South Carolina Condo Act vs HOA Act: Which Law Governs Your Community

South Carolina Condo Act vs HOA Act: Which Law Governs Your Community

South Carolina does not have a single comprehensive statute that covers all common interest communities. Instead, the state maintains separate legal frameworks for condominium associations and homeowners associations. The South Carolina Horizontal Property Act, codified in Title 27, Chapter 31 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, governs condominiums. Homeowners associations in planned communities fall under a combination of common law principles, the South Carolina Homeowners Association Act in Title 27, Chapter 30, and the Nonprofit Corporation Act in Title 33, Chapter 31. Your first task as a board member is to identify which framework applies to your community, because that determination controls every legal obligation from meeting notices to lien enforcement.

How South Carolina Defines a Condominium

A condominium in South Carolina is a specific form of property ownership created when a developer records a master deed that declares the property subject to the Horizontal Property Act. The Act defines a condominium as real property divided into units that are individually owned and common elements that are jointly owned by all unit owners. The hallmark of condominium ownership is that you own the airspace inside your unit boundaries and an undivided interest in the common elements, which typically include hallways, roofs, land, and shared amenities.

Your community is a condominium if your deed references the master deed or declaration of condominium, if your property tax assessment shows you own a unit rather than a lot, and if your declaration was recorded under the Horizontal Property Act. The South Carolina Department of Revenue maintains records that distinguish condominium units from single family lots for tax purposes. If your deed says you own Unit 204 in the Riverfront Condominium and your tax bill references a unit number, you are governed by the Horizontal Property Act.

The Horizontal Property Act requires that every condominium have a declaration, bylaws, and an association. The declaration must include a description of the land, the percentage interest each unit holds in the common elements, and the method for calculating each unit's share of common expenses. The bylaws must specify how the board is elected, how meetings are called, and how assessments are levied. If your community's declaration references Chapter 31 of Title 27, you are operating under the condominium framework.

How South Carolina Defines a Homeowners Association

A homeowners association in South Carolina is an organization created to manage a planned community where individual owners hold fee simple title to their lots and the association owns or maintains common areas through easements or separate parcels. The South Carolina Homeowners Association Act applies to any nonprofit corporation or unincorporated association that manages common areas, levies assessments on residential lots, and is created by a declaration of covenants recorded in the county where the property is located.

Your community is a homeowners association if your deed shows you own a lot and the land beneath your home, if your declaration references covenants and restrictions rather than a master deed, and if common areas are described as association property or easements rather than undivided interests. The key distinction is that you own dirt, not airspace. You have a deed to Lot 47, not Unit 47.

The South Carolina Homeowners Association Act, enacted in 2018, requires associations created after January 1, 2019 to follow specific procedures for meetings, elections, and assessments. Associations created before that date are governed by their declarations and common law unless they voted to opt in to the Act. You must check the date your declaration was recorded and whether your members voted to adopt the Act. If your community was established in 2020 and your declaration creates a homeowners association, you are subject to the Act by default. If your community was created in 2005, you are subject to the Act only if your members voted to opt in.

The South Carolina Attorney General and HOA Oversight

The South Carolina Attorney General's office does not have direct regulatory authority over homeowners associations or condominiums the way some states do. However, the Attorney General can investigate complaints about nonprofit corporations under the Solicitation of Charitable Funds Act and can pursue actions for fraud or mismanagement. The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs handles consumer complaints and can refer matters to the Attorney General when appropriate.

If a homeowner disputes your board's application of the law, the remedy is typically a lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas in the county where the property is located. South Carolina courts have consistently held that governing documents are contracts and must be enforced according to their plain language. If your declaration is silent on a procedure, the court will apply common law principles of nonprofit governance and fiduciary duty.

You should also know that South Carolina law does not require associations to register with any state agency. Unlike states that maintain a central registry of HOAs or condos, South Carolina leaves it to county Registers of Deeds to record declarations and amendments. This decentralized system means you are responsible for maintaining your own records and tracking which version of your governing documents is in effect.

Why the Distinction Matters in Practice

The difference between condominium law and homeowners association law affects your daily operations. Under the Horizontal Property Act, a condominium board has the power to levy assessments, adopt rules, and enforce restrictions without a membership vote in most cases, provided the declaration grants that authority. The Act presumes that the board acts for the association unless the declaration requires otherwise. A homeowners association under the Homeowners Association Act must follow more detailed notice and meeting procedures, including a requirement that members receive at least 14 days' written notice of any meeting at which assessments or rule changes will be considered.

Lien enforcement procedures also differ. A condominium association in South Carolina can record a lien for unpaid assessments and foreclose using the same process as a mortgage lender, following the procedures in the Horizontal Property Act. A homeowners association must follow the South Carolina Homeowners Association Act if the association was created after 2019 or opted in. That Act allows foreclosure but requires specific notice steps and a waiting period. If your association was created before 2019 and did not opt in, you must follow the lien and foreclosure procedures in your declaration, supplemented by common law.

A concrete example: the Sea Pines Property Owners Association in Beaufort County manages a planned community of approximately 5,000 residential lots. Because Sea Pines is a fee simple lot community, not a condominium, it operates as a homeowners association. The association was created in 1956, decades before the Homeowners Association Act existed. Sea Pines is governed by its declaration, its corporate charter, and common law. The association adopted updated bylaws in 2020 to incorporate some procedures from the Homeowners Association Act, but it did not vote to opt in entirely. Board members must consult the declaration and legal counsel to determine which rules apply to any specific governance question.

How to Identify Your Community's Legal Status

Pull your declaration and read the title and first paragraph. If the document is titled "Master Deed and Declaration of Condominium" or "Declaration of Horizontal Property Regime," you are a condominium. If the document is titled "Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions" or "Declaration of Protective Covenants," you are likely a homeowners association.

Check your property deed. If your deed says you own a unit and references a condominium declaration, you are a condominium. If your deed describes a lot by metes and bounds or by lot number in a recorded plat, you are part of a homeowners association.

Review your tax assessment. Condominium units appear on property tax rolls with a unit number and a percentage interest in the common elements. Single family lots appear with a parcel number and a description of the land.

If you are still unsure, check whether your declaration references Title 27, Chapter 31 of the South Carolina Code. That reference confirms condominium status. If your declaration references covenants, easements, or architectural review without mentioning the Horizontal Property Act, you are a homeowners association.

What Hybrid Communities Must Do

Some South Carolina communities include both condominium buildings and single family lots. These hybrid communities require careful legal analysis. If your community has a condominium phase and a single family phase, each phase is governed by its own legal framework. The condominium phase follows the Horizontal Property Act. The single family phase follows the Homeowners Association Act or common law, depending on when it was created.

Your master declaration should specify how the two phases interact, how common expenses are allocated between phases, and whether one board governs both or each phase has its own board. If your declaration is silent, you must consult your attorney to determine how to allocate authority and expenses. Do not assume that one statute governs the entire community.

What Boards Should Do Now

Locate your recorded declaration and confirm the date it was recorded. If you are a condominium, verify that your declaration references the Horizontal Property Act and that your bylaws match the requirements in Title 27, Chapter 31. If you are a homeowners association created after January 1, 2019, confirm that your procedures comply with the Homeowners Association Act. If you were created before 2019, determine whether your members voted to opt in.

Create a checklist of your legal obligations based on your community type. For condominiums, the checklist includes procedures for unit owner meetings, board elections, assessment notices, and lien enforcement under the Horizontal Property Act. For homeowners associations subject to the Homeowners Association Act, the checklist includes 14 day notice requirements, election procedures, and the meeting procedures in Title 27, Chapter 30. For older homeowners associations not subject to the Act, the checklist must be built from your declaration and common law.

Consult your attorney for your specific situation. South Carolina's dual framework creates complexity, and small differences in language can change your legal obligations. An attorney can review your declaration, identify which statute applies, and flag any inconsistencies between your current procedures and the law.

How Manorway Helps You Stay Compliant

Manorway's AI assisted platform adapts to your community's legal framework. When you tell Manorway whether you are a condominium or a homeowners association and when your community was created, the system generates notices, meeting agendas, and election materials that match the requirements for your statute. You can store your declaration, bylaws, and amendments in one place and access them when you need to verify a procedure.

The platform tracks which rules apply to your community and reminds you of upcoming deadlines. If you are a homeowners association subject to the Homeowners Association Act, Manorway flags the 14 day notice requirement. If you are a condominium, the system adapts the workflow to match the Horizontal Property Act. The AI assists, but you and your attorney decide how to interpret your governing documents and apply the law. You remain in control of governance decisions while the platform handles scheduling, documentation, and reminders.