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Horry County, SC Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Installation deadline
Within 1 year of final inspection
Warranty inspection
Engineering Dept. reinspects at 1 year
Repair duty after warranty
Adjacent lot owner, § 2-7
Non-required sidewalks
HOA/POA maintains, noted on plat
Minimum width
4 feet, 5 feet where cars overhang
Standard
Must meet ADA requirements

Summary

In unincorporated Horry County, a developer installs new sidewalks and the county inspects them, but once the one-year warranty period passes, repairing damage to a sidewalk in a public right-of-way falls to the adjacent lot owner unless a recorded agreement says otherwise.

These county ordinances apply to unincorporated areas of Horry County. Incorporated cities within the county may have their own rules that take precedence over county-level regulations.

All sidewalks located on access and sub-collector roadways shall be installed within one year of the final inspection approval by the Engineering Department. Repair of any subsequent damage to sidewalk after this time shall be the responsibility of the adjacent lot owner... A note stating "All non-required sidewalks (as set forth in Table 4D) shall be maintained by the HOA/POA and shall not be the responsibility of Horry County" shall be included on the final plat when appropriate. Otherwise, maintenance of sidewalks shall be required of the party who maintains ownership of the right-of-way unless an alternative maintenance agreement is established and recorded.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 88).

Full Breakdown

The Horry County Land Development Regulations set a clear handoff point. Sidewalks along access and sub-collector roadways must be installed within one year of the Engineering Department's final inspection approval, and the Engineering Department reinspects the sidewalks at that one-year mark; once approved, the department notifies the Planning Department, which can release the project's financial guarantee. After that inspection window closes, Article 4, Section 2-7 puts the burden squarely on the property owner next door: repair of any subsequent damage to the sidewalk is the responsibility of the adjacent lot owner.

The same section addresses ownership more broadly for cases outside the one-year warranty: for non-required sidewalks built beyond the minimum shown in the county's street tables, a note on the final plat states the HOA or POA maintains them and Horry County has no responsibility for them; for other sidewalks, maintenance duty follows whoever owns the right-of-way the walk sits in, unless a separate maintenance agreement has been negotiated and recorded. Sidewalks on collector or arterial roadways skip the one-year warranty step entirely and must be completed before final inspection, after which the same adjacent-owner repair rule applies.

All sidewalks must meet ADA requirements and a four-foot minimum width, rising to five feet where cars overhang the walk from an abutting curb, so a repair has to replace like-for-like, not just patch the surface.

Violations & Fines

The Land Development Regulations name the repair obligation but route enforcement through the same permitting officials who oversee installation: the Engineering Department handles inspection sign-off and can withhold release of a project's financial guarantee if required sidewalks are not built or repaired to standard, and the Planning Department administers the plat notes assigning HOA/POA responsibility for non-required walks. A lot owner who ignores a required repair risks the county treating the defect as a right-of-way maintenance failure tied to their property, since the code assigns that duty by name rather than leaving it to chance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who has to fix a cracked sidewalk in front of my house in unincorporated Horry County?
Once the county's one-year installation warranty period ends, the Land Development Regulations make repair of sidewalk damage the responsibility of the adjacent lot owner, not the county, unless the walk is a non-required sidewalk maintained by an HOA or POA under a plat note.
Does Horry County ever maintain sidewalks itself?
Maintenance follows whoever owns the right-of-way the sidewalk sits in, unless an alternative maintenance agreement has been established and recorded. On county-maintained rights-of-way that can mean county responsibility, but adjacent-owner repair after the warranty period is the default rule the code states.
What is the one-year warranty period for new sidewalks?
Sidewalks on access and sub-collector roads must be installed within one year of final inspection approval, and the Engineering Department reinspects them at that mark before notifying Planning to release the project's financial guarantee. Repair duty for damage shifts to the adjacent owner after that inspection.
Are sidewalks required to be a certain width in Horry County?
Yes. The Land Development Regulations set a four-foot minimum sidewalk width, rising to five feet where the sidewalk abuts a curb that cars can overhang, and require all sidewalks to meet ADA specifications.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Horry County

All Horry County rules

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