2.02 Required Contents of the Master Deed or Lease

• Library: South Carolina Community Association Law: Condominiums and Homeowners Associations (SCBar) (2019 Ed.)

2.02 Required Contents of the Master Deed or Lease

The contents of the master deed or lease are prescribed by statute.¹⁶ The master deed or lease must describe the land whether leased or in fee simple, and the building or buildings in existence or to be constructed if applicable, expressing their respective areas.¹⁷ A number must be designated for each apartment, and a general description of each apartment is required that expresses its area, location, and any other data needed for its identification.¹⁸ The apartment description needs to conform to the particular needs of the project, but the following is an example of the kind of description that, together with the required plans, should be adequate.

One bedroom units contain___square feet. Each unit has a bedroom of___square feet, a living room of___square feet, a kitchen of___ square feet, and a laundry room of___square feet, and two closets of ___total square feet, and a bath room of___square feet. Each unit is equipped with a washer, dryer, dishwasher, range, refrigerator, kitchen sink, cabinetry, bathroom sink, bathtub and toilet.
One bedroom units are numbered 201-205 inclusive on the second floor, 301-305 inclusive on the third floor, 401-405 inclusive on the fourth floor, 501-505 inclusive on the fifth floor, 601-605 inclusive on the sixth floor, 701-705 inclusive on the seventh floor, 801-805 inclusive on the eighth floor, 901-905 inclusive on the ninth floor, 1001-1005 inclusive on the tenth floor, and 1101-1105 inclusive on the eleventh floor.

A similar description would be given for the other units. The description above is for a single building in which all the one-bedroom units are identical. In multi-building projects and those with more unit variety, more complex descriptions would obviously be needed.

The SCHPA also requires that a plot plan or plat be attached to the master deed or lease.¹⁹ This must include a set of floor plans of the building showing dimensions, area, and location of apartments and common elements, both limited and general. Common elements must be described in detail in words and figures. The plans must designate each apartment by letter, number, or other appropriate designation.²⁰ Any conveyance or instrument affecting title to an apartment describing it by that designation and followed by the words "in Horizontal Property Regime" is then deemed a good and sufficient description for all purposes.²¹ Thus in Walters v. Summey Building Systems, Inc.,²² the South Carolina Court of Appeals found that reference in a unit deed to an apartment number as shown on the regime plans was sufficient to put the purchaser on notice to inquire about the dimensions and number of rooms in an apartment. 'Where a deed describes the property to be conveyed as it is shown on another recorded document, the document becomes part of the deed for purposes of showing the boundaries, metes, courses, and distances of the property conveyed."²³

There must be a description of the general common elements and the limited common elements.²⁴ The description of the limited common elements must identify which apartments have exclusive use of those common elements.²⁵ The SCHPA specifically lists the following as general common elements:

(1) The land whether leased or in fee simple and whether or not submerged on which the apartment or building stands; provided, however, that submerged land developed or used under [the SCHPA] is subject to any law enacted relating to the leasing of submerged lands by the State for the benefit of the public;
(2) The foundation, main walls, roofs, halls, lobbies, stairways, moorages, walkways, docks, and entrance and exit or communication ways in existence or to be constructed or installed;
(3) The basements, flat roofs, yards, and gardens in existence or to be constructed or installed, except as otherwise provided or stipulated;
(4) The premises for the lodging of janitors or persons in charge of the property in existence or to be constructed or installed, except as otherwise provided or stipulated;
(5) The compartments or installations of central services such as power, light, gas, cold and hot water, refrigeration, reservoirs, water tanks and pumps, and the like in existence or to be constructed or installed;
(6) The elevators, garbage incinerators and, in general, all devices or installations existing or to be constructed or installed for common use;
(7) All other elements of the property, in existence or to be constructed or installed, rationally of common use or necessary to its existence, upkeep, and safety.²⁶

The individual project requirements will determine what other elements need to be listed. Other elements that might be included are: tangible personal property for maintenance and operation of the condominium, easements for ingress and egress, and riparian or littoral rights.

The master deed or lease must set forth the total value of the property as well as the value of each apartment. From those figures the document establishes and must state the percentage ownership share of each apartment in the common elements based on the value of each apartment in relation to the value of the property as a whole.²⁷

The name of the project, followed by the words "HORIZONTAL PROPERTY REGIME," must also be stated in the master deed or lease.²⁸ In Egrets Point Townhouses Prop. Owners Ass'n v....