South Carolina HOA Foreclosure

Section 1: Overview

South Carolina routes all HOA foreclosures through the courts. Associations file in the Court of Common Pleas, which refers the action to a Master-in-Equity — a specialized equity officer appointed by the Governor — who computes the debt, enters the judgment, and conducts the judicial sale, typically on the first Monday of the month at the county courthouse. When a plaintiff seeks a deficiency judgment, the sale stays open for a 30-day upset bid period under S.C. Code § 15-39-720.¹

Condominiums operate under the Horizontal Property Act, S.C. Code § 27-31-10 et seq.² Non-condominium associations rely on recorded covenants and the disclosure-focused South Carolina Homeowners Association Act, S.C. Code § 27-30-110 et seq., enacted in 2018.³ South Carolina has not adopted the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act and offers no UCIOA-style super-priority lien, so an association's assessment lien ranks below a prior recorded first mortgage.⁴ The procedural sequence runs from a complaint in the Court of Common Pleas, to reference to the Master-in-Equity or a special referee, to a judgment of foreclosure and order of sale, to a judicial sale, and then to the upset bid period and confirmation.⁵ Federal overlays apply throughout: the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, and the Bankruptcy Code automatic stay.^6,7,8

Section 2: The statutory framework

2A. The Horizontal Property Act and the 2018 Homeowners Association Act

South Carolina condominiums operate under the Horizontal Property Act, S.C. Code § 27-31-10 et seq., which creates a regime when an owner records a master deed electing coverage under the Act.² The Act's lien provision, S.C. Code § 27-31-210, establishes that all unpaid assessments for a unit's share of common expenses become a lien on that unit, ranking below tax liens and prior recorded mortgages.⁴ That lien "may be foreclosed by suit . . . in like manner as a mortgage of real property," and the plaintiff may seek appointment of a receiver to collect rent during the action.⁴ Section 27-31-210(b) further provides that a mortgagee or other purchaser who takes title at the foreclosure sale of a prior recorded mortgage bears no liability for the unit's share of common expenses accruing after the mortgage was recorded but before the acquirer took title; those unpaid amounts become common expenses collectible from all owners.⁴ The lien secures unpaid common-expense assessments, and its statutory priority sits below a prior recorded first mortgage, confirming that South Carolina offers no UCIOA-style super-priority.

The South Carolina Homeowners Association Act, S.C. Code § 27-30-110 et seq., took effect as 2018 Act No. 245 (H.3886) on May 17, 2018.³ It is primarily a disclosure, recording, and document-access statute — not a comprehensive operational code like California's Davis-Stirling Act or a UCIOA framework. Its core requirement, S.C. Code § 27-30-130, is that an association's governing documents must be recorded in the county to be enforceable, and that rules and regulations must be recorded annually to remain enforceable.⁹ The Act also requires advance notice of budget-increase meetings (S.C. Code § 27-30-140), incorporates the Nonprofit Corporation Act's document-access provisions (S.C. Code § 27-30-150), and grants magistrates court concurrent jurisdiction over monetary disputes within that court's jurisdictional limit (S.C. Code § 27-30-160).³ The Act creates no assessment lien, no super-priority, and no foreclosure mechanism of its own, and it directs that no provision may conflict with the Nonprofit Corporation Act (S.C. Code § 27-30-170).³

2B. The CC&R-based framework for planned communities

For non-condominium associations, the recorded declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions is the primary governing instrument and the source of assessment and lien authority. Because the 2018 Act created no statutory lien for planned communities, a non-condominium association's right to assess, lien, and foreclose comes from its recorded CC&Rs, which operate as a contract running with the land.¹⁰ Most South Carolina associations are also organized as nonprofit corporations under the South Carolina Nonprofit Corporation Act, S.C. Code § 33-31-101 et seq., which supplies the corporate governance backbone, including board authority, member rights, and record-access obligations.¹¹ Common law contract and property principles fill remaining gaps and govern interpretation of the covenants. The 2018 Act's recording requirements interact with this framework by conditioning enforceability of the governing documents and rules on county recording, meaning an unrecorded covenant or rule may be unenforceable even though the underlying lien and foreclosure rights, where they exist, derive from the recorded declaration rather than from statute.⁹

2C. Judicial foreclosure, the Master-in-Equity, and federal overlays

South Carolina foreclosures are judicial. No non-judicial power of sale exists for residential real property; the only statutory non-judicial path is the narrow timeshare context under S.C. Code § 27-32-325.¹⁰ A foreclosure is an equity action filed in the Court of Common Pleas and, under Rule 71 of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, ordinarily referred to a Master-in-Equity or special referee pursuant to Rule 53.⁵ The Master computes the amounts due, enters a judgment of foreclosure and order of sale, and conducts the judicial sale, typically on the first Monday of the month at the county courthouse.^5,12 When the plaintiff seeks a deficiency judgment, the bidding does not close on the sale date but stays open for a 30-day upset bid period under S.C. Code § 15-39-720, during which any person other than the prior high bidder may raise the bid.¹ If the plaintiff waives the right to a deficiency judgment, the upset bid provisions do not apply and the sale closes on the sale date under S.C. Code § 15-39-760.¹³ South Carolina provides no separate post-sale statutory right of redemption after a confirmed judicial foreclosure sale; the upset bid window, not a redemption period, is the post-sale opportunity to bid.¹

Federal overlays apply. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq., reaches pre-foreclosure dunning by third-party collectors. Because Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP narrowed the FDCPA's reach for strict non-judicial foreclosure conduct, South Carolina's judicial context generally falls outside that narrow holding, so broader FDCPA exposure may attach.⁶ The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. § 3901 et seq., provides stays and protections for active-duty servicemembers,⁷ and the Bankruptcy Code automatic stay, 11 U.S.C. § 362, halts foreclosure activity upon an owner's bankruptcy filing.⁸

Section 3: The South Carolina HOA foreclosure procedural sequence

A. Lien establishment and recording

For condominiums, the assessment lien arises by operation of the Horizontal Property Act: unpaid common-expense assessments become a lien on the unit under S.C. Code § 27-31-210, ranking below tax liens and prior recorded mortgages.⁴ For planned communities, the lien is a creature of the recorded declaration rather than statute, so the CC&Rs determine whether a lien attaches automatically on delinquency or must be recorded, and what the lien secures — commonly assessments, late fees, interest, collection costs, and attorney's fees.¹⁰ South Carolina imposes no statutory pre-lien notice requirement; the recorded governing documents supply any notice procedure.¹⁴ The 2018 Homeowners Association Act adds an enforceability condition: under S.C. Code § 27-30-130, governing documents and rules must be recorded in the county to be enforceable, conditioning the validity of the covenant on which a planned-community lien depends.⁹ Neither the Horizontal Property Act nor the 2018 Act sets a minimum delinquency threshold before an association may foreclose.^3,4

B. Pre-foreclosure notice and demand

Neither the Horizontal Property Act nor the 2018 Homeowners Association Act imposes a statutory pre-foreclosure dunning or demand requirement on associations.^3,4 For both condominiums and planned communities, any pre-foreclosure demand, cure period, or notice obligation comes from the recorded governing documents. Associations should follow those documents precisely, because a recorded CC&R or condominium master deed supplies the contractual cure procedure a court will enforce.¹⁰ Where a third-party collector or law firm conducts collection, the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act may require validation notices and govern communications.⁶ Federal mortgage-servicing rules that impose a 120-day pre-foreclosure period apply to mortgage servicers, not to associations, so they do not directly govern an HOA or COA assessment foreclosure.¹² As a practical matter, the lis pendens and complaint that open the judicial action — served under the Rules of Civil Procedure — function as the formal notice that the foreclosure has commenced.¹⁵

C. Judicial foreclosure complaint, reference to the Master-in-Equity, and judicial sale

The association commences foreclosure by filing a summons, complaint, and lis pendens in the Court of Common Pleas. The lis pendens statute is S.C. Code § 15-11-10 et seq.¹⁵ The defendant generally has 30 days to answer.¹² Under Rule 71 of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, the action is ordinarily referred to a Master-in-Equity or special referee under Rule 53, and the Master-in-Equity system — with masters appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the General Assembly under S.C. Code § 14-11-10 et seq. — is a distinctive South Carolina feature.^5,16 The Master computes the total debt and, on default or after a contested hearing, enters a judgment of foreclosure and an order of sale.⁵ Notice of sale must run once a week for three weeks before the sale under S.C. Code § 15-39-650.¹⁷ The Master or referee conducts the judicial sale at the county courthouse, commonly on the first Monday of the month, and the successful bidder must post the deposit set by the decree. Under Rule 71(b), county Masters-in-Equity uniformly require five percent of the bid in certified funds by the deadline on the day of sale.^12,18 This sequence applies to both condominium lien foreclosures — which proceed "in like manner as a mortgage of real property" under S.C. Code § 27-31-210 — and to planned-community foreclosures brought to enforce a recorded covenant lien.^4,10

D. Upset bid, confirmation, and post-sale remedies

When a deficiency judgment is sought, the bidding stays open for 30 days after the sale under S.C. Code § 15-39-720. The reopened sale takes place on the thirtieth day, and the prior high bidder — including the plaintiff — may not bid again.¹ If the plaintiff waives the deficiency, the upset bid provisions do not apply and the sale closes on the sale date under S.C. Code § 15-39-760, with the advertisement stating that bidding will not remain open.¹³ A defendant who contends the price was inadequate may demand an appraisal within 30 days of the sale under S.C. Code § 29-3-680, which can limit a deficiency to the debt minus the property's appraised value.¹⁹ The Master then confirms the sale and issues a deed. South Carolina provides no separate post-sale statutory redemption period.^1,5 A judicial sale may be set aside where the price is so grossly inadequate as to shock the conscience of the court — the equitable standard South Carolina courts apply to confirmation disputes.²⁰ These steps apply to both condominium and planned-community foreclosures.

Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity

A. Recent bills

No bill amending the Horizontal Property Act, the 2018 Homeowners Association Act, or general foreclosure practice in a way that changes association foreclosure was enacted in the past 24 months. The most consequential foreclosure-specific proposal was H.3180.

B. Recent appellate rulings

C. Active legislative debates

The central debate: should associations be able to foreclose at all, or only under specific statutory conditions? Bills like H.3180 keep returning to the legislature. Their urgency comes from a South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs report finding that HOA complaints more than quadrupled since record-keeping began in 2018 — 365 verified complaints in 2023 raising 742 concerns, mostly from Horry, Richland, and Charleston counties — in a state where more than 25% of residents live under association governance.²⁷ That legislative energy traces back to the 2019 Supreme Court ruling in Winrose Homeowners' Association v. Hale, where the court set aside the sale of a home worth $128,000, acquired for $3,036 over a $250 dues delinquency. Chief Justice Donald Beatty wrote that "[t]o allow the hard-earned equity to be confiscated by a bidder's minimal investment is unconscionable . . . especially troubling when the foreclosure sale is the result of an HOA lien."²⁰

Section 5: National positioning and related coverage

South Carolina sits firmly in the judicial-only foreclosure camp, and the Master-in-Equity system — where a specialized equity officer conducts the sale — sets it apart from states that route foreclosures through trustees or sheriffs.^5,16 The 30-day upset bid mechanic, triggered only when a deficiency is sought, functions as a post-sale bidding window rather than the fixed post-sale redemption period found in some judicial-foreclosure states.¹ Unlike UCIOA super-priority states, South Carolina grants associations no priority over a prior recorded first mortgage, and the 2018 Homeowners Association Act is a disclosure and recording statute rather than a comprehensive operational code.^3,4 For multi-state operators, the practical implication is clear: South Carolina collection playbooks must be built around judicial filing, reference to the Master-in-Equity, the deficiency-waiver decision that controls the upset bid period, and recorded-document enforceability — not around any statutory super-priority or trustee sale.

Boards and managers operating in South Carolina should treat foreclosure as a court-supervised equity proceeding, calibrate the deficiency-waiver decision to the desired sale timeline, and confirm that every governing document and rule is properly recorded, because enforceability and the strength of any assessment lien depend on it.

Footnotes

1. S.C. Code Ann. § 15-39-720, Upset bids within thirty days on foreclosure or execution sale ↩
2. S.C. Code Ann. §§ 27-31-10 et seq., Horizontal Property Act ↩
3. S.C. Code Ann. §§ 27-30-110 et seq., South Carolina Homeowners Association Act; 2018 Act No. 245 (H.3886), eff. May 17, 2018 ↩
4. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-31-210, Lien for unpaid assessments; right of mortgagee or purchaser acquiring title at foreclosure sale ↩
5. Rule 71, S.C. R. Civ. P., Foreclosure and Partition ↩
6. Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, 586 U.S. 466 (2019) ↩
7. Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. § 3901 et seq. ↩
8. 11 U.S.C. § 362, Automatic stay ↩
9. S.C. Code Ann. § 27-30-130, Enforceability of governing documents; recording requirements; rules, regulations, and amendments ↩
10. Nolo, South Carolina HOA and COA Foreclosures: What Homeowners Need to Know (citing S.C. Code §§ 27-31-210, 27-32-325; noting non-condo HOA foreclosure rights derive from governing documents) ↩
11. S.C. Code Ann. §§ 33-31-101 et seq., South Carolina Nonprofit Corporation Act ↩
12. Nolo, South Carolina Foreclosure Laws and Homeowner Rights (judicial process; Master-in-Equity or special referee under Rule 71; 30-day answer period; 120-day federal pre-foreclosure period) ↩
13. S.C. Code Ann. § 15-39-760, Provisions of §§ 15-39-720 to 15-39-750 inapplicable to certain foreclosure suits where deficiency is waived ↩
14. CAI Advocacy, South Carolina Foreclosure (noting "South Carolina has no statutory requirement that a pre-lien letter be sent") ↩
15. S.C. Code Ann. § 15-11-10 et seq., Lis Pendens ↩
16. S.C. Code Ann. § 14-11-10 et seq., Masters-in-Equity (Governor appointment, General Assembly ratification) ↩
17. S.C. Code Ann. § 15-39-650, Advertisement of notice of sale once a week for three weeks ↩
18. Charleston County Government, A Primer For Mortgage Foreclosures In South Carolina: Master-In-Equity (terms of sale controlled by court order and Rule 71; 5% deposit custom) ↩
19. S.C. Code Ann. § 29-3-680, Appraisal rights; request within 30 days of sale ↩
20. Winrose Homeowners' Ass'n, Inc. v. Hale, 428 S.C. 563, 837 S.E.2d 47 (S.C. 2019) ↩
21. 2023–2024 S.C. Bill H.3180, adding S.C. Code § 29-3-810 (requiring application for rule to show cause before HOA foreclosure sale may be noticed) ↩
22. Law Firm Carolinas, SC Community Association Legislative Update — June 17, 2024 (H.3180 approved by full House Apr. 10, 2024; not taken up by Senate; died in committee) ↩
23. 2025–2026 S.C. Bill S.0903, amending S.C. Code § 27-30-130 re: documents subject to § 30-5-30 ↩
24. CAI Advocacy, 2026 South Carolina End of Legislative Session Report (S.903 passed Senate with amendments; died in House committee) ↩
25. Deutsche Bank Nat'l Tr. Co. v. Estate of Houck, Op. No. 28169, Appellate Case No. 2021-001292 (S.C. Aug. 9, 2023) ↩
26. Chandelle Prop. Owners Ass'n v. Armstrong, Op. No. 6078 (S.C. Ct. App. Aug. 7, 2024) ↩
27. Statehouse Report, On HOA Complaints (Feb. 9, 2024) (S.C. Dep't of Consumer Affairs report: complaints more than quadrupled since 2018; 365 verified complaints in 2023 raising 742 concerns; more than 25% of residents under association governance) ↩