Construction Defect Demand Letter - South Carolina

CONSTRUCTION DEFECT DEMAND LETTER

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

NOTICE UNDER S.C. CODE ANN. §§ 40-59-810 THROUGH 40-59-860, IF APPLICABLE

SERVED BY ☐ PERSONAL SERVICE ☐ CERTIFIED MAIL TO LAST KNOWN ADDRESS
OPTIONAL COURTESY COPY BY [EMAIL / REGULAR MAIL / OTHER METHOD]

[DATE]

[CONTRACTOR / SUBCONTRACTOR NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[CITY, STATE ZIP]
License / Registration No.: [NUMBER / UNKNOWN]

Re: STATUTORY NOTICE OF CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS
Property Address: [PROPERTY ADDRESS]
Owner: [OWNER NAME]
Original Contract Date: [DATE]
Substantial Completion Date: [DATE]

Dear [NAME]:

This firm represents [OWNER NAME] ("Claimant") regarding alleged defects at the property identified above. If the claim and property fall within the South Carolina Notice and Opportunity to Cure Act, this letter is the written notice required by S.C. Code Ann. § 40-59-840. It asserts construction defects, describes their general nature and known results, offers reasonable inspection access, and requests a written election under § 40-59-850.

This form must not be sent until South Carolina counsel has classified the dwelling, claimant, recipient, action, service method, and every contract-specific dispute procedure. The Act does not replace a shorter contractual notice period, an express-warranty procedure, an arbitration clause, an insurance condition, or another claim-specific requirement.

I. ACT COVERAGE AND PROCEDURAL CHECK

A. Covered dwelling, claimant, and action

Sections 40-59-810 through 40-59-860 govern a defined construction-defect action involving a dwelling. The statutory dwelling category includes a single-family house, duplex, or multifamily unit or building not exceeding sixteen units and three stories, together with specified common areas. A claimant may include a homeowner or subsequent purchaser. The covered action concerns loss or damage to a dwelling or other property arising from the dwelling's design, construction, condition, sale, or remodeling. Section 40-59-860 excludes actions for personal injury or death.

B. Notice, clarification, response, and stay

Section 40-59-840 requires service of the written notice at least 90 days before filing the action. Under § 40-59-810, service means personal service or certified-mail delivery to the addressee's last known address. The notice must state that the claimant asserts a construction defect, describe the claim in reasonable detail sufficient to identify its general nature, and state the known results of the defect. A contractor may request clarification within 15 days after receiving the notice.

Under § 40-59-850, the contractor or subcontractor has 30 days from service to inspect, offer to remedy, offer to settle, or deny the claim. A failure to respond within 30 days is deemed a denial. If inspection is requested, the claimant must allow inspection at a mutually agreeable time. The claimant must serve a response to an offer within 10 days after receipt. An offer of settlement, repair, or remedy made under § 40-59-850 is inadmissible in a proceeding.

If an action is filed before compliance, § 40-59-830 directs the court to stay the action until the claimant complies. The statute supplies a stay, not the blanket claim forfeiture stated in the prior version of this form. Counsel must address limitation and repose deadlines before relying on the presuit process.

C. Limitation periods and construction repose

The deadline depends on the pleaded claim, accrual facts, contract, parties, and relief. Do not calculate from this table without South Carolina counsel.

Section 15-3-640 provides one eight-year outer period after substantial completion for a covered action based on a defective or unsafe condition of an improvement to real property. The former thirteen-year period was changed to eight years in 2005; there is no current separate thirteen-year structural-defect period. Section 15-3-660 prevents the repose provisions from extending a shorter limitation period.

The repose analysis is not complete without the surrounding sections. Section 15-3-650 restricts use of the defense by a person in actual possession or control of the improvement when the condition proximately causes the injury or death. Section 15-3-670 contains claim- and conduct-specific qualifications involving fraud, gross negligence, recklessness, and concealment. Identify the statutory substantial-completion proof and every applicable qualification before stating a deadline.

D. Residential warranty and builder-duty routes

South Carolina warranty law is transaction- and role-specific. Arvai v. Shaw, 289 S.C. 161, 345 S.E.2d 715 (1986), describes an implied warranty of habitability in the initial sale and does not extend that sales warranty to a resale. Kennedy v. Columbia Lumber & Manufacturing Co., 299 S.C. 335, 384 S.E.2d 730 (1989), recognizes duties associated with a builder's residential construction work; it is not authority for a universal implied warranty covering every contractor, project, and claimant. Smith v. Breedlove, 377 S.C. 415, 661 S.E.2d 67 (2008), distinguishes the habitability warranty arising from a sale from workmanship obligations arising from a builder's construction undertaking.

Before asserting an implied-warranty or negligence theory, identify who sold the home, who contracted to build or remodel it, whether the claimant was the initial or a later purchaser, the nature of the claimed loss, contractual allocations, and any applicable economic-loss analysis.

E. Licensing classification

Residential building and residential specialty work are regulated by the Residential Builders Commission under Chapter 59. Section 40-59-30 requires the appropriate license or registration for covered residential work and restricts enforcement of a covered contract by an unlicensed person or firm. Commercial general and mechanical contracting are separately regulated under Chapter 11 by the Contractors' Licensing Board. Section 40-11-370 restricts contract enforcement by an entity that lacked a required valid license or contracted under a name different from the licensed name.

Current South Carolina LLR guidance states that a current license or registration is required for covered residential activities and that regulated commercial general or mechanical work over $10,000 requires the appropriate Chapter 11 license. Apply the statutes' definitions, thresholds, exemptions, entity rules, and work classifications to the actual project; do not describe every construction worker as licensed by the same board.

II. PROPERTY AND PROJECT INFORMATION

A. Property Description

B. Project Information

C. Parties Involved

General Contractor:

• Name: [NAME]
• License Number: [NUMBER]
• Address: [ADDRESS]
• Contact: [PHONE/EMAIL]

Subcontractors: (List all subcontractors whose work is believed defective)

III. STATEMENT AND DESCRIPTION OF CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS

Claimant asserts the following construction defects. Each entry is intended to provide the detail required by S.C. Code Ann. § 40-59-840: the general nature of the claim, its location, and the known results. Attach photographs, reports, estimates, and other available support, but do not characterize a standard as legally binding until counsel confirms that it governed this project.

DEFECT #1: [TITLE - e.g., FOUNDATION CRACKING]

Location: [Specific location within the property]

General Nature and Description: [WHAT WAS DESIGNED, BUILT, INSTALLED, SOLD, OR REMODELED; WHAT IS ALLEGEDLY DEFECTIVE; WHEN AND HOW OBSERVED]

Known Results: [WATER ENTRY / CRACKING / LOSS OF USE / DAMAGE TO OTHER PROPERTY / OTHER KNOWN RESULT]

Building Components Affected:
☐ Foundation/Slab ☐ Framing ☐ Roofing ☐ Exterior walls/Siding ☐ Windows/Doors
☐ Plumbing ☐ Electrical ☐ HVAC ☐ Insulation ☐ Drywall/Interior finishes
☐ Flooring ☐ Waterproofing ☐ Drainage ☐ Other: [SPECIFY]

Available Supporting Material: [PHOTOGRAPHS / REPORT / TESTING / ESTIMATE / CORRESPONDENCE / NONE YET]

Potential Governing Requirement, Subject to Verification:

☐ Contract term or plan: [IDENTIFY]

☐ Adopted code provision in effect for project: [IDENTIFY EDITION / SECTION / LOCAL ADOPTION]

☐ Manufacturer instruction: [IDENTIFY]

☐ Other standard or duty: [IDENTIFY FACTUAL AND LEGAL BASIS]

Date First Observed: [DATE]

Estimated Repair Scope and Cost: [SCOPE] / $[AMOUNT OR UNDER INVESTIGATION]

DEFECT #2: [TITLE]

[REPEAT FORMAT ABOVE FOR EACH DEFECT]

IV. SUMMARY OF DEFECTS AND DAMAGES

V. CLAIM-SPECIFIC LEGAL THEORIES

Assert only theories that counsel has matched to the parties, transaction, contract, loss, and evidence.

Claimant presently contends that: [INSERT A FACT-SPECIFIC NARRATIVE OF THE THEORIES COUNSEL APPROVES]. Nothing in this template should be read as alleging fraud, gross negligence, recklessness, a code violation, or an entitlement to attorney's fees without a good-faith factual and legal basis.

VI. REQUESTED ELECTION UNDER § 40-59-850

Within 30 days after service, please serve one of the responses authorized by S.C. Code Ann. § 40-59-850:

1. Request and conduct an inspection within the statutory period;
2. Offer to remedy the claimed defects;
3. Offer to settle the claim; or
4. Deny the claim regarding the defects.

Send the response by the statutory service method to:

[CLAIMANT OR COUNSEL NAME]

[SERVICE ADDRESS]

[EMAIL FOR COURTESY COPY]

Failure to respond within 30 days is deemed a denial under § 40-59-850. This letter does not assert a statutory waiver, adverse inference, damages presumption, or automatic claim bar beyond the consequences the Act actually states.

VII. INSPECTION ACCESS AND PROTOCOL

Claimant will provide reasonable access to inspect the identified defects at a mutually agreeable time as contemplated by § 40-59-850. To coordinate access, please include:

1. Proposed dates and anticipated duration;
2. The names, roles, and contact information of attendees;
3. The proposed testing, sampling, or destructive work;
4. Requested utilities, access areas, and safety arrangements; and
5. A plan for documenting and restoring any area altered during inspection.

No destructive testing is authorized merely by this letter. Obtain a separate written protocol addressing scope, notice, documentation, samples, restoration, insurance, and responsibility for damage before destructive work begins.

Contact Information:
[LAW FIRM NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[PHONE]
[EMAIL]

VIII. PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCE

Please preserve potentially relevant documents, electronically stored information, photographs, communications, samples, and tangible material, including:

• All contracts and subcontracts
• Plans, specifications, and drawings
• Inspection reports and quality control records
• Correspondence with owner and subcontractors
• Photographs taken during construction
• Daily logs and progress reports
• Warranties from manufacturers
• Insurance policies and certificates
• Permit, inspection, certificate-of-occupancy, and substantial-completion records
• License and registration records

Claimant will likewise preserve reasonably available evidence. Counsel should customize this request to the reasonably anticipated dispute and applicable preservation law; this paragraph does not itself establish a sanction or adverse inference.

IX. PROPOSED RESOLUTION

Subject to inspection and the ten-day response procedure for any offer received, Claimant proposes the following possible resolution:

Option A - Repair by Contractor:

1. Written repair scope, responsible licensees, permits, materials, and schedule: [DETAILS]
2. Start and completion milestones: [DATES]
3. Access, temporary protection, testing, and closeout documentation: [DETAILS]
4. Written repair warranty: [TERMS TO BE NEGOTIATED]
5. Claimed investigation or other recoverable amounts: $[AMOUNT / LEGAL BASIS]

Option B - Monetary Settlement:

Payment of $[AMOUNT] under a written agreement addressing scope, releases, allocation, confidentiality if lawful and desired, and payment timing.

Other Proposal: [DESCRIBE]

No fee, cost, enhanced-damage, or consequential-damage entitlement is assumed by this form. Any resolution must be documented in a signed writing reviewed by counsel.

X. CONCLUSION

Please serve your § 40-59-850 election within 30 days after service. Claimant will serve a response to any offer within ten days after receipt. If the matter is not resolved, Claimant reserves all rights after satisfaction of the Act and any other applicable procedures, subject to every defense and deadline. This letter does not extend, toll, revive, waive, or stipulate any limitation, repose, contract, warranty, or claim-presentation period.

Respectfully submitted,

[LAW FIRM NAME]

By: _________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]
South Carolina Bar No. [NUMBER]
[ADDRESS]
[CITY, STATE ZIP]
[TELEPHONE]
[EMAIL]

Attorneys for [OWNER NAME]

ENCLOSURES:
☐ Photographs of defects
☐ Expert report(s)
☐ Repair estimates
☐ Copy of construction contract
☐ Correspondence history

cc: [OWNER NAME]
[INSURANCE CARRIER]
[OTHER RECIPIENT, IF APPROPRIATE]

ATTORNEY COMPLETION CHECKLIST

Before service:

• Confirm Act coverage separately for the property, claimant, claim, and every recipient.
• Serve each contractor or subcontractor by personal service or certified mail to the last known address; retain proof.
• Insert every known result of each alleged defect and attach available supporting material.
• Calendar the 15-day clarification, 30-day election, 10-day offer-response, and 90-day pre-action dates from actual receipt or service facts.
• Calculate limitation and repose deadlines independently; do not treat the 90-day process as automatic tolling or revival.
• Verify the substantial-completion evidence and §§ 15-3-650 through 15-3-670 qualifications.
• Identify the initial seller, builder, contractor, subcontractors, claimant's purchaser status, and the source of each asserted duty.
• Verify the correct Residential Builders Commission or Contractors' Licensing Board credential and exact contracting entity.
• Confirm the adopted building-code edition and local enactment before alleging a violation.
• Review the contract, warranty, insurance, mediation, arbitration, indemnity, fee, and notice provisions.
• Recheck current law before use. H.4518 in the 2025-2026 session remained in the House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee on this template's verification date and is not incorporated as enacted law.

This template is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed South Carolina attorney before use.