State Guide · South Carolina
South Carolina HOA Rental Compliance: Recorded Rules and Covenants That Actually Hold
South Carolina doesn't cap how much of a community may be rented, and it doesn't limit what an association may collect from tenants—rental compliance here is governed almost entirely by your own governing documents. That freedom comes with two traps. A leasing rule that wasn't recorded on time is unenforceable, and South Carolina courts construe ambiguous rental covenants against the association. Both problems are, at bottom, record-keeping problems.
Last reviewed July 22, 2026. General information, not legal advice—confirm current statutory text with your association's attorney.
The statutes that create tracking duties
Each of these laws requires your association to be able to prove something. That's a record-keeping obligation, whether or not anyone calls it that.
S.C. Code § 27-30-130 (Homeowners Association Act, Act 245 of 2018)
Unrecorded rules are unenforceable
To be enforceable, an association's governing documents must be recorded with the register of deeds or clerk of court in the county where the property sits—and rules and amendments must be recorded by January 10 of the year following their adoption. The Act also gives magistrates court concurrent jurisdiction over association monetary disputes up to $7,500 and routes homeowner complaints through the Department of Consumer Affairs, which publishes them annually.
What your association must track:
- Adoption and recordation dates for every leasing rule, fine schedule, and amendment—an unrecorded rule cannot be enforced
- A January 10 recording calendar, so each year's rule changes make the deadline that follows
- Which recorded version of the rules was in effect on the date of every violation you cite
Community Services Associates, Inc. v. Wall, 421 S.C. 575 (Ct. App. 2017); Hardy v. Aiken, 369 S.C. 160 (2006)
Ambiguous rental covenants lose
South Carolina construes restrictive covenants strictly, resolving all doubts in favor of the free use of property. In Wall, a Hilton Head association tried to stop an Airbnb operation under covenants limiting lots to "residential purposes"—the court found the language ambiguous, adopted the least restrictive reading, and refused to enjoin the rental. And whether an amendment adding rental limits binds owners who bought before it remains an open question in South Carolina.
What your association must track:
- The express covenant text behind every rental and short-term rental restriction you enforce, with its adoption record
- Per-owner acquisition dates against amendment recordation dates—the retroactivity question is unsettled, and the association that can't reconstruct who bought when is the one that loses it
- Consistent, dated enforcement files—selective enforcement compounds ambiguity
S.C. Code §§ 27-31-100(h), 27-31-160, 27-31-180 (Horizontal Property Act) — condominiums
Condo lease restrictions live in the recorded master deed
The master deed must express any restrictions on leasing a unit, "including, but not limited to, the amount and term of the lease." Modifications to the system of administration require co-owners holding two-thirds of the property's value and are not operative until recorded. The board must also keep a chronological account of receipts and expenditures, open to co-owner examination.
What your association must track:
- That every condo leasing restriction you enforce traces to the recorded master deed, not just board-adopted rules
- A recorded instrument for every bylaw modification, with the two-thirds-of-value vote behind it
- Financial and leasing records maintained and retrievable—co-owners have statutory examination rights
The test: could your board produce this tomorrow?
If a dispute, an audit, or a new manager asked for the following, a compliant South Carolina association should be able to hand it over without a scramble:
Watch this space
The two-year legislative session adjourned in May 2026 with every HOA and short-term-rental bill dead: H. 3447 (foreclosure oversight) passed the House 110–2 but died in Senate Judiciary; the STR preemption bill (H. 3861) and its local-control counterpart (S. 442) both died in committee; and S. 903—which would fold rules and regulations into the recorded "governing documents" regime—passed the Senate unanimously but ran out of time in the House. Expect recording-statute cleanup, HOA oversight, and STR preemption all to return in 2027.
Built for South Carolina associations
Every record above, kept automatically
RentTrac360 tracks rental status, grandfathering, caps, and enforcement records continuously—onboard in about 15 minutes, and the platform keeps the file current from then on.
South Carolina's rental pressure is coastal and ordinance-heavy—Charleston's owner-occupancy STR regime, Hilton Head's per-bedroom permitting, and Folly Beach's 800-license cap all sit on top of association rules—and Horry County has led the state in HOA complaints for seven straight years.
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