New contractor’s licenses requirements to better protect consumers
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW)– For years, any handyman could get a permit to build pools in South Carolina.
However, on June 30th, 2024, all contractors that install, service, or repair swimming pools must have a “swimming pool sub-classification.”
“I guess they saw that people were building pools that weren’t really qualified,” said a licensed pool contractor in the Carolinas.
The bill was first introduced to the House in March of 2023, and was signed into law two months later.
Due to the short notice, the state offered a grace period and gave temporary license to qualified builders in the pool installation, repair or service business prior to May, 19th, 2023.
According the the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation website, the temporary licenses were “intended to allow individuals and entities who were lawfully installing, servicing, or repairing residential pools without a license prior to the enactment of the license requirement to maintain their business operations and meet pre-existing contractual obligations.”
A civil engineer who has taken and passed the new test shared what to expect.
“There’s 50 questions, so you got to get 35 correct. But you got three hours. So you’ve almost got 3.6 minutes per question. Plus, there are seven books that you can actually take into the exam with you to use those references to help pass the test,” he said.
“When you get your license, there’s different categories, groups one, two, three, four and five,” said the civil engineer.
The new legislation also requires a valid license that covers the entire cost of pool installation projects.
The limitations for each group varies on the capital and net worth of the contractor.
News13 entered 45 various pool installation or contractors that serve the Horry County area, into the contractor licensing database. Only 15 are fully licensed to build pools in the state under the new rules. Of those 15, only a few of those are in groups three, four, or five.
A licensed contractor said at a minimum most 12 by 20 pools cost around 100-thousand dollars.
“Anywhere from $100,000 to $120,000 depending on the type of pavers you use, and then the type of tile you’re picking out, stuff like that,” he said.
Eight of those 45 pool installation companies News13 looked up, are operating under temporary licenses, which means they have two months to pass the test before they will no longer be allowed to build pools.
The remaining 22 business’ in Horry County, that claim to offer pool installation services, are not licensed at all.
Across the state, the Contractor’s Licensing Board “issued 162 temporary licenses between August 1, 2023 and September 30, 2023, and there are currently 110 temporary licenses remaining,” said Holly Beeson, with SCLLR.
To learn more about this new requirement for swimming pool builders, click here.
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Savannah Denton joined News 13 in July 2023 as a reporter and producer. Savannah is from Atlanta, Georgia, and is a graduate of the University of Alabama. Follow Savannah on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of her work here.
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