South Carolina DCA: HOA complaints rose to 617 in 2024; 7‑year report shows enforcement, maintenance and records as top issues

Carrie Groovy Lybarger, administrator and consumer advocate for the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs, presented the agency’s 2024 homeowner association complaint summary and a seven‑year compilation during a Wednesday webinar, outlining complaint counts, top issues and common closing dispositions.

The report shows the agency received 617 complaints against homeowners associations in 2024. Since the Department began collecting HOA complaints in June 2018, it recorded more than 2,300 complaints; 1,811 were included in the formal seven‑year compilation after excluding duplicates, referrals and submissions that did not include the required supplemental questionnaire.

Lybarger emphasized the Department’s role as a complaint intake and education agency. “We do not administer the act, and we do not enforce the homeowners association act,” she said. The Department collects data required by law, attempts voluntary mediation when appropriate, and forwards trends to the governor and the General Assembly in an annual report.

Key 2024 and seven‑year findings presented by the agency:

- Complaint counts: 617 in 2024; annual…