Aiken County, SC Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Aiken County Code Sections 15-35 through 15-46, Chapter 15, Article IV, Unfit Dwellings, enacted by Ordinance No. 06-11-137 on November 14, 2006, and authorized by South Carolina Code Section 31-15-320, governs substandard and dangerous buildings. Under Section 15-37, once the building official finds a dwelling unfit for human habitation because of dilapidation, fire or accident hazards, inadequate ventilation, light or sanitary facilities, or other unsafe or unsanitary conditions, the county may use its police power to repair, close, or demolish it. The process starts with a complaint from five or more residents or the building official's own motion under Section 15-39, followed by a mailed notice and a hearing held no sooner than ten and no later than thirty days later, where the owner can answer and testify without formal rules of evidence applying.

If the official finds the dwelling unfit, Section 15-40 requires a written order: if repairs cost no more than fifty percent of the dwelling's value, the owner must repair it or vacate and close it; if repairs would exceed that fifty percent threshold, the owner must remove or demolish it. Section 15-41 lets the building official carry out the order himself if the owner fails to comply, including posting a placard reading that the building is unfit for human habitation and its use is prohibited and unlawful.

Costs the county incurs become a lien on the property, collectible like county taxes under Section 15-42, and any materials from a demolished building are sold with the proceeds credited against those costs under Section 15-43. An owner has sixty days after an order is served to petition the circuit court for an injunction under Section 15-46, and the court's hearing on that petition gets calendar preference.