South Carolina HOA Board Elections

Section 1: Overview, how board elections are governed in South Carolina

In South Carolina, where you go looking for the rules depends on what kind of community is voting. Condominiums run their board elections under a thin statute, the South Carolina Horizontal Property Act, S.C. Code Ann. § 27-31-10 et seq. — a traditional condominium law that sets up horizontal property regimes and then hands most of the governing detail to the bylaws.¹ Planned communities are a different story. The South Carolina Homeowners Association Act, § 27-30-110 et seq., enacted in 2018, is built around disclosure: it ties the enforceability of governing documents to recording and adds budget-notice and document-access duties, but it does not set up board-election procedures.² So for a planned community, the election runs on the recorded covenants and bylaws, with the South Carolina Nonprofit Corporation Act, § 33-31-101 et seq., supplying the corporate director-election defaults for the many associations that incorporate as nonprofits.³ South Carolina has not adopted the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, so UCIOA's declarant-control and board-governance defaults do not apply here.⁴ The result puts South Carolina among the states where board elections are largely a matter of contract and corporate law rather than statute. The sections that follow lay out the framework, the mechanic-by-mechanic rules, and the recent legislative and judicial activity that touches elections.

Section 2: The election framework

2A. The Horizontal Property Act and condominium board elections

The South Carolina Horizontal Property Act, S.C. Code Ann. § 27-31-10 et seq., is the framework for condominiums — horizontal property regimes that elect coverage by recording a master deed under the Act.¹ The Act recognizes a council of co-owners as the governing body, and it lets that council incorporate under South Carolina law to administer the regime.⁵ It requires the property to be run through bylaws, and at § 27-31-160 it spells out what those bylaws must cover: the form of administration — an administrator, a board of administration, or some other form — along with that administration's powers, the manner of its removal, and any compensation.⁶ The same section requires a majority of at least fifty-one percent to adopt co-owner decisions, and it lets co-owners representing two-thirds of the total value of the property change the system of administration through a recorded instrument.⁶ What the Act does not do is set board size, director terms, term staggering, nomination procedures, ballot methods, or the quorum and vote needed to elect directors. All of that is left to the bylaws. This is a traditional condominium statute, not a governance code, and it carries none of the prescriptive election machinery you find in the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act or in California's Davis-Stirling Act — no mandatory secret ballots, no independent inspectors of election, no fixed nomination or ballot-distribution timelines. For a condominium, the practical election rulebook is the recorded master deed and the bylaws, read against corporate-law defaults wherever the association is incorporated.

2B. The disclosure-focused Homeowners Association Act and planned-community elections

The South Carolina Homeowners Association Act, S.C. Code Ann. § 27-30-110 et seq., enacted by 2018 Act No. 245 and effective May 17, 2018, is a disclosure, recording, and transparency statute.² It conditions the enforceability of an association's governing documents on recording them with the clerk of court, Register of Mesne Conveyance, or register of deeds in the county where the property sits (§ 27-30-130); it requires at least forty-eight hours' notice before a meeting where the board may act to raise a homeowner's annual assessment (§ 27-30-140); it extends specified nonprofit-act document-access provisions to associations that are not incorporated as nonprofits, for the limited purpose of inspecting the annual budget and membership list (§ 27-30-150); and it gives the magistrates court jurisdiction over certain monetary HOA disputes within that court's dollar limit (§ 27-30-160).^7,8 The Act also provides that none of its provisions may be read to conflict with the Nonprofit Corporation Act (§ 27-30-170).⁸ The Department of Consumer Affairs collects HOA complaint data and publishes an annual report under the Act, but it is expressly barred from writing governance regulations or arbitrating disputes, and it does not regulate ongoing elections.⁹ What the Act does not contain is election machinery. It does not set board size, nomination procedures, terms, staggering, voting methods, quorum, or removal. So for a planned-community election, the operative rules are the recorded covenants and bylaws. And where the association is incorporated as a nonprofit — as most South Carolina associations are — the South Carolina Nonprofit Corporation Act, S.C. Code Ann. § 33-31-101 et seq., supplies the corporate director-election, term, removal, and vacancy defaults that fill the gaps the governing documents leave open.³

2C. Corporate law, the bylaws, and order of precedence

For a condominium, the order of precedence runs like this: the Horizontal Property Act first, then the recorded master deed and covenants, then the bylaws, then the Nonprofit Corporation Act gap-fillers where the regime is incorporated, then the rules. For a planned community, it runs from the recorded covenants, to the bylaws, to the Nonprofit Corporation Act gap-fillers, to the rules — with the Homeowners Association Act sitting across both types, governing disclosure and recording rather than elections. Where the bylaws and the statutes both go silent, common-law contract and property doctrine fills what is left, because the declaration works as a contract among the owners. For a manager or a board staring down a contested election, the takeaway is direct. In a planned community, read the covenants, the bylaws, and the Nonprofit Corporation Act — not the disclosure-focused Homeowners Association Act. In a condominium, read the Horizontal Property Act and the bylaws it requires, again with the Nonprofit Corporation Act filling corporate gaps where the association is incorporated. Because almost none of the election mechanics are statutory for planned communities, the governing documents carry the decisive detail, and an association with thin bylaws will find its defaults in corporate law, not in any HOA-specific election code.

Section 3: Election mechanics

The quick-reference table below states the rule for each mechanic by community type and names the governing source. The numbers in it are corporate-law defaults from the Nonprofit Corporation Act; they apply only to incorporated associations, and only where the governing documents are silent. For planned communities, none of these mechanics is fixed by an HOA-specific statute.

Quick-Reference Election Mechanics Table

A. Eligibility and nominations

Director eligibility is not fixed by statute as a substantive qualification. Under the Nonprofit Corporation Act, whatever qualifications exist for directors are the ones set in the articles or bylaws (§ 33-31-802) — so for both condominiums and planned communities, the eligibility rules on membership, good standing, and residency are bylaw-set and contractual.¹³ Candidate nomination is the same story: neither the Horizontal Property Act nor the Nonprofit Corporation Act addresses it, so for both community types the declaration and bylaws govern how candidates get nominated.

B. Notice, annual meeting, and quorum

For incorporated associations of both types, the Nonprofit Corporation Act requires an annual meeting (§ 33-31-701) and provides that directors are elected at each annual meeting unless the governing documents set another method (§ 33-31-804); for condominiums, the meeting timing is otherwise a bylaw matter.¹⁴ The Act's default notice window is not fewer than ten days — thirty if notice goes out by something other than first-class or registered mail — and not more than sixty days before the meeting (§ 33-31-705), a corporate default that yields to more specific bylaw provisions.¹⁵ The quorum default is ten percent of the votes entitled to be cast unless the articles or bylaws set a different figure (§ 33-31-722); for an unincorporated condominium the quorum is bylaw-set, and the Horizontal Property Act separately requires that co-owner decisions carry by at least fifty-one percent under § 27-31-160(b).^18,6

C. Voting methods, proxies, and ballots

For incorporated associations of both types, the Nonprofit Corporation Act permits proxy voting — a proxy good for eleven months unless the appointment says otherwise, and never more than three years (§ 33-31-724); it permits action by written or electronic ballot (§ 33-31-708); and it permits cumulative voting for directors only if the articles provide for it (§ 33-31-725).¹⁶ The vote needed to elect, absent a higher governing-document threshold, is the affirmative vote of those present and voting that also makes up a majority of the required quorum (§ 33-31-723) — which works as a plurality-style default rather than an absolute-majority-of-members rule.¹⁹ South Carolina has not enacted Davis-Stirling-style secret-ballot mandates or independent inspectors of election, so any such procedure is bylaw-set. For an unincorporated condominium, all of the balloting detail comes from the bylaws.

D. Terms, vacancies, removal, and recall

For incorporated associations of both types, the Nonprofit Corporation Act sets a default director term equal to whatever the articles or bylaws specify, capped at five years, defaulting to one year if the documents say nothing, with a holdover until a successor qualifies (§ 33-31-805); staggered terms are allowed if the governing documents adopt them (§ 33-31-806).^11,12 Removal of a member-elected director runs through § 33-31-808: members may remove a director with or without cause, but only at a meeting called and noticed for that purpose, and only if the votes cast for removal would have been enough to elect the director.²⁰ The Horizontal Property Act separately requires that a condominium's bylaws state the manner of removing the administration (§ 27-31-160(a)).⁶ Mid-term vacancies, under § 33-31-811, may be filled by the members, by the board, or — where the remaining directors are fewer than a quorum — by a majority of those who remain, unless the governing documents provide otherwise.²¹ Term limits are not addressed by statute at all; they are purely a creature of the declaration and bylaws.

Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity

South Carolina does not legislate heavily on HOA elections. One recent law widened how members may attend and vote; two more ambitious bills died before they could become law. The courts, meanwhile, have trained their attention on developer control of the board rather than on contested elections.

A. Recent bills

B. Recent appellate rulings

No South Carolina appellate opinion in the recent window squarely resolves a contested board-election, ballot, or proxy dispute. The decisions that matter address the related question of declarant — developer — control of the board, which is the moment many election disputes are born.

C. Active legislative debates

Beyond H.5204, the 2025-2026 session brought other proposals to expand the Homeowners Association Act into governance. H.4006 provided, at proposed § 27-30-350(B)(6), that "[e]xcept for the election of officers, voting by secret or written ballot in an open meeting is a violation of this section," and H.3350 would have required internal dispute resolution and revised the meeting-notice and voting rules. According to the Community Associations Institute's 2026 end-of-session report, H.4006 "died in 2026 after passing [the] House in 2025." Neither became law.^26,23

Section 5: National positioning and related coverage

South Carolina sits among the states where board elections are largely a matter of contract and corporate law — governed by the recorded covenants, the bylaws, and the South Carolina Nonprofit Corporation Act rather than by a prescriptive election statute. It pairs a traditional condominium statute, the Horizontal Property Act, with a disclosure-focused Homeowners Association Act, and it has not adopted the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act — so it has neither UCIOA's declarant-control architecture nor California's Davis-Stirling-style election rules. The distinctive South Carolina feature, for this topic, is that the 2018 Homeowners Association Act concentrates on disclosure, recording, and transparency, not on board-election machinery. For a multi-state operator, the practical takeaway is clean: in South Carolina the HOA Act governs disclosure and recording, not elections, and the election rulebook for any given association is its covenants, its bylaws, and the Nonprofit Corporation Act.

Federal frameworks reach South Carolina associations no matter what the state framework says — the Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, and the FCC's Over-the-Air Reception Devices rule all apply here.

1. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-31-10 et seq. (South Carolina Horizontal Property Act), Title 27, Chapter 31 ↩
2. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-30-110 (Short title) and § 27-30-120 (Definitions), South Carolina Homeowners Association Act, 2018 Act No. 245, eff. May 17, 2018 ↩
3. S.C. Code Ann. § 33-31-101 et seq. (South Carolina Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1994), Title 33, Chapter 31 ↩
4. South Carolina has enacted the Horizontal Property Act (Title 27, Ch. 31) and Homeowners Association Act (Title 27, Ch. 30) and has not adopted the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act; verified by absence of any UCIOA chapter in Title 27 ↩
5. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-31-90 (Incorporation of co-owners) and council-of-co-owners provisions, Title 27, Chapter 31 ↩
6. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-31-160 (Provisions required in bylaws; form of administration, powers, manner of removal, fifty-one percent decision threshold, two-thirds modification) and § 27-31-150 (Administration of property; bylaws) ↩
7. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-30-130 (recording/enforceability), § 27-30-140 (48-hour budget notice), § 27-30-160 (magistrates court jurisdiction) ↩
8. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-30-150 (Application of access-to-documents provisions to non-nonprofit associations) and § 27-30-170 (Construction; no conflict with Nonprofit Corporation Act) ↩
9. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-30-310 et seq. and § 27-30-340 (Department of Consumer Affairs complaint-data role; department prohibited from promulgating governance regulations or arbitrating disputes) ↩
10. S.C. Code Ann. § 33-31-803 (Number of directors; at least three, number fixed by articles or bylaws) ↩
11. S.C. Code Ann. § 33-31-805 (Terms of directors generally; term may not exceed five years, one year if unspecified, holdover until successor qualifies) ↩
12. S.C. Code Ann. § 33-31-806 (Staggered terms for directors; permitted if provided in articles or bylaws) ↩
13. S.C. Code Ann. § 33-31-802 (Qualifications of directors; set by articles or bylaws) ↩
14. S.C. Code Ann. § 33-31-804 (Election of directors at first and each annual meeting unless articles or bylaws provide otherwise) and § 33-31-701 (Annual and regular meetings) ↩
15. S.C. Code Ann. § 33-31-705 (Notice of meeting; not fewer than ten or thirty days, not more than sixty days before meeting) ↩
16. S.C. Code Ann. § 33-31-724 (Proxies; valid eleven months unless otherwise stated, never more than three years), with § 33-31-708 (written/electronic ballot) and § 33-31-725 (cumulative voting only if articles provide) ↩
17. 2023-2024 H.4049, 2023 Act No. 68 (R.86), amending S.C. Code Ann. § 33-31-701 and § 33-31-702 to permit remote participation and voting; signed May 19, 2023 ↩
18. S.C. Code Ann. § 33-31-722 (Quorum requirements; ten percent of votes entitled to be cast unless articles or bylaws provide otherwise) ↩
19. S.C. Code Ann. § 33-31-723 (Voting requirements; affirmative vote of votes cast constituting a majority of the required quorum is the act of the members, absent a greater requirement) ↩
20. S.C. Code Ann. § 33-31-808 (Removal of directors elected by members or directors; only at a meeting called and noticed for that purpose, if votes for removal would suffice to elect) ↩
21. S.C. Code Ann. § 33-31-811 (Vacancy on board; filled by members, by board, or by majority of remaining directors if fewer than a quorum, unless articles or bylaws provide otherwise) ↩
22. 2025-2026 H.5204 (Rep. Kilmartin), proposed S.C. Code § 27-30-560(A) (independent election company) and § 27-30-560(C) (convicted felon may not serve) ↩
23. Community Associations Institute, 2026 South Carolina End of Legislative Session Report (H.5204 "successfully died in committee"; H.4006 "died in 2026 after passing House in 2025") ↩
24. C. Barry Dykes v. Wild Wing Company, LLC, Op. No. 2025-UP-299 (S.C. Ct. App. Aug. 20, 2025) (unpublished) ↩
25. Walbeck v. The I'On Company, LLC, Op. No. 28134, 439 S.C. 568, 889 S.E.2d 537 (S.C. 2023) ↩
26. 2025-2026 H.4006, proposed S.C. Code § 27-30-350(B)(6) (secret/written ballot in open meeting a violation except for election of officers) ↩