Rock Hill, SC Fence Regulations: Neighbor Fence Rules (2026)

Rock Hill follows the standard South Carolina division: the City enforces public zoning law (Chapter 31) while leaving private property-line and cost-sharing disputes to the civil courts. The Zoning Administrator will issue a permit under Chapter 31 to either neighbor for a fence on or near the boundary line so long as the fence complies with the height, sight-triangle, and material rules; the officer will not adjudicate which neighbor owns the disputed line or whether the line on the deed matches the line on the ground. South Carolina has no general partition-fence statute requiring cost sharing on residential boundary fences. Multiple authorities - FindLaw's South Carolina Property Line and Fence Laws, Nolo's SC neighbor-disputes guide, and SC fence-industry summaries - all confirm: 'South Carolina does not have a state statute that requires neighbors to split the cost of a boundary fence.' Cost-sharing flows from common-law principles, prior course of dealing, and any written agreement between owners. (Older SC livestock / agricultural-fence statutes at S.C. Code Title 47 Chapter 5 address open-range and enclosure rules for livestock, not modern urban residential fences.) If the dispute is over where the line actually sits, SC uses the doctrines of adverse possession (10-year continuous, open, notorious use under S.C. Code § 15-67-210) and acquiescence to resolve long-standing boundary-fence locations. A neighbor who builds a fence on your land without consent commits trespass under S.C. Code § 16-11-610 (entry on lands of another after notice prohibiting same) or a civil action for ejectment and damages. Private disputes in Rock Hill are filed in York County Magistrate Court (for smaller-value matters, jurisdictional limit currently $7,500) or the Court of Common Pleas, Sixteenth Judicial Circuit (for higher-value cases). The good-side / bad-side convention - finished side facing the neighbor - is not codified in Rock Hill but is a customary practice. South Carolina has no specific spite-fence statute; spite-fence claims proceed under common-law nuisance.