SOCASTEE, SC (WBTW) – A new South Carolina law that went into effect January 1 will require homeowners associations to be more transparent with their rules and regulations.
The state law, which was passed last May, says HOAs must write and document all of their rules and regulations and make them public through their counties.
The law also requires those who sell a piece of property to disclose to the buyer whether or not it is part of an HOA.
It was passed by lawmakers in hopes of giving people who live in HOA-governed neighborhoods access to more information, in addition to helping potential homebuyers.
When Socastee resident Nancy Krippel moved from New Jersey to the Garden Creek neighborhood around eight years ago, having an HOA took some getting used to.
“To a certain extent, I understand you’ve got rules and regulations. You’ve gotta pay the dues, but some of the stuff is just petty,” Krippel said.
Krippel says her HOA has a lot of rules, and some of them have come as a surprise.
“I had to pay an extra $59 to have my dryer vents cleaned, and they said it was mandatory, but it’s not in the list of rules,” Krippel said.
According to Krippel, her HOA even threatened to tow her car for expired tags while she waited for the new stickers in the mail. She says she never thought an HOA could have that kind of jurisdiction.
“They also threatened quite a few other people that if your car was not registered as current, they would have your car towed at the owner’s expense, which I don’t agree with,” Krippel said.
She believes the new law that requires HOAs to disclose their rules will help eliminate a lot of those surprises.
Ultimately, lawmakers passed the stricter rules so neighbors like Krippel are informed.
To learn more about this law, click here.
