2018 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 27 - Property and Conveyances
CHAPTER 30 - HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATION ACT
Section 27-30-340. Calls or written complaints from homeowners or homeowners associations.

(A) The department shall receive and record data from any calls or written complaints from homeowners or homeowners associations.

(B) When a call or written complaint is received, the department shall, at a minimum, include the following information to be completed on a form completed by a homeowner or homeowners association or, if received by telephone, on a form completed by a department employee who is identified on the form:

(1) homeowner's name;

(2) name of the homeowners association and their contact information, including the county and city where it is located;

(3) name of the homeowners association management company, if any, and its contact information, including telephone number, owner's name, and street and mailing addresses;

(4) whether a homeowner:

(a) was informed of the requirement of membership in a homeowners association as a condition of home ownership, including when that information was provided and by whom;

(b) received a copy of the governing documents of the homeowners association and if the copy was obtained before or after receiving title to the unit;

(c) was denied access to the governing documents and, if so, what remedies the homeowner took to obtain the governing documents;

(d) understands his rights and obligations under the governing documents;

(5) the nature of the homeowner's or homeowners association's complaint;

(6) whether the homeowner attempted to communicate his complaint to the homeowners association or homeowners association management company, if any, and whether the homeowner exhausted all of his remedies in accordance with any terms set out in the homeowners association governing documents or rules and regulations, what action, if any, the homeowners association or homeowners association management company, if any, took concerning the complaint;

(7) whether the homeowner agrees or disagrees with the provisions of the governing documents;

(8) whether the homeowner agrees or disagrees with how the provisions were enforced, his recommendations for changing the provisions or means of enforcement, and whether the homeowner feels that more or less enforcement is needed; and

(9) any response received from a homeowners association or homeowner, relative to a specific complaint provided by the department and whether or not a response was provided by the applicable homeowners association or homeowner.

(C) Upon receiving a homeowner's or homeowners association's complaint, the department shall provide the complaint to the homeowners association or the homeowner complained against in a manner that verifies receipt of such complaint by the homeowners association or homeowner, so the homeowner, board, or homeowners association may determine if the homeowner, board, or homeowners association desires to make a response to the complaint.

(D) By January thirty-first of each year, the department shall make a report of all data collected from the full report categories collected and complaints received as provided in this section to:

(1) the Governor and the General Assembly; and

(2) the public through the department's website. The public report must include categorized, filterable, and searchable information compiled from the complaints and responses and redact any personal or private information, such as names, addresses, and telephone numbers, contained in the complaints and responses. This redaction requirement does not apply to information concerning a homeowners association and a homeowners association management company.

(3) For data to be included in the report, the form must be executed by the homeowner, homeowners association, or department employee.

(E) Under the provisions of this article, the department is prohibited from:

(1) promulgating regulations or issuing guidelines concerning homeowners association administration, governance, or governing documents; or

(2) serving as an arbiter in disputes between the homeowner and homeowners association.

HISTORY: 2018 Act No. 245 (H.3886), Section 1, eff May 17, 2018.