Renting in Florence? Here's What You Need to Know Before You Sign

Florence Rental Market Overview

Four Florence communities publish verified pricing directly on their own sites (or their property manager's own listing page), as of September 2026. The Ridges at Florence, a budget-oriented community, runs $595/month for a deluxe micro-studio up to $1,095/month for a two-bedroom Ashland floor plan. The Emerson, an upscale renovated building in downtown Florence, runs $1,492/month for a standard one-bedroom up to $2,292/month for a corner two-bedroom -- the highest verified figure in this guide. In between, South Parker Commons offers 2-bedroom/2-bath units at $950-1,000/month with several utilities bundled into rent, and Chandler Pointe Townhomes runs $1,549-1,749/month unfurnished with a full itemized fee schedule (furnished short-term units are priced separately, from $85-90/night or $2,699/month). Two other communities researched for this guide, Sedgefield and Reserve at Mill Creek, don't publish rent or fee amounts on their own sites and instead direct prospective tenants to contact the leasing office directly.

Common Lease Terms in Florence

These are the lease terms most commonly seen at the Florence communities researched for this guide.

• 12-month leases are the standard term at most communities researched, though South Parker Commons offers only 6-month terms and Chandler Pointe Townhomes prices a 6-month term at a $200/month premium over its 12-month standard
• Utility inclusion varies sharply -- South Parker Commons bundles water, trash, pest control, and sewage into rent, while Chandler Pointe bills water/trash and internet/cable separately as mandatory monthly charges

Local Tenant Protections

South Carolina law provides the baseline for tenant rights, but Florence may have additional local ordinances that affect your lease.

• Florence requires residential rental property owners to obtain an annual rental permit under Ordinance No. 2020-35 (adopted October 12, 2020, updated May 2022); applications are due by July 1 each year (permit year runs July 1-June 30), with a 60-day grace period before enforcement and possible municipal court referral after 90 days without a permit -- this is a registration/code-enforcement requirement, not a broader tenant-rights ordinance
• No local rent control; South Carolina law preempts it statewide

For full South Carolina statewide tenant rights, see our South Carolina tenant rights guide.

Mandatory Fees at Florence Communities

What follows is what each community's own website discloses (or doesn't), verified September 2026.

• Chandler Pointe Townhomes publishes the most complete schedule: $80 application fee per adult, $250 administration fee, and a $350 non-refundable pet deposit, plus recurring monthly charges of $70 for water/trash, $130 for internet/cable, and $25 pet rent where applicable. An optional in-unit washer/dryer rental runs $125/month, and choosing a 6-month lease over the 12-month standard adds $200/month.
• South Parker Commons discloses "No Admin Fees" and bundles water, trash, pest control, and sewage into rent -- tenants set up electricity separately through Duke Energy. An optional washer/dryer add-on runs $35/month. No application fee or pet fee is published.
• The Ridges at Florence and The Emerson do not publish an itemized fee schedule online -- both advertise rent by floor plan without listing application, admin, or pet fee amounts.

Chandler Pointe's quoted rent is only part of the bill: $70/month water/trash plus $130/month internet/cable adds $200/month in mandatory recurring charges on top of the advertised figure -- factor that in before comparing it against a headline rent at a community that doesn't itemize its fees.

What's Shaping Florence's Rental Market

Florence's population grew from 37,056 in the 2010 census to 39,899 in 2020, and the city anchors a metro economy built on healthcare and logistics rather than a single dominant employer. McLeod Health, which operates McLeod Regional Medical Center, is the region's largest employer at roughly 5,000 workers, and Florence sits at one of the few true interstate crossroads between Charlotte and Jacksonville -- the I-95/I-20 interchange -- which has built up a distribution, warehousing, and manufacturing base around the city.

Downtown, the city's $65 million Urban Square redevelopment is adding new rental supply for the first time in decades. A four-story parking deck opened as Phase 1, and a roughly 102-unit apartment building known as The Gamble is under construction nearby, with completion expected in late 2026 or early 2027. Later phases call for a hotel, office space, and townhomes. None of this new supply is leasing yet as of September 2026, so it isn't reflected in the pricing above -- but it's the development to watch if a downtown location is part of a search.

Common Issues Renters Face in Florence

These are the most frequent lease-related considerations reported by renters and researched at Florence communities:

• Downtown's new Urban Square supply (The Gamble, roughly 102 units) isn't leasing yet, so a downtown-only search currently turns up a small, older inventory
• Utility and fee structures vary sharply between communities -- some, like South Parker Commons, bundle water, trash, and pest control into rent, while others, like Chandler Pointe, bill them separately as mandatory monthly add-ons
• Lease-term length isn't standardized across the market -- confirm whether a community offers 12-month terms only, 6-month terms only, or a 6-month term at a premium, before comparing quoted rent across options

Negotiating Your Lease in Florence

South Carolina is landlord-favorable with minimal statutory protections, and Florence's rental permit ordinance functions as a code-enforcement and habitability backstop rather than a source of negotiating leverage.

• Confirm what's actually included in a quoted rent figure -- utilities, pest control, and trash pickup are bundled at some communities and billed separately at others
• Request the full fee schedule in writing at communities that advertise rent without an itemized breakdown, such as The Ridges at Florence or The Emerson
• A community offering both 6- and 12-month terms typically prices the shorter term at a premium -- confirm the total cost difference before choosing a shorter lease for flexibility

A published rent figure with no itemized fee schedule -- as at The Ridges at Florence and The Emerson -- doesn't mean no fees apply. Confirm the true total monthly cost before signing.