Horry County sees the most HOA complaints in the state of South Carolina according to an annual report. Almost a fourth of the 365 complaints reported were submitted in the county.
Homeowners Association Complaints
HOAs are responsible for overseeing communities by enforcing rules and maintaining the common areas. The governing board does this to ensure that property values remain high. As a result, homeowners can feel at ease knowing their homes and investments do not go to waste.
However, this also means that homeowners associations will receive complaints from their residents. After all, it’s not uncommon for homeowners to butt heads with HOA board members about certain things. Among these include the rules regarding architectural standards overseen by HOA architectural committees. Homeowners also often complain about restrictive rules regarding pets, posting signages, and parking. Unsurprisingly, every state and county has its fair share of HOA complaints, including South Carolina.
The Most HOA Complaints in SC
According to a report released recently by the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs, there were 517 complaints over the calendar year of 2023. However, the Department of Consumer Affairs excluded 152 of those complaints because they: (1) did not meet statutory requirements, (2) were duplicates of previous complaints, or (3) were referred to other states and agencies.
As a result, the report contained 365 complaints filed by homeowners from various homeowners associations. Homeowners filed these complaints against nearly 300 homeowners associations and HOA management companies. However, Horry County saw the most HOA complaints among all other counties. Nearly a fourth of all complaints were filed in Horry County. Meanwhile, Richland and Charleston counties came in a distant second and third.
This may be unsurprising data as Horry County also had the most HOA complaints in South Carolina in the previous year’s report. Almost half of the complaints made in Horry County were reported in the Myrtle Beach area. Meanwhile, Murrells Inlet, Conway, and North Myrtle Beach also had double-digit percentages.
Rising Complaints in Horry County
Horry County’s increase in HOA complaints may seem surprising, but it’s not at all unexpected. The county has been number one in the number of HOA complaints for five years now. Moreover, the complaints keep increasing year over year according to Carri Grube Lybarke, an employee of the Department of Consumer Affairs. Lybarke says they don’t see the growth slowing down by any means.
She also states that the increase could be because more people are moving to South Carolina and settling in Horry County. Furthermore, she thinks that these people have moved from states that previously had more strict HOA regulations. They may have had different expectations of homeowners associations, what they should do, and what they must abide by. According to Lybarke, they expect the number of HOA complaints will continue to grow. However, she also added that their office has been able to address over half of consumer complaints.
The top three concerns that residents raised were failure to enforce or comply with the bylaws, concerns regarding repairs and maintenance, and disagreement with homeowners association fees.
