Anderson County, SC Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Section 8-172 authorizes the codes director to determine that a dwelling is unfit for human habitation whenever conditions exist that are dangerous or injurious to the health, safety or morals of the occupants of such dwelling, the occupants of neighboring dwellings or other residents in the county, and the section lists examples 'without limiting the generality of the foregoing': defects increasing the hazards of fire, accidents or other calamities; lack of adequate ventilation, light or sanitary facilities; dilapidation; disrepair; structure defects; uncleanliness; and breeding areas for insects or vermin.

C. and applying countywide in the unincorporated area, does not distinguish an owner-occupied home from a rental unit, it functions as Anderson County's only local minimum-habitability standard reaching tenants, who otherwise depend on the South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act rather than a county housing code for repair obligations. A tenant or neighbor cannot personally invoke § 8-172, but any five county residents, or the codes director on his own motion, can trigger the § 8-173 complaint process against a landlord whose rental property meets the unfit-dwelling standard; the resulting order can require the landlord to repair the unit, vacate and close it, or demolish it depending on the cost of repair relative to the dwelling's value.

Because these standards look at the physical condition of the structure rather than at lease terms, they do not reach habitability issues such as a landlord's failure to supply heat or water while a lease is active.