Registers of deeds urge clarity as committee considers requiring witnesses on HOA filings

Ms. Benson introduced bill 903 to require witnesses and acknowledgements for recorded homeowners association (HOA) rules, regulations, bylaws and amendments. She told the subcommittee the bill would change current practice so that recorded HOA documents include a witness and acknowledgment block (for example, a commissioner of deeds, a clerk of court, or a notary).

Attorney Ryan McCabe advised the committee that the proposed amendment, as drafted, could be read to invalidate previously recorded corporate instruments (bylaws and other corporate documents) because those instruments historically followed corporation-act formalities rather than recording-act witness blocks. McCabe suggested allowing a separate instrument to be filed that authenticates attached corporate documents as exhibits and meets the recording statute's witness and acknowledgment requirements while preserving older filings. He also flagged an apparent drafting typo that currently reads "January 10 each year" and recommended changing it to "the year after adoption" to avoid forcing annual refilings.

Registers and clerks of court, including Margaret Bailey (Dorchester County) and Julie Stutz (Aiken County), told the committee they support consistent recording formalities but cautioned about title confusion when documents are inconsistently labeled. Julie Stutz recommended delaying enforcement (she suggested 01/01/2027) to give attorneys, HOAs and county offices time to prepare. Committee members discussed adding an explicit grandfathering clause to validate prior filings and agreed to work with stakeholders on revised statutory language rather than holding the bill over.