Kershaw County, SC Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)
Key Facts
- Abatement notice
- 60 days to clean up
- Penalty
- up to $500 fine or 30 days jail
- Continuing violation
- each day is a separate offense
- Enforcing agency
- county health department
- Cost recovery
- property lien, foreclosure after 60 days unpaid
Summary
In unincorporated Kershaw County, dumping junk, garbage, debris or hazardous waste on any parcel, including vacant and unimproved lots, is declared a public nuisance under County Code Sec. 22-19. The county health department can order abatement within 60 days, and owners who ignore the notice face a lien, county cleanup at their expense, and criminal penalties.
Sec. 22-19. - Determination of nuisance. It shall be declared a nuisance and hereby declared unlawful to place, deposit, leave or dump any manmade broken articles, garbage, junk, including, but not limited to, vehicles or parts of vehicles not in condition for normal use, waste material, including, but not limited to, building materials, tires, or any object which shall constitute a hazard within the county except at a duly authorized landfill. ... ... Sec. 22-25. - Penalty for violation. The failure to abate the nuisance within 60 days shall constitute a misdemeanor violation and be punishable in magistrate's court by imprisonment for 30 days or a $500.00 fine. Each day the nuisance continues after the 60-day notice to abate shall constitute a separate offense.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 22-19 makes it unlawful to place, deposit, leave or dump broken articles, garbage, junk, including inoperable vehicles or parts, or waste material such as building debris and tires anywhere in the county outside a licensed landfill, and separately declares any building so deteriorated or abandoned that it endangers public safety a nuisance. Sec. 22-20 puts enforcement in the hands of the county health department, which must serve the owner or occupant with written notice demanding abatement within 60 days. If the 60 days pass without cleanup, Sec.
22-21 lets the county go to court to compel abatement or simply hire its own contractor to clear the lot, then bill the owner for every dollar spent. Sec. 22-22 turns that bill into a lien recorded against the property in the clerk of court's mortgage books, complete with a legal description, the abatement date and the accrued interest at the legal rate. Sec. 22-23 protects the county's collection rights even if the lien statement or the bill is never received by the owner, and Sec.
22-24 authorizes the county attorney to foreclose an unpaid lien after 60 days, with sale proceeds applied to the abatement costs first. Sec. 22-25 makes the failure to abate within 60 days a misdemeanor punishable in magistrate's court by up to 30 days in jail or a $500.00 fine, and treats every additional day the nuisance continues past the deadline as a separate offense, so a neglected vacant lot can generate a new charge daily.
Violations & Fines
A property owner who lets junk, debris or a hazardous accumulation sit on a vacant lot past the 60-day notice period is guilty of a misdemeanor: up to 30 days in jail or a $500.00 fine under Sec. 22-25, with each additional day counted as a new offense. The county can also clean the lot itself and foreclose a lien for the cost under Secs. 22-22 through 22-24.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the vacant-lot dumping rule apply to unimproved land?
How long do I have to clean up after getting a notice?
What if I never received the county's bill for cleanup?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kershaw County
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