Berkeley County, SC Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)
Shed permit rules in Berkeley County, SC, also referred to as storage shed, backyard shed, or accessory building regulations, set size limits, setbacks, and when a building permit is required.
Key Facts
- Accessory structure setback
- 5 feet minimum, rear/side yard
- Accessory use size cap
- 65% of principal building's size
- Permit rule
- Separate permit per structure (§ 11-67)
- Unpermitted work
- Doubles fees under § 11-65
- R1 height limit
- Under 40 feet
Summary
In Berkeley County's R1 single-family district, a shed, garage or other accessory structure may only go in the rear or side yard, at least five feet from the side or rear property line, or from an ingress/egress easement if that is farther. Accessory uses are capped at 65 percent of the principal building's size, and each structure needs its own building permit.
Accessory structures are permitted in the rear and side yards only with minimum five-foot setbacks from the side and rear property lines or ingress/egress easements, whichever is greater. If the accessory structure is placed in that portion of the yard that fronts a second street frontage of the property, the setback from the second street frontage property line for the accessory structure is the required second street frontage setback for the primary structure.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 37).
Full Breakdown
5 to 15 feet depending on lot size, but accessory structures get a separate, smaller standard. They are confined to the rear and side yards and must sit at least five feet off the side and rear property lines, or off any ingress/egress easement if that distance is greater. Put the shed on a corner lot's second-street frontage and it must meet the full second-street-frontage setback required for the house itself, not the five-foot accessory minimum. 4 defines an accessory use as a detached structure or use subordinate to, and customarily incidental to, the principal use on the lot, and caps its size at 65 percent of the principal structure's square footage.
10, and impervious coverage, including the shed's footprint, cannot exceed 50 percent of the lot. A shed still needs its own building permit separate from any house permit: County Code § 11-64 bars work covered by the adopted building codes from starting until the permitting department issues a valid permit, and § 11-67 requires a separate permit for each building or structure being constructed. 00 per square foot for fee-calculation purposes, run through the county's tiered building-permit fee table.
Violations & Fines
A shed built without the required § 11-64 permit exposes the owner to doubled administrative and permit fees under § 11-65, and Berkeley County's Planning and Zoning Department or code enforcement officers can order the structure moved, altered, or removed if it violates the five-foot setback. Because the zoning ordinance does not set its own penalty, a violation defaults to the Code's general penalty in § 1-8: a fine of up to $500.00, up to 30 days in jail, or both, with every day of continuing violation counted separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
How close to my property line can I put a shed in Berkeley County?
Do I need a permit to build a shed?
How big can my shed be?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Berkeley County
How Berkeley County compares: Shed Permit Requirements by City·Compare Berkeley County to another location·View the South Carolina accessory structures overview
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