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

Gaston Rental Market Overview

Gaston is a 5.32-square-mile town in Lexington County, incorporated in 1894 and sitting roughly 15 miles southwest of Columbia along Bull Swamp Creek. Its economy has shifted from the forestry, farming, and sawmill operations of its early history toward construction (19.9% of employment) and manufacturing (14.3%), according to a 2024 city-data.com estimate built from Census American Community Survey data; the town's own site describes it more simply, noting Gaston "relies mostly on business fees." No purpose-built apartment community serving Gaston turned up in this guide's research. The town's rental market, as reflected in Zillow's active Gaston, SC listings, consists entirely of individually owned single-family houses and one townhome: 109 Arrowpoint Dr Lot 38 ($2,200/month, 3BR townhome), 130 King Buck Dr ($1,899/month, 4BR house), 135 King Buck Dr ($1,895/month, 4BR house), 173 King Buck Dr ($1,815/month, 4BR house), 420 Fallaw Rd ($1,500/month, 3BR house), and 810 Woodtrail Dr ($1,400/month, 3BR house). Checking four of those addresses against the U.S. Census Bureau's public geocoder -- 109 Arrowpoint Dr, 130 King Buck Dr, 420 Fallaw Rd, and 810 Woodtrail Dr -- found that all four resolve to unincorporated Lexington County land, not the incorporated Town of Gaston, despite carrying a "Gaston, SC 29053" address. Gaston's own Town Hall (131 N. Carlisle St) and its council meeting building (186 N. Carlisle St) both resolve cleanly inside the actual town by the same check.

Common Lease Terms in Gaston

With no apartment community operating under a Gaston mailing address, this section describes what's generally true of this small, single-family rental pocket of Lexington County rather than one property's published lease terms.

• Every identified Gaston-area rental is an individually owned single-family house or townhome, negotiated directly with the owner or a small property manager rather than through an on-site leasing office
• Lease length, deposit amount, and pet policy vary property to property since there is no standardized community-wide policy to compare against
• Zillow's active Gaston listings checked for this guide ranged from $1,400 to $2,200/month across 3- and 4-bedroom houses and one townhome, though individual listings turn over and prices shift with each new tenant

Local Tenant Protections

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

• The Town's published ordinances include a Zoning Ordinance, a Land Development Ordinance, and a 2024 Business License Ordinance requiring a town business license (plus a zoning permit for a new use) for any business operating inside town limits -- a general municipal requirement, not one specific to rental housing
• Gaston issues a distinct "Mobilehome Permit" among its standard permits, consistent with a housing stock leaning toward single-family and manufactured homes rather than multifamily apartment development
• Every rental address this guide could verify resolves to unincorporated Lexington County, not the incorporated town, so the town's own business-license and zoning rules likely don't reach the rental stock actually findable under a "Gaston, SC" address
• No local rent control; South Carolina law preempts it statewide (S.C. Code §27-39-60)

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

Mandatory Fees in Gaston

No apartment community or property-management company operating under a Gaston address publishes a fee schedule online, since the identified rental market consists of individually owned houses rather than a managed community. This section covers what's actually verifiable instead.

• None of the six Zillow-listed Gaston rentals checked for this guide disclosed a separate application, admin, or pet-fee schedule online -- pricing shown was the listed monthly rent only, with additional terms presumably set by the individual owner
• A landlord whose property actually sits inside Gaston town limits carries the town's standard business-license cost under its 2024 Business License Ordinance and Fees, plus a zoning permit fee for a new use -- an overhead cost more likely folded into quoted rent than itemized separately for a tenant
• Since every rental address this guide could verify resolves to unincorporated Lexington County rather than the town itself, most Gaston-addressed rentals likely fall outside the town's business-license requirement entirely and instead answer to Lexington County's own permitting rules

Because no community-wide fee schedule exists here, the true move-in cost on any individually listed Gaston rental is only knowable by contacting the owner or listing agent directly before signing.

Gaston's History and Identity

Gaston incorporated in 1894, when forestry, farming, sawmills, and turpentine stills were the area's dominant industries. According to Wikipedia's account (sourced to town history and Census records), Gaston's town council adopted its current mayor-council form of government in 1975, the same year the town's account describes it as having become formally part of Lexington County -- a detail this guide could not independently verify beyond that secondary source, so it's presented here as reported rather than confirmed. The Gaston Fire Tower, a lookout tower first built in 1936, was added to the National Historic Lookout Register in 2013 -- one of the few individually notable landmarks tied to the town's name. Gaston sits within the Columbia, SC metropolitan statistical area and hosts a branch of the Lexington County Public Library. Median household income was estimated at $60,805 in 2024, up from $31,411 in 2000 (city-data.com, ACS-derived), and the median home value was estimated at $139,753 -- both consistent with a small, working-class Midlands town rather than a fast-growing suburb.

Common Issues Renters Face in Gaston

• A "Gaston, SC" address on a listing platform doesn't reliably mean the property is inside Gaston town limits -- four of four addresses checked for this guide resolved to unincorporated Lexington County instead, while the town's own Town Hall and council building resolved correctly
• With no apartment community or management company in the picture, every Gaston-area rental transaction runs through an individual owner or small property manager, so there's no standardized lease template, fee disclosure, or leasing-office recourse to compare against
• Individually listed rentals turn over on their own schedule and change price with each new tenant, so any figure quoted here is a snapshot, not a standing rate

Negotiating Your Lease in Gaston

South Carolina is landlord-favorable with minimal statutory protections, and nothing found in Gaston's published ordinances changes that baseline for rental housing specifically.

• Confirming whether a specific address actually sits inside Gaston town limits or unincorporated Lexington County is worth doing before assuming which zoning rules, business-license requirements, or municipal court would apply to a dispute -- the Census Bureau's free public geocoder can answer this directly
• Individually owned rentals in this market are negotiated directly with an owner or small property manager, where terms tend to be more flexible than at a corporate-managed community but also less standardized, so confirming terms in writing matters more here than at a large complex
• With no published fee schedule anywhere in this market, tenants commonly request the full move-in cost -- deposit, any pet charge, first month's rent -- in writing before committing to a showing

A rental advertised as "Gaston, SC" online is not automatically inside the Town of Gaston -- the actual governing jurisdiction can only be confirmed against the parcel itself, not the mailing address.