South Carolina H 3469: Accessory Dwelling Unit Affordable Housing Incentive Act

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3469 Text of Previous Version (Feb. 05, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3469

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE 
"ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT AFFORDABLE HOUSING INCENTIVE ACT" BY AMENDING SECTION 
12-37-220, RELATING TO PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS, SO AS TO PROVIDE A PROPERTY TAX 
EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the "Accessory Dwelling Unit Affordable Housing 
Incentive Act."

SECTION 2. Section 12-37-220(B) of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 (54)(a) the value of an accessory dwelling 
unit.

 (b) 
For purposes of this item:

 (i) 
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) means a secondary housing unit on the same lot as 
a primary residence.

 (ii) Area Median Income (AMI) means 
the median household income for the county where the property is located.

 (c) 
To qualify for the property tax exemption allowed by this item, a homeowner 
shall:

 (i) 
earn less than two hundred fifty percent of his respective county's AMI;

 (ii) rent the ADU to an individual 
earning eighty percent or less of his respective county's AMI;

 (iii) comply with all local zoning 
ordinances and regulations;

 (iv) maintain the ADU as affordable 
housing for a minimum of ten years; and

 (v) 
accept Section 8 payment as part of rent.

 (d) 
A homeowner shall provide annual proof of compliance including, but not limited 
to, a copy of the lease agreement, proof of rent amount, and documentation of 
the tenant's income.

 (e) 
If a homeowner sells the property within ten years of renting an ADU, the 
property tax exemption is transferred to the new owner if the new owner honors 
the lease agreement in place at the time of the purchase. If the new owner does 
not wish to continue the lease agreement, the value of the ADU must be added to 
the value of the primary residence at closing, and the property taxes due in 
the year of the sale, including the value of the ADU, must be paid at closing.

 (f) 
If the homeowner is found to be out of compliance within the ten-year period, 
the property's value must be reassessed to include the ADU as part of the 
overall value of the property and taxes based on the total value of the 
property must be calculated retroactively for as many years as the local 
government decides and is immediately due.

 (g) 
Failure to comply with the terms of this item will result in loss of incentives 
and repayment of any tax exemptions received.

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor and first applies to property tax years beginning after 2024.

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This web page was last updated on February 05, 2025 at 12:20 PM