As recently mentioned here on March 28, 2024, the South Carolina Legislature is currently considering a bill that impacts the ability of community associations to collect assessments from non-paying members of their communities. As originally drafted, House Bill 3180 would have eliminated any HOA’s ability to foreclose its lien when someone didn’t pay their assessments.
The Community Associations Institute (CAI) and its South Carolina Legislative Action Committee (SC-LAC) have worked closely with other members of the House, including Representative Weston Newton, to propose alterative solutions to the proposed bill. Through that collaboration, an amended version of the bill was proposed and adopted at the subcommittee hearing on March 26, 2024.
That amendment will require an additional hearing in the foreclosure process to ensure that homeowners are given ample opportunity to be made aware of the seriousness of the legal proceedings when a foreclosure has been filed. The amended version was approved by the subcommittee.
Following the subcommittee hearing, on March 28, 2024, Representative Pope attempted to make additional changes to the already-approved bill on the floor of the House. His proposed change mirrors language found in a bill he filed earlier in this legislative session (H 5304). His language is vague and leaves much to the imagination.
If passed as proposed by Representative Pope, this bill would severely impact enforcement of restrictive covenants and impair the contractual relationships originally contemplated when homeowners bought into their communities.
The House is on furlough and won’t meet again until the Week of April 8th. Although it remains to be seen whether Representative Pope’s proposed changes will be accepted by the full House, they represent a clear danger to the ability of those who live in homeowners associations to govern themselves and to enforce the rules that everyone agreed to when they purchased their homes.
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FYI, the SC Legislative Action Committee (SC-LAC) is a committee of the Community Associations Institute. The SC-LAC is a diverse group of homeowner leaders, community managers, and representatives from community association business partners that provide perspective to legislators on how proposed legislation could impact people living and working in community associations. They volunteer countless hours to track legislation, give you a voice with legislators, and keep you informed and involved if problematic legislation is introduced or beneficial legislation needs your support. I am currently serving as the Chair of the SC-LAC for 2023 and 2024. To properly do its job, the SC-LAC needs funds for letters, mailings and other costs related to advocating for laws that benefit communities.
Please consider a contribution to the SC-LAC by visiting the CAI* Legislative Action Committee donor page.