SC statewide HOA complaints are rising again in 2024. What’s going on in Hilton Head area?

Homeowners expressing frustration with their HOA may be the second most popular activity in the state after pickleball.

So, it is not surprising to hear that South Carolinians continue to file more HOA complaints each year.

Last year, South Carolina homeowners filed a total of 434 HOA qualified complaints with the state’s Department of Consumer Affairs, an 18% uptick from the year before and a 79% increase from 2019.

Scott Cooke, communications director at SCDCA, suggested this was due to South Carolina’s growing population, as well as increasing awareness of how to file complaints.

But complaints for Hilton Head Island haven’t seen a big jump. Last year, only five complaints were filed for Hilton Head Island, compared to four in 2023.

Three of the complaints are for HOAs managed by Atlantic States Management. Two of those were related to maintenance or repairs.

What rights to homeowners have?

Homeowners in South Carolina have a right to access a copy of their HOA’s rules and regulations, and even have a right to inspect the budget.

Those documents will show homeowners what rules are in place, what penalties they may be subject to, and their recourse available to them if they’re fined.

If a dispute doesn’t get resolved internally, homeowners can file complaints with SCDCA online or by mail.

However, the state agency doesn’t have the authority to force HOAs to listen to the complaints.

Filing a complaint will begin a “voluntary” mediation process, and won’t guarantee the dispute will be resolved or even addressed.

Six percent of complaints filed last year went ignored, according to the report. And only 4% of complaints resulted in a response that the consumer felt was “satisfactory.”

What are the remedies for unhappy homeowners?

Disgruntled homeowners must go through the magistrate’s court for any monetary disputes, such as disputed fees, that are not more than $7500.

The number one request from complainants year-after-year was for the state agency to have oversight over HOAs.

Cooke had one more suggestion for unhappy homeowners.

“If you’re unhappy with the decisions your HOA board is making, you might want to take those actions to either run for a board seat, or somebody that you know and trust, have them be more active in it,” he said.

This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 2:13 PM.