The Official Web Site of the State of South Carolina

You can file a complaint and submit applications for licensing online. Filings you do not wish to make, or that are not available, online can be submitted via mail for processing.

Department staff is available to assist with any questions at (800) 922-1594 (toll free in SC) or 803-734-4200 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding State holidays. You can also email general questions to scdca@scconsumer.gov. 

Homeowners Association Complaint Reports

Background

A 2018 change to state law (S.C. Code Ann. § 27-30-340) requires DCA to collect certain data from complaints involving homeowners associations (HOA). Information collected is to be reported to the Governor, General Assembly and the public by January 31st each year.  The Department issued the first report on January 31, 2019.  The report is in a categorized, filterable and searchable format.  The Department is reviewing the complaint data received in conjunction with the complaints forms for potential improvements. Any suggestions for content or process improvements may be submitted to DCA by e-mail or snail mail.

For more information on the Homeowners Association Act, click here.

View tips on searching and filtering data within the spreadsheet (PDF).

Special Report Information

View the 2023 Five-Year Complaint Report (PDF) - In celebration of the "Homeowners Association Act" fifth anniversary, SCDCA is releasing a compilation of the HOA complaint data received from June 1, 2018 - December 31, 2022. Individual annual reports can be found below.

Current Report Information

View the 2023 HOA Complaint Report (XLS) - The information contained in the report is compiled from complaints received January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2022.

2023 Executive Summary

  • The 2023 report contains information from 276 complaints* filed against 208 HOAs/ Management Companies. There was a 7% increase in 2022 of the number of complaints filed from January 1, 2021–December 31, 2021. Although the number of complaints increased, the number of concerns decreased by eight percent.
     
  • The complaints raised 651 concerns with multiple included in a single complaint. The top three types of issues raised were: (1) Failure to adhere to and/or enforce covenants and bylaws (15.1%), (2) Concerns regarding maintenance and repairs (12.4%), (3) Failure to notify residents of Board actions (11.5%).
     
  • Sixty-six percent of complaints were closed indicating an adequate business response was received. Consumers were satisfied with the outcome of the complaint resolution process in thirteen complaints (4.7%).  Examples of satisfactory resolutions include refunds/credits/adjustments being issued ($1,260.93), requested financial information being provided and repairs or maintenance being made.
     
  • Ten percent of complaints were closed as "Abandoned" due to the complainant's failure to submit the required HOA Supplemental Questionnaire. Nineteen percent were also closed "Undetermined" due to disputed facts. A majority of these complaints were complex in nature and concerned the transfer of the HOA from the developer to residents, fair elections and misappropriation of funds, among other issues.
     
  • Less than six percent of complaints were closed as "Unsatisfied" due to a business's failure to respond.
     
  • Top 3 Counties for Complaints: (1) Horry (25.4%), (2) Richland (12.3%), (3)  Greenville (10.9%).

    * DCA received 331 HOA complaints during calendar year 2022. Fifty-five complaints were excluded from the report:  34 did not meet the statutory requirements for inclusion, 19 were duplicates and 2 were referred to the SC Human Affairs Commission.

Prior Report Information

View the 2022 HOA Complaint Report (XLS) ; 2022 Executive Summary (PDF) - The information contained in the report is compiled from complaints received January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021.

View the 2021 HOA Complaint Report (XLS) ; 2021 Executive Summary (PDF)  - The information contained in the report is compiled from complaints received January 1, 2020 - December 31, 2020.

View the 2020 HOA Complaint Report (XLS) ; 2020 Executive Summary (PDF) - The information contained in the report is compiled from complaints received January 1, 2019 - December 31, 2019.

View the 2019 HOA Complaint Report (XLS) - The information contained in the report is compiled from complaints received June 1, 2018 - December 31, 2018.