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

Section 7-100, Article IV of the Buildings and Construction chapter, lets the building official act on his own motion when a preliminary investigation shows a dwelling is unfit for human habitation. The building official must serve the owner and all parties in interest a written complaint stating the charges and setting a hearing not less than ten and not more than thirty days after service; if the owner's whereabouts cannot be found with reasonable diligence, the complaint can instead run once a week for two consecutive weeks in a county newspaper and be posted on the premises and filed with the county clerk as a lis pendens notice.

Grounds for an unfit finding include fire, accident or other calamity damage, inadequate ventilation, light, water, sewer, power or sanitary facilities, dilapidation, disrepair, structural defects and uncleanliness. If repair can be made at a reasonable cost relative to the dwelling's value, the building official orders the owner to repair, alter or improve it, or to vacate and close it; if repair is not reasonable against the value, the order instead requires removal or demolition. If the owner does not comply, the building official can carry out the order directly, and the cost of the work becomes a lien against the property, collectible the same way as county taxes.

An owner has sixty days after the order is posted and served to petition the circuit court for a restraining order, and the court must hold a hearing within twenty days. 00, whichever is less.