HOA and condo association foreclosure in South Carolina

HOA and condo collection rules in South Carolina, step by step

• Which South Carolina laws apply

  Check your master deed or declaration

  Condominiums are horizontal property regimes under Title 27, Chapter 31. The South Carolina Homeowners Association Act, passed in 2018, covers both subdivision associations and horizontal property regimes, but mostly deals with recording documents, budgets and complaints. A 2024 bill to protect a primary residence from HOA forced sale (H. 3180) passed the House but stalled in a Senate committee and did not become law.

  S.C. Code §§ 27-30-120(6), 27-31-210

• Rules must be recorded to be enforced

  Recorded by January 10 each year after adoption

  An association's declaration, bylaws and other governing documents must be recorded in the county to be enforceable. Rules and their amendments take effect when adopted, but must be recorded by January 10 of the following year to stay enforceable. Before you pay a disputed fine, check the county records to see whether the rule behind it was recorded.

  S.C. Code § 27-30-130

• Condo lien and its priority

  When a common expense assessment goes unpaid

  Unpaid condo assessments are a lien on your unit that comes ahead of everything except property tax liens and mortgages and other liens that were already recorded. South Carolina gives the association no super priority over your recorded mortgage.

  S.C. Code § 27-31-210(a)

• How the association forecloses

  Through a court case

  A condo association forecloses by a lawsuit, the same way a mortgage is foreclosed, and it can also sue for the money without foreclosing. During a condo foreclosure, the court can make you pay a reasonable rent for the unit and appoint a receiver to collect it, and the association can bid at the sale. For a subdivision HOA, foreclosure rights must come from the declaration. Answer any lawsuit on time; see the state's [how foreclosure works](/states/south-carolina/how-foreclosure-works/) page.

  S.C. Code § 27-31-210(a)

• Few state rules on fees, fines or payment plans

  Before the debt grows

  We found no South Carolina statute that requires a payment plan, caps late fees or collection costs, sets a minimum debt before foreclosure, or bars foreclosure over fines. Read your declaration and collection policy, ask in writing for an itemized ledger, and ask for a payment plan in writing.

• Small money disputes and complaints

  Any time

  Magistrates court can hear money disputes under the Homeowners Association Act if they fit within its dollar limit. The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs takes written complaints and calls from homeowners about associations and records them, though the Act does not give it power to decide your dispute.

  S.C. Code §§ 27-30-160, 27-30-340

• If your lender forecloses instead

  After a mortgage foreclosure sale

  When a mortgage holder or other buyer takes a condo at the foreclosure sale of a recorded mortgage, it does not owe the dues that built up after that mortgage was recorded and before it took title. Those unpaid dues become a common expense shared by all owners. Your mortgage is a separate debt whatever the association does.

  S.C. Code § 27-31-210(b)

Common questions in South Carolina