HOA complaints in SC spike, new 2025 state report shows. These counties are the most upset
Complaints against homeowners associations in South Carolina jumped by double digits in 2024 over the previous year, a new state report shows.
The 2025 Homeowners Association Complaint Report contains details from 434 complaints filed against 325 HOA/management companies in 2024 — a 19% increase over the previous year. Three counties accounted for 48.2% of all the complaints levied against HOAs in 2024.
The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs has filed annual HOA complaint reports since 2019, following a change in state law that requires that data from those complaints be given to the governor, General Assembly, and the public every year.
3 SC counties with the most complaints in 2024
- Horry: 27%
- Richland: 13.4%
- Charleston: 7.8%
HOA complaint report highlights
The complaints raised 846 concerns, multiples of which were included in single complaints. The top three types of concerns raised included:
- Failure to adhere to and/or enforce covenants and bylaws (17.3%)
- Concerns regarding maintenance and repairs (15.1%)
- Request to access information/view documents ignored (9.3%)
Of the total complaints, 67% were closed, meaning an adequate business response was received. Consumers were satisfied with the outcome of the complaint resolution process in 12 complaints. Some of the satisfactory resolutions included refunds, credits, and adjustments being issued, requested financial information being provided, and repairs or maintenance being made.
The report shows that 15% of complaints were closed “undetermined” due to disputed facts, which is a 7% decrease from the prior year.
“The Department closes complaints that are complex and/or contentious in nature under this category due to the agency’s statutory limitations,” the report states.
The amount of complaints closed as “unsatisfied” due to a business’s failure to respond rose by nearly 5% in 2024 to 9.7% in total. This was primarily due to one HOA not responding to 18 complaints, the report states.
To view all individual complaints, click here.
