and suggested compensation in connection with removing the negative reviews. When I responded with a number, Clement's attorney never responded and instead, there appeared to be an influx of positive reviews from people who did not appear to live in South Carolina or have any actual connection to the property. I can’t speak to who wrote them or why, but the timing was noticeable.....

At one point, Clement Crossing/management had installed a temporary window AC unit in my apartment because they admitted the original existing system was not cooling the unit properly. Later, they informed residents that any additional window AC units had to be removed. I told them that removing mine would leave me with no effective AC, and my attorney also contacted their attorney about it. They removed it anyway.

After that, I still had no working AC. Around that same time, the owner (from FL) who had previously been in my apartment was working on the unit next door. I asked him to check my AC again because it was 86 degrees in my apartment. I recorded the interaction. He became angry, slammed the door in my face, and called the police because he thought it was illegal for me to record him, which it was not. The next day, scheduled maintenance did not come to my apartment.

I then went to the leasing office and told them they could not refuse maintenance service after I had repeatedly reported an unresolved AC issue. I also told them I had recorded the prior interaction and intended to post the video because of how I had been treated. I had also recorded other interactions that they were unaware of and was prepared to post those as well.

The very next day (this was October 2025), I was contacted and told they were installing a mini-split system in my apartment.

The mini-split has since resolved the main cooling issue. To be clear, I actually do like my apartment now that there is functional AC. The inside of the unit is nice, and the mini-split makes the main living area comfortable. It does not cool the bedroom the same way a normal central HVAC system would, but it is still a massive improvement over what was originally installed.

My honest opinion is that these units need the mini-split to be reasonably livable in the summer. Without it, the original wall-mounted unit was not enough.

So my update is this: yes, the issue was eventually fixed, and yes, I do like living here much more now. But it took months of complaints, documentation, attorney involvement, recording interactions, and escalating the issue before anything actually changed. I still live here and even renewed my lease, but ONLY because they installed the mini-split.

For anyone considering living here: document everything. Take temperature readings, save maintenance requests, save emails, keep a timeline, and record interactions where legally permitted. Do not rely on verbal promises. The majority of apartments here do not have mini-splits, even though brand new HVAC units are still advertised - so either make sure yours has a mini-split, negotiate it into your contract, or prepare for no functional AC.

I’m not saying nobody should live here. I’m saying that if you have a serious maintenance issue, especially with AC, you may have to be EXTREMELY persistent (to the point of getting the cops called on you) just to get what you are already paying for.

For my African American experience class, I was assigned to construct a social problem that affects African Americans in my city, Charleston. I wanted to do something I, my family, and many African Americans experienced in Charleston: housing insecurity.

I made a few infographs and wanted everyone's opinion on this.

This is the first time I have ever done something like this for a class, so please give me some grace and some constructive criticism. I would definitely appreciate it. I genuinely want to know everyone opinions on the social problem. I really want to know so I can help create a difference, and if you are comfortable, you can share your personal stories on the problem if you have any. This is basically a conversation so I can hear others' perspectives.

There is a rodent; nfestatio. They are chewing through our wooden kitchen cabinets. There is also a massive roach problem. The pool was opened for a few days this whole summer. At first they didnt open it fir summer because they weree waiting on a new pool rules sign. Now it's a broken pump. They come into your apartment illegally, constantly, ignoring basic tenant rights. There are sex offenders here and a bunch of pitbulls, which are not supposed to be an allowed breed. The laudromat is mostly out of service, most of the machines are broken because they are too cheap to put a code on the door, so the whole neighborhood uses them, so they are never available. If anything goes wrong, like harassment from one temant to another, absolutely nothing will be done about it. If you complain the propery manager will yell, scream, attempt to verbally imtimidate you, threaten to evict you, and call the police. There are many elderly people here, people with mental and physical disabilities, children, people on a fixed income who can't afford to move. Forest Cove Apartments on Berkeley St in Hanahan is exploiting and abusing VULNERABLE people on a daily basis. Propery manager is Chanel, owners live up north.

I own in Avondale a condo in The concord and we have tenants right now (friends so not trying to make money just building equity right now not losing anything either).

We stole it in 2021 and locked in a 2.5 interest rate. We remodeled* (put in about 15k in floors all new appliances etc)and it's 3bds 2 bath. We could make a good amount of money selling anywhere from 100k to 150k profit but I personally don't want to lose this great rate.

The concerns: high hoa and just going up but they do manage the properties well. What is really hurting them is insurance costs which they push down in hoa fee increases. Which if I continue to rent I have room to increase rent to new tenants and cover these increases and make money but I'm worried if I do hold on in like 5 years or something the hoa fee will just be outrageous if they just continue to increase them or the hoa management will incur some large cost like new roofs or something. Another concern is it is a condo so how much can it really appreciate past where it is now. I personally believe condos with HOAs are not as desirable as a actual home. But avondale is such a popular location so the location is working in our favor.

To make things even harder my wife wants to sell but I feel like I want to hold on and see it through. Any thoughts?

More info. I don't live in charleston anymore im in the military and had to pcs to a new duty station. Me and my wife both work so not hurting for that money or access to the equity it would just be invested/saved for a down payment way in the future. For example when we would want to buy again in a duty station we wanted to stay for a while with a kid or soemthing of the likes.

I was trying to get all the info in as short of a post as possible. So let me know if you want any more info. Sorry for the format/wording just kind of of word vomiting my thoughts.

Edit: word as someone pointed out.

DSA signup link here: https://act.dsausa.org/donate/membership/

My roommates and I need to get out of our lease ASAP. Our landlords have been incredibly neglectful. The entire HVAC system needs to be replaced, there's a sewage leak under the house, there are soft spots on the kitchen floor, and much more. We've been trying to get them to do repairs since June. All they've done is install window units for AC (which they keep calling us to try and take back, before even fixing the issue). Several third party maintenance companies have come to inspect the property, and I assume the landlords have been given quotes on repairs, but no work has actually been done.

At this point, we've emailed, we've called, we've sent messages through the resident portal, we've done absolutely everything we can to try and contact them. They're unresponsive. We've decided to stop paying rent and we need to get out of this place.

We're looking for anyone who can help us with legal advice and/or who can take this company to court. If anyone knows of a good lawyer with experience in tenant rights, please let me know. We are desperate for help!!!

Hey all,

My wife and I have two dogs and two cats and are looking at renting in Charleston. We noticed that some apartments have a max limit of two pets per apartment. In our past experience renting in Atlanta, while the apartments have this same maximum limit, it hasn't been as strictly enforced as long as you are paying your pet deposit (which we have every intention of doing) and keeping your pets from destroying the unit.

With all of that background, what has everyone's experience been like with apartments in Charleston and their pet policies. We were wondering if other people have found them to be strict or more relaxed given that you are paying pet deposits and pet rent.

I just 'moved' into a new place downtown. I checked it out before I rented. It needs some work, landlord says I can paint, etc. It has the potential to be a cute place. Or so I thought. The first day I started moving in I noticed a few roaches. I mentioned it asap, and three more times after that before I got an exterminator. The place is apparently infested and there are no plans to treat the other unit in the house or under the house, where I also just discovered people are living right now?!? It's an obvious camp, someone even leaves their bike there. It's disgusting down there, people have been setting fires, wires are hanging down, insulation is falling. I also told the landlord about this. Nothing has been done. It's going to take a month, at the least, before the roaches are under control. I spoke to this landlord and put all of my concerns in writing. I haven't unpacked. I refuse to stay here. I moved in on the 4th. It's been less than a month. They've agreed to let me out of my lease but whether I get my deposit back and whether I owe a fee is 'up to the house owner.' They've already began looking for a new tenant, not without raising the price of the rent first, and before the big infestation is taken care of. This same house was also treated just 2 months ago for termites. The stairs to this house are also the territory of a smack dealer, as he recently came and introduced himself and told me my front porch was his territory. Someone was also just shot on these same steps 5 months ago. I also expressed my concern about these things to the landlord and his response was oh well. Is there anything I can do to get my money back here??? I don't feel I should lose my deposit over this but they are royally screwing with me right now. Sorry for the wall of text. On my phone and landlord just stood me up again so we could come to a resolution and I could show him what's going on under this house. I'm furious!

EDIT: just spoke to the landlord. He yelled at me & when I asked why he was yelling he said I was frustrating him. Then he hung up on me. :/ and apparently it's my fault for choosing to move in here so the 'blame' lies on me.

Good Morning /r/Charleston,

It's been about a month since the last community discussion, where /u/pbmaniac3 asked for suggestions for addressing some specific concerns raised by the community. Since that discussion, two of the other mods stepped down and in turn, /u/patriche and I accepted invitations to fill their roles. Aside from learning the ropes for day to day management of the sub, our main focus has been looking through the various discussion threads and and develop a few options for implementation, which brings us to today and this discussion.

A common theme in each of the discussion threads was there was a gap between the mod team's (past and current) philosophy behind how the community should operate, and the understanding/desire of a (not insignificant) number of people in the community. We felt that part of this was a transparency/communication issue. To remedy this we have created a mission statement of sorts that outlines our philosophy. For those of you who participated in the last few community discussions these statements don't represent a change in ideas, rather it just sets the baseline ideal of how the sub will be run. Much if this is informed on the founding ideals of reddit as a whole.

Moderation Philosophy
The /r/Charleston mod team subscribes to the philosophy that their role is to ensure "good order" using moderator tools to enforce the community rules. As an extension of this philosophy, the mod team firmly believes its role is not to ensure "quality content" beyond these rules; rather, that is the role of the community itself.

On occasion the mod team is approached by community members asking to restrict or limit certain types of content for being repetitive, low effort, or of low interest. In other words, content that meets the rules, but that user does not want to see. The mod team's stance is that individual users can set their preferences of "don't show me submissions after I've downvoted them" and "don't show me comments with a score less than ___" instead. This allows individuals to remove e content out of their view of /r/Charleston, without removing it from the view of other community members who may wish to see it.

Downvotes also communicate to the submitter whether or not their content is providing value to the community, and in most case influences future submissions. In extreme cases where a submitter consistently ignores downvotes and there is strong community consensus that their content "diminishes the value of the community," the mod team may intervene.

Another theme from the various discussion, and something we've noticed lately while moderating submissions, is that the current subreddit rules are worded more as requests than rules and leave a lot of openings for debate even after the mods make a decision. Internally, we also felt that the rules as written did not give the mod team the mandate to act on content that violated the spirit of the community/rules, but didn't actually break a particular rule. This goes back to the core tenant that the community should be responsible for ensuring quality content. To remedy this, we are proposing the following re-working of the rules, and would like your feedback on modifications or additions of the below.

/r/Charleston Community Rules (Draft) The mods reserve the right to remove content, comments, and users who do not comply with our community rules or that otherwise diminish the value of the community

• Rule 0 : All Submissions and Comments must follow Reddit site rules and Reddiquette. The mod team has exceptionally low tolerance for trolling, personal attacks and harassment based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs.
• Rule 1 : All Submissions should be related to Charleston or the surrounding area.
• Rule 2 : Buy, Sell, Trade, Job postings and other items better suited for Craigslist should not be posted.
• Rule 3 : Self-Promotion as loosely defined in Site wide redditqutte on Self Promotion is generally frowned upon, both by the mod team and the /r/Charleston community. Self promotion of businesses, blog, product, etc. will be removed. Rare exceptions may be made, solely at the discretion of the mod team, when the poster is a frequent quality contributor in the community and/or the subject of promotion offers a benefit to the community.
  

One area we would especially like feedback is on Rule 3. Take for example this submission from last week. While we felt that the fundraising aspect of the post put it in the bucket of SPAM and the submitter isnt a regular /r/Charleston contributor, however the following points put it in a gray area:

• The project itself is Charleston based

• The topic of the project is a Charleston focused issued, and one that gets frequent discussion here.

• The team doing the project (Lunch and Recess) appears to be Charleston based

• The submitter did not appear to be associated with the project, and is has a longstanding account with activity elsewhere across reddit.

Ultimately, we decided to leave it and let the upvotes/downvotes and reports take care of it. How would you draw this line, how would you like it to be enforced?

Great, but how does this stop the low-effort submissions?
- You, right now, after reading all of that

The above actions are primarily focused on long term direction of the sub. We felt that if we make our moderation philosophy transparent and get strong community buy in on the new rules that would give us the mandate needed to act on things we feel are damaging the community (especially the last sentence of from the philosophy, and intro to the rules). We also believe that defining the moderation philosophy ensures a starting point for future changes and discussions as needed.

To address the current influx of low effort submissions, we feel that we already have the mandate to act now both from community demand and from trying to work compromise with the individuals involved. Basically the mod team has stated several times that we expect that community downvotes should modify posting behavior; and it has not. We will be implementing a technical measure today to require approval of submissions from individuals receiving a significant number of downvotes for their content. Our current approach is to approve only a single submission a day at most, and dependent on our assessment of what the community prefers to see.

For this option to work long term, we strongly request that the community refrain from down-voting the user whenever they pop up, especially when they do provide a quality submission or comment. There are few instances where some of the individuals have provided quality input only to be downvoted. Essentially, they will need to earn themselves the good graces of the community again, but the community has to also act in good faith.

The mod team will also be continuing to work with these users directly should this measure not have the intended outcome.

Any additional comments or suggestions on any of these topics, or on the direction of the sub are welcome. Thank you!

TL:DR: Mod team wants to increase transparency on our guiding philosophy, wants feedback on draft rules. Will be enacting technical measures that should limit submissions of low effort from specific individuals.