South Carolina HOA / Condo Quorum & Supermajority Calculator — § 27-30-130 + § 27-31-110 (30% HOA / 51% Condo Default; 67% Amendment)

How this calculator works

This is a quorum-and-threshold validator for South Carolina HOA and condominium member votes. Given the association type (HOA or condo), total members, in-person attendance, proxy count, vote type, and any declaration-specified overrides, it returns:

1. Whether quorum has been met (total ballots compared against the effective quorum requirement — declaration-specified or the 30 percent HOA industry default / 51 percent condo non-profit default).
2. The yes votes required to pass for the vote type — 67 percent of total voting power for declaration amendments by industry default, per bylaws for bylaws amendments, majority of those present for board removal and regular votes, and per declaration for special-assessment ratification.
3. The current outcome (PASSED, FAILED, PENDING, or NO-QUORUM) based on the supplied vote tally.

Use the calculator before convening a member meeting to confirm the procedural framework, during ballot counting to validate the threshold, and after a meeting to memorialize the outcome in the secretary minutes.

The relevant S.C. Code Ann. section 27-30 / section 27-31 statute

South Carolina governs HOA and condominium voting through two parallel regimes. The Homeowners Association Act lives at S.C. Code Ann. section 27-30-110 et seq.; the Horizontal Property Act lives at section 27-31-10 et seq.

Section 27-30-130 — South Carolina Homeowners Association Act governance framework. Refers quorum and voting procedures to the bylaws. The South Carolina industry default for HOAs when bylaws are silent is 30 percent of the total membership — a low quorum designed to facilitate routine governance in small to mid-size HOAs.

Section 27-31-110 — South Carolina Horizontal Property Act condominium voting framework. Refers quorum and voting to the master deed and bylaws. When neither specifies, the customary South Carolina condominium default is a MAJORITY (51 percent) of co-owners, consistent with the general non-profit corporation default.

Industry-default declaration amendment — South Carolina HOA and condominium declarations typically require approval by 67 percent of the voting members for general amendments. Specific subject-matter amendments (unit boundaries, allocated interests, common-element-conversion amendments) commonly require 75 percent or unanimous consent under typical master deeds. The calculator uses 67 percent as the general-amendment default and accepts a declaration-specified override.

Bylaws amendment — per the bylaws. Most South Carolina associations specify a majority of those present and voting at a meeting with quorum. The calculator uses majority-of-quorum as the default when bylaws are silent.

Board removal — per the bylaws. Most South Carolina associations permit removal by a majority of those present and voting at a meeting where a quorum is present. This is materially easier than the 67 percent threshold for declaration amendments.

Special assessment — per the declaration. Many South Carolina declarations require member ratification of special assessments above a stated threshold. The calculator treats this as a declaration-specified vote when supplied and falls back to majority-of-quorum when no override is given.

South Carolina-specific gotchas (NO super-priority, judicial-only foreclosure with 30-day upset bid, no CAM licensure)

SOUTH CAROLINA DOES NOT FORMALLY LICENSE CAMs. Unlike Florida (Fla. Stat. section 468.431 LCAM), Nevada (NRS 116A CAM), and DC (CICM), South Carolina has NO state-level licensure requirement for community association managers. South Carolina community management is performed by unlicensed individuals or by management companies that hold general business and real-estate-broker licenses. Practical consequence: South Carolina HOA and condominium boards bear primary responsibility for governance compliance and the calculator (with statute citations) is intended as a tool the board secretary can use directly without a licensed CAM intermediary.

THE 67 PERCENT DECLARATION-AMENDMENT THRESHOLD IS OF-TOTAL, NOT OF-VOTERS. This is the single most common voting-threshold error in South Carolina HOA and condominium practice. The 67 percent industry-default applies to TOTAL voting power, not to votes cast. In an 80-member association with 40 voters returning ballots (50 percent turnout), 30 yes votes (75 percent of voters) is only 38 percent of total — well short of the 54-vote threshold and the amendment FAILS. Boards routinely announce declaration amendments as passed based on majority-of-voters math; this is wrong. The calculator distinguishes the two thresholds explicitly to prevent the error.

HOA AND CONDO DEFAULT QUORUMS DIFFER. The South Carolina HOA industry default is 30 percent of total membership (reflecting larger lot counts and lower turnout in HOAs); the condominium default is 51 percent of unit owners (reflecting smaller unit counts and higher per-unit stake). Confusing the two defaults leads to under-counting quorum in HOA meetings or over-counting in condominium meetings. The calculator routes the default based on the association-type input.

JUDICIAL-FORECLOSURE-ONLY AFFECTS THRESHOLD CHOICES. South Carolina is a judicial-foreclosure-only state, which means there is no nonjudicial trustee-sale path to add through a declaration amendment. Other states (Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia) sometimes amend their declarations to add power-of-sale language for nonjudicial enforcement; the 67 percent threshold matters in those states. In South Carolina there is no such amendment to consider because no nonjudicial regime exists; the 67 percent threshold most commonly applies to use-restriction amendments, common-area-conversion amendments, or assessment-formula amendments.

NO SUPER-PRIORITY LIEN AFFECTS BOARD GOVERNANCE. South Carolina associations do not have a super-priority lien for assessments. Boards facing collection challenges sometimes consider amending the declaration to add stricter late-fee or interest provisions; these amendments require 67 percent of total voting power. Boards should plan for the 67 percent threshold knowing that collection-related amendments often pass low turnout meetings and require aggressive proxy campaigns.

THIRTY-PERCENT HOA QUORUM IS A GAP-FILLER, NOT A STATUTORY FLOOR. The 30 percent HOA default the calculator uses derives from South Carolina industry practice when bylaws are silent. South Carolina HOA bylaws commonly specify 25 percent, 30 percent, or 33 percent quorum — always check the actual bylaws before relying on the calculator default. Some older South Carolina HOA bylaws specify majority (51 percent) quorum that has not been updated for the current lot count and routinely fails routine meetings; the board may consider amending the bylaws to a lower quorum to facilitate governance.

PROXIES ARE COMMON BUT MUST BE CURRENT. South Carolina bylaws commonly permit proxies for member voting; the calculator counts proxies once for quorum and once for the tally. Many South Carolina bylaws specify an 11-month maximum proxy validity. Proxies older than the period are invalid even if all other elements are met. For OF-TOTAL threshold votes (declaration amendments at 67 percent), aggressive proxy campaigns are typically necessary to reach the threshold.

What this calculator does NOT model

The calculator implements the South Carolina QUORUM-AND-SUPERMAJORITY math. It does NOT:

• Model the heightened-threshold and unanimous-consent categories for specific declaration amendments (unit-boundary changes, allocated-interest changes, conversion to common elements, etc.). If your vote type falls into one of these categories, the 67 percent threshold understates the requirement; consult counsel.
• Model the bylaws-amendment procedures in detail — the bylaws specify the threshold and the calculator uses a default majority-of-quorum if no declaration override is supplied.
• Model the special-assessment ratification mechanics that vary by declaration (caps, exemptions, ratification triggers).
• Validate the form of proxies (signature, witness, expiration, delegation chain).
• Model the board meeting procedures (board meetings have separate quorum and notice requirements typically specified in the bylaws).
• Validate compliance with the notice requirements that gate the meeting.
• Apply the South Carolina Nonprofit Corporation Act gap-filler defaults that may apply to associations organized as non-profit corporations.

For any consequential vote, retain South Carolina counsel with Title 27 Chapter 30 / Chapter 31 experience to oversee the procedural compliance review.

Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-05-17 against:

• South Carolina Code Annotated Title 27 Chapter 30 (Homeowners Association Act).
• South Carolina Code Annotated Title 27 Chapter 31 (Horizontal Property Act).
• S.C. Code Ann. section 27-30-110 (HOA scope and definitions).
• S.C. Code Ann. section 27-30-130 (HOA governance and recovery framework).
• S.C. Code Ann. section 27-31-110 (condominium voting and quorum per master deed).
• S.C. Code Ann. section 27-31-210 (condominium assessment lien — referenced as governance background).
• S.C. Code Ann. section 27-30-340 (HOA disclosure framework — referenced as governance background).
• South Carolina Bar Real Property Section practitioner materials on HOA and condominium governance.
• Comparative analysis against Tennessee (Tenn. Code Ann. section 66-27-411 quorum per declaration, section 66-27-413 75 percent declaration amendment, section 66-27-419 80 percent termination), Ohio (ORC 5311.05(A) 75 percent declaration amendment), Massachusetts (MGL c.183A 75 percent), Florida (Fla. Stat. section 718.110 condo amendment per declaration; section 720.306 HOA quorum), and Georgia (OCGA section 44-3-101 et seq.) confirming South Carolina aligns with the 67 percent general-declaration-amendment industry default and the 30 percent HOA / 51 percent condo quorum defaults.