Kershaw County, SC Code Violation Reporting: Response Times (2026)

The county's Chapter 22 nuisance and dwelling-condemnation articles both build a hearing or abatement schedule into the ordinance rather than leaving timing to the enforcing officer's discretion. Under Sec. 22-20, once the county health department serves a property owner or occupant with a written notice that a nuisance, such as junk, debris, waste, or a deteriorated building, exists, that notice must demand abatement within 60 days of service; Sec. 22-21 lets the county move to compel compliance or abate the nuisance itself only after that 60-day window closes.

Separately, Article III's dwelling-unfit-for-habitation process runs on a tighter clock: Sec. 22-56 requires the complaint served on the owner to state the charges and give notice of a hearing date, and Sec. 22-58 pins that hearing to a window of at least ten days but less than 30 days after the complaint is served, so the county cannot rush a condemnation hearing or let it drag on indefinitely. Sec. 22-59 keeps that hearing informal by freeing it from the rules of evidence used in civil or criminal court, which lets the public officer resolve the case on the scheduled date.

Once an order to repair or demolish issues under Sec. 22-60, an owner who wants to contest it has a further, separate 60-day clock under Sec. 22-62 to petition the circuit court, which must then calendar the injunction hearing within 20 days and give it preference over other matters.