Hello REALTORS®,
The South Carolina General Assembly returned last week for the second half of their regular two-year legislative session. Several Realtor legislative initiatives are pending. Below is a report on some of those initiatives as well as the status of several bills that affect Realtors that are being monitored by your state advocacy team.
Reduce Insurance Rates for Property Owners
SCR supports improving affordability, fairness, and long-term stability in South Carolina’s insurance market while increasing accountability for insurers and related industries.
H.4817 is comprehensive insurance reform legislation designed to lower insurance costs and strengthen consumer protections across the state. A House subcommittee met last week on this bill.
Prohibit Eminent Domain for Private Petroleum Pipeline Companies
SCR has long supported reducing ambiguity in state law related to the use of eminent domain by private petroleum pipeline companies. SCR supports protecting landowners from involuntary easements, improving legal clarity, and realigning eminent domain authority with traditional public utility oversight.
Homeowners Association Reform:
SCR supports policies that promote transparency, accountability, and professionalism in homeowners association (HOA) governance and management. SCR also supports clear disclosure of all fees, assessments, management contracts, and governing documents.
Improved transparency and consistent disclosure practices help build trust, reduce disputes, and protect property values while supporting well-managed communities that serve homeowners and promote a vibrant real estate market.
SC Deed Verification and Deed Alert Protection Act
Title theft is a fast-growing problem nationwide. SCR is working to protect property owners from deed fraud and title theft by strengthening identity verification at Registers of Deeds, creating a Deed Alert Notification System, and establishing an expedited legal process to remove fraudulent filings.
SCR supports legislation that will require most deed submitters to provide government-issued photo ID, to empower Registers of Deeds to reject documents without proper identification, and to allow verified property owners to receive real-time alerts when instruments are recorded against their property.
Several counties, including Anderson County, have already implemented some elements of the Realtor agenda.
Statewide Framework for Short Term Rentals
Short-term rentals (STRs) are a vital part of South Carolina’s housing economy. STRs can bring a positive economic impact to a city or county through additional tax revenues and benefit communities by filling the gap in markets where additional lodging is needed.
SCR continues to advocate for a balanced and standardized approach to STRs that protects private property rights while addressing legitimate quality-of-life concerns. Property owners should retain the ability to responsibly use and rent their properties, including STRs, as a fundamental aspect of ownership and economic opportunity. At the same time, reasonable, narrowly tailored regulations that focus on safety standards, occupancy limits, noise, parking, and local accountability can help preserve neighborhood character and protect quality of life.
Many cities and counties already regulate STRs through zoning. Anderson County, for example, requires certain properties to have a special exception permit to operate a short-term rental in certain residentially zoned areas.
Other Legislative Issues of Interest
There are several other legislative matters that SCR is monitoring:
- Increasing the Homestead Exemption for seniors from $50,000 to $100,000 or $150,000. Reducing the age eligibility from 65 to 60 has also been proposed.
- Income tax reform is being debated. Among the several proposals are an additional reduction in the state income tax rates, collapsing the three state tax rates into a single rate, and decoupling the state income tax code from the federal income tax code.
- The S.C. Real Estate Commission issued regulations to update and clarify interpretations to conform to the 2024 real estate license law revision. A Senate committee considered these regulations last week.
Assessable Transfer of Interest
The 25% assessable transfer of interest (ATI) exemption allows a taxpayer to reduce the property tax value of certain newly acquired property by as much as 25%.
If you or your clients have acquired second homes, rentals, and commercial property in South Carolina in the last few years, you may be eligible for these savings on your property taxes. Check with your property tax advisor to see if you qualify and should apply. You must apply each year until the next time your property is reassessed. The deadline to apply or reapply is January 31.
Note that the exemption does not apply to agricultural property, personal residences, or property that is assessed by the South Carolina Department of Revenue, like manufacturing utility properties.
Rollback Tax Exemption for Unsold New Homes
The Rollback Tax is a complex tax code that does not affect most property owners. However, if you are a home builder, or represent a home builder, there is an important exemption you both should be aware of.
If a home builder builds a new home on spec and is still holding that spec home on January 1 of the following year, they can apply to continue paying the property tax rate that applied before the home was built. Builders can reapply for up to 5 five years, if they hold the spec home that long. But they must apply for this relief, and they must apply every year by January 31 for any home they have not sold by December 31.
How can you help?
Advocacy is an important part of the way your Realtors Association represents Realtors. There are two important ways you can help:
- Vote
- Contribute to RPAC
RPAC is an important part of our association’s advocacy efforts. Success hinges on the election of Realtor Champions. My favorite quote, at least recently, is that there are two kinds of politicians, those who raise money, and those who lose.
RPAC’s objective is to cooperate as an association to raise money for the campaigns of candidates who will champion Realtor issues. If you haven’t already contributed to RPAC, click here to contribute. Any amount will help.
Michael Dey, Director of Government Affairs