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

Section 8-518 folds dangerous buildings into the county's general nuisance definition alongside dumped junk, garbage and hazardous debris left outside an authorized landfill: any building or structure "so deteriorated or abandoned as to constitute a hazard to the public safety or health or constitute an attractive nuisance" is a nuisance. Enforcement runs through the rest of Article VI. Under § 8-520 the permits, inspections and codes department serves the owner or occupant a notice detailing the violation and demanding abatement within 60 days of service.

Section 8-524 names the county office of building codes as the enforcing agency: after a valid written complaint, the building official visits the site and issues a compliance letter starting that 60-day clock, and the owner may request a hearing before the building official for an extension; if none is granted, the original 60 days still controls. If the deadline passes, § 8-524(b) triggers a summons, a $200 per day fine until the property is cleaned up, and a required appearance in magistrate's court. Section 8-521 also lets the county seek a court order compelling abatement, or abate the nuisance itself and bill the owner, and § 8-522 converts unpaid abatement costs, including removal, attorney's fees and recording costs, into a recorded lien against the property that bears interest at the legal rate. Section 8-523 makes the more restrictive of any conflicting ordinance or statute control.