Our Blog
Articles and news from our firm.
New Fair Housing Memos: What HOAs Should Know
September was a busy month for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as HUD issued two guidance documents relevant to enforcement of the Fair Housing Act. While it is too early to determine all the implications for homeowners associations (HOAs),...
Does Your HOA Board Have Rule-Making Authority?
One of the fundamental responsibilities of a homeowners association (HOA) is to uphold and enforce the covenants applicable to the community. Of course, in doing so, HOA boards endeavor to benefit and preserve the welfare of the community’s residents as well as their...
Inclusion of Condominium Leasing Restrictions in Master Deeds
Board members of South Carolina horizontal property regimes (a/k/a “condominiums”) are usually no strangers to interest, or perhaps even controversy, regarding the prevalence of rental units in their condominium. There are countless condominiums throughout South...
Unilateral Amendments of HOA Covenants by Developers
South Carolina developers of homeowners association (HOA) communities hold several responsibilities and owe various fiduciary duties, some of which we have discussed before. While they do have several responsibilities, developers also have the opportunity to reserve...
Director Conflicts of Interest Pt. 2: Membership Approval Option
We previously published an overview regarding South Carolina homeowners association (HOA) director conflicts of interest and how HOA boards might handle transactions that present a conflict of interest for one or more directors. In that article, we discussed the...
HOA Director Conflicts of Interest
Service on a homeowners association (HOA) board of directors can be difficult to compartmentalize from a director’s personal life. After all, HOA directors must regularly make decisions governing the very neighborhood in which those directors, and their families,...
HOA Recordkeeping and Inspection: Membership Lists
We have been publishing a series of articles regarding the record inspection rights belonging to members of South Carolina homeowners associations (HOAs), to include an introductory overview article and a more recent article regarding accounting records. Another item...
HOA Recordkeeping and Inspection: “Appropriate Accounting Records”
We previously published an introductory article regarding the record inspection rights belonging to members of South Carolina homeowners associations (HOAs). We hope that broad overview proved helpful to understanding the “big picture” of record inspection rights...
Consequences of Failing to Hold HOA Annual Meetings at Time Set in Bylaws
We have written numerous articles regarding the importance of conducting homeowners association (HOA) meetings in accordance with the HOA’s specific governing documents as well as applicable law. This includes ensuring that notice is properly given, as we wrote about...
Can HOAs Lower their Quorum Requirements?
Every homeowners association (HOA) board quickly becomes familiar with the concept and implications of a quorum requirement when they attempt to hold a meeting or vote of the members. For those unfamiliar, a “quorum” can generally be defined as the minimum number of...
Recovering HOA Attorney Fees in Covenant Enforcement Lawsuits
Naturally, homeowners associations (HOAs) would prefer to avoid going to court to enforce the covenants of their community. While litigation is most often something of a last resort for HOAs to enforce their covenants, it is nevertheless occasionally the last...
HOA Record Inspection: A Brief Overview
Homeowners association (HOA) members in South Carolina are entitled to inspect certain records. Facilitating such inspection appropriately is not only a fundamental duty of an HOA board, but also a responsibility that frequently gives rise to legal conflict when...