Mount Pleasant, SC Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing officer
- Public Safety and Housing Officer (ex officio Building Official)
- Officer's power
- Investigate dwellings for unfitness for human habitation
- Entry authority
- Can enter premises to examine, with least inconvenience
- Appeal window
- 30 days to Town Council, or 7 days if unsafe
- Appeal body
- Construction Board of Adjustment, decision is final
- Max penalty
- $500 fine or 30 days jail (§150.999)
Summary
The Town of Mount Pleasant's Public Safety and Housing Officer, an ex officio duty of the Building Official, can investigate any dwelling to decide whether it is unfit for human habitation, enter premises to examine conditions, and order corrections, with appeals going to Town Council or the Construction Board of Adjustment.
(A) A Public Safety and Housing Officer is created and shall be an ex officio duty of the Building Official, except in situations related to the duties of the Fire Code Official, when he or she will assume the role. ... (C) The Public Safety and Housing Officer is authorized to exercise such powers as may be necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this subchapter, including the following powers in addition to others hereinbefore and hereinafter granted: (1) To investigate the dwelling conditions in the municipality in order to determine which dwellings therein are unfit for human habitation; ... (3) To enter on premises for the purpose of making examinations, provided that such entries shall be made in such manner as to cause the least possible inconvenience to the persons in possession;
Full Breakdown
050 creates the Public Safety and Housing Officer as an ex officio duty of the Building Official, except where the Fire Code Official's duties apply. 050(C), that officer can investigate dwelling conditions to determine which are unfit for human habitation, administer oaths and take evidence, enter premises for examination while causing the least possible inconvenience to occupants, and delegate these functions to other town employees. 051(A), though the officer can shorten that window to as little as seven days when a building is unsafe or dangerous.
The Construction Board of Adjustment hears these appeals and can modify or reverse the officer's decision when literal enforcement would work a manifest injustice or run against the public interest, and its ruling is final except for further appeal to the court of common pleas. 999.
Violations & Fines
Violating any term of the unsafe-buildings subchapter is unlawful under § 150.054, punishable under the general Chapter 150 penalty in § 150.999: a fine of up to $500, up to 30 days in jail, or both, with each day of a continuing violation charged as a separate offense, capped at whatever penalty state law sets for a similar offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides whether a dwelling in Mount Pleasant is unfit to live in?
How do I appeal an unsafe-building order?
What happens if I ignore an abatement order?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mount Pleasant
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