Spartanburg County, SC Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)
Key Facts
- Height limit
- 18 inches, IPMC § 302.4 as amended
- Governing sections
- Code §§ 10-161, 10-162
- Enforcing agency
- Building Codes/Fire Services & Environmental Enforcement
- First fine
- $25.00 to $200.00 civil infraction
- Escalated fine
- Up to $2,000.00 per day, uncorrected
- Appeal window
- 20 days to board of appeals and adjustments
Summary
Unincorporated Spartanburg County adopted the International Property Maintenance Code and rewrote its weed-and-plant-growth standard, IPMC § 302.4, to set the local limit at 18 inches. The Building Codes/Fire Services Department and Environmental Enforcement Department enforce it through the county's own notice-and-order process.
...is hereby adopted as the International Property Maintenance Code of Spartanburg County, in the State of South Carolina; for regulating and governing the conditions and maintenance of all property, buildings and structures as herein provided... The following sections of the International Property Maintenance Code adopted in section 10-161 are hereby revised: Section 103.1. Insert: Building Codes/Fire Services Department and Environmental Enforcement Department. Section 109.3. Insert: Civil infraction Section 109.4. Insert. $25.00 dollars or more than $200.00 dollars. A person who after written notice fails to correct a violation or submit a plan for correcting a violation within the time to comply, set forth in the written notice, must be cited and fined, by civil fine, in an amount not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00). Each day a violation continues is a separate offense. Section 302.4. Insert 18 inches.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 29).
Full Breakdown
Section 10-161 adopts the latest edition of the International Property Maintenance Code, effective on the state's local implementation date, to regulate the condition and maintenance of all property, buildings and structures countywide. 4, the model code's blank weed-height standard, is filled in at 18 inches. As with the county's other adopted technical codes, enforcement runs through the comprehensive procedures at §§ 10-60 through 10-69: an officer opens a case on a complaint or a patrol observation (§ 10-61), may enter the property with consent or, if refused, a magistrate's search warrant (§ 10-62), and must serve a notice and order giving the owner the code's own correction period or, absent one, 20 days to fix the violation or appeal (§ 10-63).
Appeals go to the board of appeals and adjustments, which must hold a hearing within 30 days and can uphold, modify or reverse the order (§ 10-66), with further appeal to the circuit court of common pleas within 30 days of that decision (§ 10-67). 00, with each day of continued violation counted as a separate offense.
Violations & Fines
A first violation of the 18-inch weed limit is a civil infraction fined $25.00 to $200.00 under IPMC § 109.4 as locally amended. If the owner still fails to correct the growth or submit a correction plan after written notice, the county can assess a civil fine of up to $2,000.00, with every additional day of noncompliance treated as a new, separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How tall can grass or weeds get before it's a violation in unincorporated Spartanburg County?
Who enforces the weed height limit?
What happens if I don't cut the weeds after getting a notice?
Can I appeal a weed-height citation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Spartanburg County
How Spartanburg County compares: Cities with the Strictest Weed and Property Maintenance Rules·Compare Spartanburg County to another location·View the South Carolina landscaping rules overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.