Lancaster County, SC Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

Lancaster County Code § 7-2 adopts several permissive International Code Council codes as county ordinance, including the International Existing Building Code, the International Property Maintenance Code, the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code and the International Performance Code for Buildings and Facilities, in the 2021 editions with South Carolina amendments and the state's effective dates. Separately, the Building and Manufactured Home Permit Ordinance in Article II governs the permitting itself: § 7-22(a) applies it to "the construction, alteration, renovation, relocation, removal and demolition of every building or structure or any appurtenances connected or attached to such buildings or structures," which reaches an in-ground or attached pool as a structure, though § 7-22(d) exempts only ordinary repairs like siding, paint or like-for-like window replacement, not new construction.

Section 7-23 designates the county building official as the enforcement official who issues permits and collects fees, with sworn law-enforcement assistance available on request. Section 7-24(a) makes it unlawful to engage in activity covered by § 7-22 "unless an application has been filed and a permit granted by the building official," and requires the permit to be displayed at the site and posting maintained until the work is complete. Fees are set annually in the county budget ordinance under § 7-25 and are doubled under § 7-25(a)(3) and § 7-26(b) if work begins before the permit issues.

A permit becomes invalid if work is not started within six months of issuance or is discontinued for six months, per § 7-24(g). This chapter does not apply within any incorporated municipality that enforces its own building permit ordinance, § 7-22(c).