Richland County, SC Code Violation Reporting: Common Violations (2026)
Key Facts
- Correction window
- 30 days from written notice
- Conditions covered
- plumbing, sanitation, dampness, infestation, dilapidation
- Enforcing agency
- Property Maintenance Division
- Imminent-risk power
- immediate uninhabitable posting
- Willful violation
- misdemeanor charge
- Max penalty
- $500 fine or 30 days jail
Summary
Richland County's Property Maintenance Division cites mobile home parks and permanent structures for a defined list of substandard conditions: missing or broken plumbing fixtures, damp or infested rooms, general dilapidation, bad sewage connections, inadequate garbage storage, and insufficient light or ventilation, each triggering a correction order under Section 6-217.
(c) Any permanent building, structure, or portion thereof, or the premises on which it is located, shall be deemed substandard and/or a nuisance when any of the following conditions exist that endanger the life, limb, health, property, safety, or welfare of the occupants or the public; or is in violation of the International Property Maintenance Code. (1) Health hazards or inadequate sanitation that includes, but is not limited to, the following: a. Where required, the lack of, inoperable, or defective water closet, lavatory, bathtub or shower. b. Where required, the lack of, inoperable, or defective kitchen sink. c. Lack of or inadequate hot and cold running water to plumbing fixtures. d. Dampness of habitable rooms. e. Infestation of insects, vermin or rodents. f. General dilapidation or improper maintenance. g. Lack of or defective connection of plumbing fixtures to a sewage disposal system. h. Lack of adequate garbage and rubbish storage and removal facilities. i. Lack of minimum amounts of required natural light and ventilation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-24: This supplement is current through Ordinance No. 033-25HR).
Full Breakdown
Section 6-217(c) of the Richland County Code lists the health-hazard and sanitation conditions that make a permanent building or the premises around it substandard and a nuisance under Chapter 6's mobile/manufactured home park regulations. The list covers the lack of, or a defective, water closet, lavatory, bathtub, shower, or kitchen sink where one is required; inadequate hot and cold running water to plumbing fixtures; dampness of habitable rooms; infestation of insects, vermin, or rodents; general dilapidation or improper maintenance; a defective or missing connection to the sewage disposal system; inadequate garbage and rubbish storage and removal facilities; and insufficient natural light or ventilation.
Section 6-217(d) applies a parallel, home-specific list to mobile and manufactured homes themselves, covering the same categories of health, structural, electrical, and plumbing hazards. Once the Property Maintenance Division documents any of these conditions, it issues a written notice under Section 6-217(g) describing the violation and the code section at issue, and the cited owner, park operator, or occupant has 30 days to correct it. A mobile home whose identification numbers cannot be traced gets its notice delivered to the park operator instead of the registered owner.
If the Division determines a condition is an imminent risk to life, health, or safety, it can post the structure as uninhabitable immediately, ahead of the standard notice-and-cure process.
Violations & Fines
Failing to correct a cited condition within the 30-day order, or any extension granted for documented progress, is unlawful, and a willful violation is a misdemeanor under Section 6-217(h)(2)g. The code official can then prosecute or seek a court order for abatement, and Section 6-217(j) makes the responsible owner or operator liable for the Division's investigative costs, court costs, attorney's fees, and any physical abatement expense. Absent a chapter-specific fine, Section 1-8's general penalty controls: up to a $500 fine or 30 days' imprisonment, with each day of continuing violation a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a mobile home park property 'substandard' in Richland County?
How much time do I get to fix a cited violation?
What happens if I don't fix it in time?
Does the county post a red tag on the home?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Richland County
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