Dorchester County, SC HOA Rules: Assessment & Dues (2026)

5, a developer who lets a homeowners or condominium association own and maintain a subdivision's open space must file a copy of the governing covenants and restrictions with the County Attorney by the time of site plan approval or the preliminary plat or plan application stage, whichever comes first. ' Those two provisions work together with subsection (c), which makes the association responsible for liability insurance, local taxes, and maintenance of recreational and other facilities, meaning the assessment obligation is tied directly to funding those costs.

Because the covenant filing happens during county development review rather than after the fact, the Planning Department checks compliance before a plat records, not after residents move in. The rule sits inside Article XX (Open Space Requirements) of the county's zoning ordinance, which took effect October 1, 2004 and has been amended repeatedly through 2026, so the underlying open space and HOA-filing mechanics have carried forward unchanged. There is no separate county assessment cap, collection procedure, or lien schedule; the ordinance only sets the mandatory content that must appear in the recorded covenants themselves.