Berkeley County, SC Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

Article VII of chapter 38, adopted by Ordinance No. 25-04-17 on April 28, 2025, defines 'camping' broadly in § 38-141 as residing on or using public or private property for one or more nights for living-accommodation purposes, covering sleeping, laying down bedding, storing personal belongings such as sleeping bags or backpacks, lighting a fire, pitching a tent, regularly cooking meals, or living in a parked vehicle. Section 38-142 makes it unlawful to camp on any public property Berkeley County owns or maintains, listing streets, easements, parks, dump sites, creek beds, parking lots, and corporation yards, and separately bars leaving behind a tent, shack, house trailer, motor home, camper, or other shelter, or vehicle, that could be used for overnight camping, except where the county itself permits camping within a park.

Section 38-143 extends a parallel ban to private property, making it unlawful to camp or squat there, with two exceptions: camping on one's own land, with the landowner, or with the landowner's written consent carried and shown on demand to a peace officer, sheriff's deputy, or code enforcement officer, provided the camping still meets all zoning ordinances and state law; and lawful camping in a campground or trailer park specifically approved for that use under the county's zoning ordinance. The stated purpose in § 38-140 is to protect the health and safety of campers and the public, and to prevent the degradation of public and private land used outside its intended purpose.