Rock Hill, SC Building Safety: Pest Control (2026)

Rock Hill addresses pest and rodent control through three legal frameworks. (1) Rock Hill Code Chapter 20 and the IPMC - Rock Hill's Neighborhood Services Inspections Division enforces the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code, which at Section 309.1 requires that all structures be kept free from insect and rodent infestation, at Section 309.2 places primary responsibility on the occupant of any building containing a single dwelling unit, and at Section 309.3 places responsibility on the OWNER of any structure containing two or more dwelling units for extermination of common-area infestations and for any infestation arising from defects in the structure. IPMC 309.5 (Single occupant) places ongoing responsibility on the occupant once delivered free from infestation. The IPMC is incorporated through the Rock Hill Neighborhood Services program and City Code Chapter 20 nuisance authority. (2) SC Residential Landlord-Tenant Act - S.C. Code Title 27 Chapter 40 (the South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, modeled on the URLTA) imposes general fit-for-habitation duties on landlords. S.C. Code Section 27-40-440 requires landlords to comply with applicable building and housing codes (which incorporates the local IPMC enforcement); Section 27-40-440(a)(2) requires landlords to make repairs and do whatever is necessary to keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition. (3) SC Pesticide Control Act - S.C. Code Title 46 Chapter 13, administered by Clemson University's Department of Pesticide Regulation, licenses commercial pesticide applicators including structural pest-control operators. SC also enforces the federal label requirements under FIFRA. (4) Public Health - the SC DHEC / DES and York County Environmental Health office address rodent-vector public-health nuisances under S.C. Code Title 44 Chapter 1. Common rodent attractants enforced under the Rock Hill program include exterior garbage stored without rodent-proof lids, overgrown vegetation (12-inch IPMC 302.4 rule), unmaintained accessory structures, dead-vegetation harborage, and structural openings larger than 1/4 inch.