# South Carolina Builder Defect Rules | Who Pays the Repair?

> South Carolina's Right to Cure Act requires pre-suit notice, with an 8-year statute of repose on defect claims.

**Who pays:** third-party

South Carolina's Right to Cure Act requires pre-suit notice to the contractor (courts will stay non-compliant suits), and bars claims 8 years after substantial completion.

**Boundary:** South Carolina's Right to Cure Act forces a court to stay any construction-defect suit filed before the homeowner gave the contractor required pre-suit notice; the underlying claim is barred 8 years after substantial completion regardless of theory.

## Sources
- [S.C. Code § 15-3-640](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t15c003.php) — "No actions to recover damages based upon or arising out of the defective or unsafe condition of an improvement to real property may be brought more than eight years after substantial completion of the improvement." (accessed 2026-09-13)
- [S.C. Code § 40-59-830: Right to Cure, stay of action](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t40c059.php) — "If the claimant files an action in court before first complying with the requirements of this article, on motion of a party to the action, the court shall stay the action until the claimant has complied with the requirements of this article." (accessed 2026-09-13)

_Last verified 2026-09-20. Source: Who Pays the Repair? — https://whopaystherepair.com/rules/south-carolina-new-home-builder-defect-warranty/ — every claim checked against a primary source before publication (see /methodology/)._