How Burglary Charges Affect Your Ability to Get a Job or Rent an Apartment

People charged with burglary in South Carolina often focus on what happens in the courtroom — the bond hearing, the trial, the potential prison time. Those things matter. But the longer-running damage from a burglary charge often happens outside the courtroom: on background checks for jobs, on rental applications, on housing waitlists, on professional license reviews, and in family court custody cases.

Even an arrest without a conviction shows up. Even a charge that got dismissed shows up — until you take the steps to remove it.

Here’s how a burglary charge actually affects your life beyond the criminal case, what shows up where, and what you can do about it.

What Background Checks Actually See

There are several different types of background checks, and they pull from different sources.

Criminal History Background Checks

Most employer and landlord background checks pull from one or more of these:

• State criminal records through the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and county courts
• Federal criminal records through PACER and federal court records
• National criminal databases that aggregate from state and county records
• The Interstate Identification Index (Triple I) for FBI-level fingerprint-based checks

A burglary charge in South Carolina shows up on:

• SLED’s CATCH report (the standard state-level background check used by most SC employers and landlords)
• County General Sessions Court records that show the charge, the docket number, and the disposition
• Third-party background check databases (HireRight, Sterling, Checkr, GoodHire, and others) that pull from state and federal records
• The FBI rap sheet if your fingerprints were taken at booking

What Shows Up on a Background Check

When an employer or landlord runs your background check, they typically see:

• The charge itself (e.g., “Burglary, 3rd Degree” or “Burglary, 1st Degree”)
• The arrest date
• The court of jurisdiction
• The disposition (guilty, not guilty, dismissed, nolle prossed, PTI, conditional discharge, pending)
• The sentence, if any

Some background check services flag “felony” status in red. Some bury the disposition in a way that makes a dismissal look like a conviction at first glance. Many don’t update in real-time, so an old dismissed charge can keep coming up months after the case closed.

How a Burglary Charge Affects Employment

Background Checks Are Standard

Most employers in South Carolina run background checks. The hospitality industry, healthcare, education, finance, government, transportation, real estate, and professional services nearly all do. Even smaller employers increasingly run automated checks because the cost has dropped.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), employers are supposed to give you notice before taking adverse action based on a background check, and you have the right to dispute inaccurate information. But “the charge actually exists” is usually a true report — even if it’s a charge that should be dismissed.

Industries That Block Burglary Charges Almost Categorically

A few sectors will reject applicants with burglary charges even before conviction:

• Healthcare — nursing, CNA, home health, hospital administration. Many positions require state licensure, and burglary is a disqualifier.
• Education — teaching, school staff, daycare, after-school programs. SLED background checks for school employment are mandatory.
• Financial services — banking, securities, accounting. FINRA and SEC registrations require disclosure and often disqualify.
• Transportation and trucking — DOT screening for CDL and other transportation roles flags felony charges.
• Government and defense — security clearance applications require disclosure of all charges. A pending or recent burglary charge typically means denial.
• Property management and real estate — most agencies will not hire someone with a property crime charge.
• Childcare — categorical disqualifier in most cases.

Industries That Are More Flexible

Some sectors are more open to candidates with criminal records:

• Construction and skilled trades
• Manufacturing
• Restaurant/back of house (less so for front of house at upscale establishments)
• Warehousing and logistics (though Amazon and others run checks)
• Some technology positions (varies widely by employer)
• Self-employment in trades, consulting, or services

“Ban the Box” Laws

South Carolina does not have a private-sector “ban the box” law. State employers cannot ask about criminal history on the initial job application, but private employers in SC are generally permitted to ask early in the process.

That means the burglary charge can come up on the application itself, in the initial screening, or in the formal background check stage — depending on the employer.

What to Do If You Have a Pending Burglary Charge and You’re Job-Hunting

Be honest. Do not lie about a charge that will turn up on a background check — that’s grounds for immediate termination if you’re hired and grounds for immediate disqualification if it’s caught during the process.

When asked about it:

• Acknowledge the charge briefly without going into detail
• Note that the case is pending and you’re represented by counsel
• Pivot to what you bring to the role
• Avoid arguing the legal merits in the interview

If you can wait to apply for jobs until the case is resolved, the calculus changes — a dismissed charge is much easier to explain than a pending one.

How a Burglary Charge Affects Apartment Rentals

Most Landlords Run Background Checks

Apartment complexes, property management companies, and individual landlords increasingly run background checks. Many use national tenant screening services that pull from court records.

A burglary charge — pending or convicted — typically results in:

• Categorical denial at most major apartment complexes
• Higher security deposits at landlords who do accept
• Denial at most public and subsidized housing under federal HUD rules
• Restrictions on lease terms when accepted

Public and Subsidized Housing

Federal regulations under the HUD Section 8 program allow public housing authorities to deny applicants with certain criminal convictions. Burglary convictions can trigger denial. The York Housing Authority and other local PHAs apply these rules.

What to Do If You Have a Burglary Charge and Need to Rent

• Apply to private landlords rather than large management companies. Individual landlords are often more flexible and may not run automated background checks.
• Be upfront about the charge. Surprises lead to leases being torn up after the fact.
• Bring documentation that supports you. Pay stubs showing strong income, references from employers and prior landlords, character references.
• Offer a larger deposit if you can afford it. This sometimes overcomes hesitation.
• Ask if a co-signer is acceptable. A family member or friend with strong credit may help.

Other Areas a Burglary Charge Affects

Professional Licensing

If you’re licensed (or planning to be) in nursing, real estate, teaching, law, accounting, securities, or other regulated professions, a burglary charge typically requires disclosure to the licensing board. Boards can deny or revoke licenses based on criminal history. The earlier you get advice on this, the better — sometimes timing matters.

Family Court / Custody

In a custody dispute, the other parent’s lawyer will absolutely raise a pending or convicted burglary charge. Family court considers the criminal history of both parents when making custody and visitation decisions. A burglary conviction — especially one involving a dwelling — can be devastating to a custody case.

Federal Student Aid

A burglary conviction generally doesn’t trigger the federal student aid drug-conviction bar (that’s drug-specific), but felony convictions can affect specific institutional aid programs and graduate program admissions.

Immigration

For non-U.S. citizens, burglary can be classified as a “crime involving moral turpitude” or in some cases an “aggravated felony” under federal immigration law — both of which trigger removal proceedings. Green card holders and other immigrants should consult an immigration attorney before resolving any burglary case.

Voting Rights

In South Carolina, you lose the right to vote during incarceration and parole for a felony conviction. Voting rights are restored after the sentence is fully completed.

Gun Rights

Felony burglary convictions trigger a permanent firearm prohibition under both SC § 16-23-500 (for “violent crime” convictions, which includes first-degree burglary) and federal law (for any felony conviction). The federal restriction is broader than the state one.

How to Limit the Damage Going Forward

The single most important thing you can do is get the case resolved without a conviction.

Fight for Dismissal

A dismissed charge can be expunged under SC § 17-22-940. Once expunged, the charge is removed from public records and can be lawfully omitted from most job and rental applications.

Pursue Pretrial Intervention

For first-time defendants, PTI through the 16th Judicial Circuit results in dismissal upon successful completion. Then expungement.

Reduce the Charge

Reducing a felony burglary charge to a misdemeanor (trespass, simple larceny, malicious damage) makes a major difference in how background checks read and what employers and landlords see.

Expunge When Eligible

Even some convictions are eligible for expungement after a waiting period under SC law. The eligibility analysis is technical — what charges, what dispositions, what time periods. We handle expungement applications.

What Not to Do

• Don’t lie about the charge on an application. It will be discovered.
• Don’t try to “explain it away” before there’s a question to answer. Wait for the question.
• Don’t apply for jobs that require security clearance or licensing while a charge is pending without strategic planning.
• Don’t rent month-to-month from sketchy landlords just to avoid background checks — those situations create their own problems.
• Don’t assume the charge will “fall off” your record automatically. It won’t. You have to take the affirmative step of expungement.

Why Resolving the Case Right Matters More Than Anything Else

The downstream consequences of a burglary charge are real. They follow you into job interviews, rental applications, custody hearings, and licensing boards for years.

That’s why what happens in the criminal case itself matters so much. The defense work that gets the charge reduced, dismissed, or diverted now is the work that protects you from years of background check problems later.

Our founder Colin Okoye is a former public defender. We handle burglary defense across all three degrees — third-degree property cases through first-degree dwelling cases with weapons aggravators. The goal is always the same: resolve the case in a way that doesn’t permanently damage the rest of your life.

Learn more about our Rock Hill property crimes practice, our criminal defense work generally, or meet Colin Okoye.

Confidential Case Review

If you’ve been charged with burglary in Rock Hill or York County, the criminal case and the downstream consequences both matter. Both are things we work on.

Request a consultation or schedule an appointment. The first conversation is protected by attorney-client privilege. We’ll review the case, look at the realistic options for resolution, and talk through how to position you for the best possible outcome — both in the courtroom and in everything that comes after.

Read our reviews from clients who came to us with charges that could have ended their careers and walked out the other side.