Accessory Structures in South Carolina (2026)

Anderson County does not allow a standalone residential accessory dwelling; the zoning code permits one accessory…

Berkeley County's zoning ordinance caps a garage apartment or guesthouse at 25 percent of the main home's heated square…

Aiken County permits one accessory apartment per single-family, owner-occupied lot as a conditional use under Table 1…

Beaufort County allows one accessory dwelling unit on single-family lots under three acres and two on lots of three…

Charleston zoning caps accessory dwelling units at one per lot and 850 square feet of conditioned space, shrinking to…

In unincorporated Charleston County, one accessory dwelling unit is allowed per lot in Agricultural and Residential…

Columbia allows one accessory dwelling unit (ADU) per single-family lot under Sec. 17-4.3(d)(1). The unit can be…

An accessory dwelling unit needs a lot of at least 32,760 square feet under Zoning § 10.4.1, must sit behind the main…

Where conditionally permitted, an accessory apartment in unincorporated Florence County cannot exceed 50 percent of the…

In unincorporated Greenville County, one detached accessory dwelling unit is allowed alongside a principal home only in…

One accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is allowed per parcel as a conditional use in any district that permits a…

North Charleston allows one accessory dwelling unit per R-1 lot as a conditional use, capped at two-thirds the size of…

Pageland allows accessory apartments as a conditional use only when the main house is owner-occupied. Sec. 4-7(A)(8)…

Yes. Unincorporated Richland County allows one accessory dwelling per single-family lot in most residential and rural…

Rock Hill, South Carolina allows one accessory dwelling unit per single-family lot under Zoning Ordinance § 5.3.5.2(A)…

Simpsonville's Zoning Ordinance sharply limits ADUs. Under Section 3.3.4, an accessory dwelling unit may only be placed…

In areas governed by the Unified Land Management Ordinance, a single detached accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is…

York County allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot in the AGC, AGC-I, RUD, RUD-I, RSF-40, RSF-30, RMX-20, RMX-10…

Charleston requires either the main house or the accessory dwelling unit on a lot to be owner-occupied and serve as the…

Columbia requires an owner-occupancy commitment before an accessory dwelling unit can operate. Sec. 17-4.3(d)(1)b…

Before an accessory apartment can be added in unincorporated Florence County, the principal dwelling must be…

Rock Hill, South Carolina requires the property owner to actually live on site when an accessory dwelling unit is…

To legally establish or keep an accessory dwelling unit in unincorporated York County, the lot owner must actually live…

Charleston's ADU covenant bars two things outright: subleasing the accessory dwelling unit and using either the ADU or…

Accessory dwelling units in unincorporated Beaufort County cannot be leased for stays under 30 consecutive days unless…

Columbia bans short-term rental of accessory dwelling units. Sec. 17-4.3(d)(1)i prohibits leasing or renting an ADU for…

Rock Hill, South Carolina bars accessory dwelling units from being rented as short-term stays. Zoning Ordinance §…

Aiken County caps accessory buildings like sheds at 20 feet tall in the buildable area, or 12 feet if placed in a…

In Anderson County's single-family residential districts, a shed or other accessory building can only go in the rear…

Beaufort County caps freestanding sheds and other accessory structures at 30 percent of the principal home's floor area…

In Berkeley County's R1 single-family district, a shed, garage or other accessory structure may only go in the rear or…

A backyard shed or accessory building in Charleston can encroach as close as one and a half feet from a side or rear…

Carports are treated as accessory structures in unincorporated Charleston County, but unlike sheds they are exempt from…

Any accessory structure in Columbia, including a storage shed, must sit at least three feet from a side or rear…

A storage shed is a customarily incidental accessory use under Zoning § 10.3.1(m), but its size is tiered to lot area…

In unincorporated Florence County, sheds and dry-storage structures may only sit in the rear yard setback, at least…

A carport is an accessory structure in Greenville County. It follows the same accessory-building rule: in the rear or…

One small accessory structure (200 square feet or less) at a single-family home may sit as close as 5 feet from a side…

In unincorporated Lancaster County, a shed or other one-story detached accessory structure valued at $5,000 or less…

A shed or other one-story detached accessory structure in Lexington County can skip the building permit entirely if its…

Sheds and other rear-yard accessory buildings in North Charleston's R-1 district max out at eighteen feet to the ridge…

Appendix A caps accessory buildings at 12 feet tall when they sit inside a required setback, bans them from the front…

Richland County has no carport-specific ordinance. A carport is an accessory structure under LDC Sec. 26-185: it may…

Detached sheds, garages and other accessory structures in Rock Hill must sit behind the front plane of the house: 5…

On single-family residential lots, an accessory structure such as a shed must meet a 5-foot accessory-structure setback…

The ULMO treats a carport attached to the principal home as an accessory use when it is at least 75 percent open or…

A storage shed in unincorporated York County is a 'major residential accessory structure' under § 155.622, so it must…

Converting a garage to living space in Dorchester County is a change of occupancy needing a building permit under the…

Greenville County has no separate garage-conversion permit, but converting a garage into living space is a change of…

Horry County has no separate garage-conversion ordinance. Converting a garage into a separate dwelling triggers the…

Simpsonville's Zoning Ordinance has no special garage-conversion allowance. Converting a garage into living space is a…

Spartanburg County's ULMO has no dedicated garage-conversion section. A detached garage is defined as an accessory…

Converting a garage to living space in York County is a change of occupancy needing a building permit under the 2021 SC…

A tiny house on wheels can't serve as an accessory dwelling unit anywhere in unincorporated York County under §…

Charleston allows one accessory dwelling unit behind a single-family home in any base zoning district, capped at 850…

Charleston County has no separate tiny-home ordinance. A tiny home on a permanent foundation is treated as an accessory…

A tiny house is a legal dwelling in Dorchester County only if built to the 2021 SC Residential Code, which adopts…

Unincorporated Florence County treats tiny homes as residential structures under the 2021 South Carolina Residential…

Greenville County has no general tiny-home category. A manufactured home may be allowed in any district as a Temporary…

Horry County's zoning ordinance defines a tiny home as a permanently-foundationed single-family unit up to 750 square…

Richland County has no tiny-home-specific ordinance. A tiny house on a permanent foundation is treated as a…

Simpsonville's Zoning Ordinance has no dedicated tiny-home category. A tiny house on wheels is treated as a…

Spartanburg County's ULMO bars using a recreational vehicle or travel trailer for permanent residential use because…