Darlington County, SC HOA Rules: CC&R Enforcement (2026)

Section 22-33 of the Darlington County Code sits at the end of the nuisance article and addresses only how private covenants interact with county review, not how an HOA polices its own members. It states that restrictive covenants submitted to the county planning commission for review and approval must incorporate, by reference, the requirements of the nuisance article, which covers junk and trash accumulation, vacant and abandoned structures, obstructive shrubbery at intersections, dangerous structures and similar nuisances defined in § 22-31 and § 22-32. In practice this means a new subdivision's recorded covenants cannot set a weaker standard than the county's own nuisance rules when the developer brings the plat and covenants before the planning commission for approval.

It does not give the county administrator authority to enforce an HOA's separate architectural, landscaping or use restrictions that go beyond the nuisance article, and it does not make the county a party to private covenant disputes between a homeowner and their association. An HOA that wants to enforce its own CC&Rs, such as paint colors, fence styles beyond the county's corner-visibility rule, or parking restrictions not covered by § 22-32, must do so through its own governing documents and, if necessary, civil litigation, since the county's role under § 22-33 is limited to the planning-commission review stage for newly platted developments.