Richland County, SC Code Violation Reporting: Response Times (2026)
Key Facts
- Inspection deadline
- 3 business days of complaint
- Imminent danger
- inspected sooner than 3 days
- Correction period
- 30 days after written notice
- Enforcing agency
- Property Maintenance Division
- Appeal body
- Building Codes Board of Appeals
- Max penalty
- $500 fine or 30 days jail
- Scope
- mobile/manufactured home parks, unincorporated county
Summary
Richland County's Property Maintenance Division must inspect a code complaint about a mobile or manufactured home park within three business days when the alleged violation poses an unreasonable risk to life, health, or safety, and sooner if the danger is imminent. The complainant learns the outcome, and any confirmed violation triggers a written correction order mailed under the International Property Maintenance Code.
When a complaint is received, the Property Maintenance Division shall: (a) Perform an inspection on allegations of violations representing an unreasonable risk to life, health, or safety within three (3) business days; unless imminent danger is apparent, and in that case, an inspection will occur sooner. (b) Inform the complainant that an inspection was performed and, if violations were found, that a notice will be sent to the property owner regarding any valid code violations. (c) If violations were found, issue a written order to correct violations, which shall be mailed to the property owner in accordance with the International Property Maintenance Code.
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 6-216 of the Richland County Code, adopted by Ordinance No. 002-15HR on February 10, 2015, sets the complaint-response standard for mobile home and manufactured home parks and sites in unincorporated Richland County. Once the Property Maintenance Division receives a complaint, it must perform an inspection within three business days of any allegation representing an unreasonable risk to life, health, or safety; if the danger looks imminent, the inspection happens sooner than that. The Division then tells the complainant that the inspection occurred and, if the inspector confirms a violation, that a notice is going out to the property owner. Where a violation is verified, the Division issues a written order to correct it, mailed to the property owner under the procedures of the International Property Maintenance Code.
That order starts the clock under Section 6-217: the owner or park operator gets thirty days from the date of notice to abate the cited condition, though the code official can extend that period on a showing of reasonable progress or circumstances beyond the owner's control. If the case is not resolved, Section 6-218 lets the cited person request an informal conference and then a hearing before the Building Codes Board of Appeals under Section 6-75 before any further enforcement step is taken. None of that appeal process pauses the clock on an immediate risk to life, health, or safety. This response and correction system applies specifically to Chapter 6's mobile/manufactured home park regulations, not to general residential property maintenance complaints countywide.
Violations & Fines
A willful violation left unresolved after the notice period is a misdemeanor under Section 6-217(h)(2)g. If the code official finds no reasonable progress, prosecution can proceed, including a court order for abatement, and Section 6-217(j) makes the registered owner or operator responsible for the Property Maintenance Division's investigative and case-preparation costs, court costs, attorney's fees, and any physical abatement work. Because Chapter 6 sets no separate dollar figure, Section 1-8's general penalty applies: a fine up to $500 or up to 30 days in jail, with each day of continuing violation charged as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Richland County
Compare Richland County to another location·View the South Carolina code violation reporting overview
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