Rock Hill, SC Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)
Key Facts
- Registration required
- before occupancy of any rental unit
- Original deadline
- December 31, 2022 citywide
- Responsible agent required
- owner 45+ miles from city
- Failure-to-register fine
- $250/unit, $250/month unregistered
- New-unit inspection exemption
- 5 years after occupancy certificate
Summary
Every residential rental unit in Rock Hill needs a city registration before it can be occupied. City Code § 10-606 requires the responsible person to register with the department of neighborhood services, and occupancy is unlawful without it, with hotels, dorms, sororities/fraternities and short-term rentals exempted under § 10-605.
Registration required for units. By the last day of the month that is six months after the effective date of this article, but no later than December 31, 2022, every responsible person who has not already done so shall apply with the department for a residential rental registration, unless exempted from the provisions of this article under section 10-605. A responsible person who first becomes subject to this article after such six-month period shall immediately apply for registration. Occupancy of a residential rental unit will not be permitted absent registration.
Full Breakdown
Article X of Chapter 10, adopted by Ordinance No. 2023-12, requires the 'responsible person' for any residential rental unit, meaning the owner or whoever has charge and control of it, to register with the city's department of neighborhood services. Registration must be filed within six months of a unit first becoming rentable, and the city set an original citywide deadline of December 31, 2022. A registration only issues if the unit's use complies with the zoning ordinance, its municipal charges are current, and, when the owner lives more than 45 miles from city limits, a local responsible agent has been named.
Units get audited: after a tenant vacates, the department may select the unit for an inspection against a checklist drawn from the International Property Maintenance Code, covering structure, plumbing, heating, egress and pest control, though a newly certified unit is exempt from inspection for five years. A registration is revoked if an owner stops keeping current contact information, fails to correct a cited violation, or lets municipal charges lapse, and it can be reinstated only after the violation is fixed and reinstatement fees under § 10-611 are paid.
Exempt from the whole article are hospitals, nursing homes and group homes, hotel units, dormitories, fraternity and sorority houses, and short-term rentals, though public housing must still register even though it skips the inspection requirement.
Violations & Fines
Renting without registration draws a 30-day notice, then a $250.00 fine per unit if uncorrected, plus another $250.00 for every additional month the unit stays unregistered. A revoked registration carries its own $250.00-per-unit fine, charged again for each month the unit remains occupied during revocation, and occupying a unit the city has declared unfit for habitation is a separate $500.00 fine under § 10-611.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rock Hill
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