reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
SC Code § 37-7-119 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code|Chapter 7 - Consumer Credit Counseling|Section 37-7-119. Cease and desist orders; penalties for noncompliance; revocation of license; increase of bond.

 (A) Upon the finding that an action of a licensee may be in violation of this chapter, or of a law or regulation of this State or of the federal government or an agency of them, the department, after reasonable notice to the licensee and an opportunity for the licensee to be heard, shall order it to cease and desist from the action.  (B) If the licensee fails to appeal the cease and desist order of the department in accordance with Section 37-7-120 and continues to engage in the action in violation of the department's order, he is subject to a penalty of not less than one thousand nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars, in the discretion of the department, for each action he takes in violation of the department's order. The penalty provision of this section is in addition to and not instead of other provisions of law applicable to a licensee for the licensee's failure to comply with an order of the department.  (C) The department, upon the finding that a credit counseling organization has engaged intentionally or repeatedly in a course of conduct in violation of this chapter, may revoke the license temporarily or permanently, in its discretion, after reasonable notice to the organization and an opportunity for it to be heard and may increase a credit counseling organization's bond by a maximum of twenty-five thousand dollars to ensure that the public is protected adequately. The department also may impose upon persons violating the provisions of this chapter administrative fines of not more than five hundred dollars for each offense or not more than five thousand dollars for the same set of transactions or occurrences. Each violation constitutes a separate offense. The department, if it determines that the required bond must be increased, shall state in writing the reasons for the increase and immediately serve it upon the licensee. The credit counseling organization shall provide the new bond within thirty days or the department shall revoke the license of the credit counseling organization.  HISTORY: 2005 Act No. 111, Section 1, eff 6 month after approval by the Governor (became law without the Governor's signature on June 2, 2005).
SC Code § 37-7-120 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code|Chapter 7 - Consumer Credit Counseling|Section 37-7-120. Appeals.

 Within thirty days after the final decision of the department and by written notice to the department, an aggrieved party may appeal the decision pursuant to Article 3, Chapter 23, Title 1, the Administrative Procedures Act.  HISTORY: 2005 Act No. 111, Section 1, eff 6 month after approval by the Governor (became law without the Governor's signature on June 2, 2005).
SC Code § 37-7-121 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code|Chapter 7 - Consumer Credit Counseling|Section 37-7-121. Regulations.

 The department may promulgate regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter.  HISTORY: 2005 Act No. 111, Section 1, eff 6 month after approval by the Governor (became law without the Governor's signature on June 2, 2005).
SC Code § 37-7-122 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code|Chapter 7 - Consumer Credit Counseling|Section 37-7-122. Use of application and renewal fees.

 All application and renewal fees collected by the department may be retained by the department and used to implement the provision of this chapter.  HISTORY: 2005 Act No. 111, Section 1, eff 6 month after approval by the Governor (became law without the Governor's signature on June 2, 2005).
SC Code § 37-9-101 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code|Chapter 9 - Effective Date And Repealer|Section 37-9-101. Time of taking effect; provisions for transition.

 (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, this title takes effect at 12:01 A.M. on January 1, 1975.  (2) To the extent appropriate to permit the administrator to prepare for operation of this title when it takes effect the chapter on administration (Chapter 6) takes effect immediately.  The provisions of this title relating to sales and leases become effective at 12:01 A.M. on January 1 1975, but the parties to a consumer sale or lease or renewal or consolidation thereof, made after the effective date of the chapter on administration, may agree in writing signed by the parties that the sale or lease is subject to the provisions of this title applying to consumer sales or leases. If the parties so agree, the sale or lease or renewal or consolidation thereof shall be subject to this title just as if the entire title were effective on the date of the agreement.  (3) Transactions entered into before this title takes effect and the rights, duties, and interests flowing from them thereafter may be terminated, completed, consummated, or enforced as required or permitted by any statute, rule of law, or other law amended, repealed, or modified by this title as though the repeal, amendment, or modification had not occurred, but this title applies to  (a) refinancings, consolidations, and deferrals made after this title takes effect of sales, leases, and loans whenever made;  (b) sales or loans made after this title takes effect pursuant to revolving charge accounts (Section 37-2-108) and revolving loan accounts (Section 37-3-108) entered into, arranged, or contracted for before this title takes effect; and  (c) all credit transactions made before this title takes effect insofar as the chapter on remedies and penalties (Chapter 5) limits the remedies of creditors.  (4) With respect to revolving charge accounts (Section 37-2-108) and revolving loan accounts (Section 37-3-108) entered into, arranged, or contracted for before this title takes effect, disclosure pursuant to the provisions on disclosure, shall be made not later than thirty days after this title takes effect.  HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 8-800.541; 1974 (58) 2879.
SC Code § 37-9-102 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code|Chapter 9 - Effective Date And Repealer|Section 37-9-102. Continuation of licensing.

 (A) All persons now or hereafter holding a license under the provisions of Chapter 29, Title 34, as amended, may elect to be licensed to make supervised loans under this title pursuant to the part on Supervised Loans (Part 5) of the chapter on Loans (Chapter 3), provided, however, that all persons related to such persons shall make the same election. Upon such election at any time hereafter in writing to the Board of Financial Institutions, the lender shall be deemed to have surrendered his license to lend under Chapter 29, Title 34 and to have obtained a license to lend under this title. As soon as is practicable after the board receives such writing it shall issue a new certificate identifying the lender as a Supervised Lender. The only requirements that the board may impose for licensure under this section are:  (1) the election must be stated in writing;  (2) all persons related to the electing lender must also have made such election; and  (3) the person making any such election must then hold a currently valid license under Chapter 29, Title 34.  (B) A lender licensed to make supervised loans under this title under Chapter 3, Title 37, who was previously licensed under the provisions of Chapter 29, Title 34, as amended, may elect to again be licensed under Chapter 29, Title 34, provided, however, that all persons related to such persons shall make the same election. Upon such election, which must be made in writing to the Board of Financial Institutions prior to January 1, 1997, the lender shall be deemed to have surrendered his license to lend under Chapter 3, Title 37 and to have obtained a license to lend under Title 34. As soon as practicable after the board receives such writing, it shall issue a new certificate identifying the lender as a Restricted Lender under Title 34. The only requirements that the board may impose for licensure under this section are:  (1) the election must be stated in writing;  (2) all persons related to the electing lender must also have made such election; and  (3) the person making any such election must then hold a currently valid license under Chapter 3, Title 37.  HISTORY: 1976 Act No. 686 Section 55; 1995 Act No. 135, Section 19.
SC Code § 37-9-103 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code|Chapter 9 - Effective Date And Repealer|Section 37-9-103. Relationship between separate subsidiary corporations; obligations of parent and subsidiary.

 A wholly owned subsidiary of a parent corporation which subsidiary has elected to be licensed under the provisions of this chapter, and a separate wholly owned subsidiary of the same parent corporation which subsidiary has elected to be licensed under the provisions of Chapter 29, Title 34 are not considered to be related persons for purposes of Section 37-9-102; provided, that a parent corporation with these two subsidiaries operating under different licenses, shall not permit these or any other subsidiaries to exchange, convert, transfer, or sell a license or facility from one subsidiary to another and the failure to comply with the provisions of this proviso constitutes just cause for the revocation of the license exchanged, converted, transferred, or sold; and provided further, that the failure to take reasonable steps to determine if a consumer has a current loan on the books with another subsidiary of the same parent corporation shall serve as just cause for revocation of the license of the subsidiary failing to make this determination if a pattern of such misconduct is shown.  HISTORY: 1986 Act No. 370, Section 2.
SC Code § 37-10-101 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code|Chapter 10 - Miscellaneous Loan Provisions|Section 37-10-101. Scope.

 Except as otherwise provided in other chapters of this title, this chapter applies to designated loan transactions other than consumer loan transactions (Sections 37-3-104 and 37-3-105).  HISTORY: 1982 Act No. 385, Section 56; 1984 Act No. 261, Section 7.
SC Code § 37-10-102 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code|Chapter 10 - Miscellaneous Loan Provisions|Section 37-10-102. Attorney's fees and other charges on mortgage loans for personal, family or household purposes.

 Whenever the primary purpose of a loan that is secured in whole or in part by a lien on real estate is for a personal, family or household purpose:  (a) The creditor must ascertain prior to closing the preference of the borrower as to the legal counsel that is employed to represent the debtor in all matters of the transaction relating to the closing of the transaction and except in the case of a loan on property that is subject to the South Carolina Horizontal Property Act (Section 27-31-10, et seq.) the insurance agent to furnish required hazard and flood property insurance in connection with the mortgage and comply with such preference.  The creditor may comply with this section by:  (1) including the preference information on or with the credit application so that this information shall be provided on a form substantially similar to a form distributed by the administrator; or  (2) providing written notice to the borrower of the preference information with the notice being delivered or mailed no later than three business days after the application is received or prepared. If a creditor uses a preference notice form substantially similar to a form distributed by the administrator, the form is in compliance with this section.  The creditor may require the attorney or agent to provide reasonable security to the creditor by way of mortgage title insurance in a company acceptable to the creditor and to comply with reasonable closing procedures. If title insurance is made a condition of the loan at any point during the negotiations, it must remain a condition all the time thereafter regardless of which attorney ultimately closes the transaction. Any legal fees other than for examination and certification of the title, the preparation of all required documents, and the closing of the transaction required or incurred by the creditor in connection with the transaction is the responsibility of the creditor regardless of which party pays for the title work, document preparation, and closing.  (b) The creditor may contract and receive the following additional charges in a transaction in which the creditor authorizes a transferee of the real estate that serves as security for the transaction to assume the original debtor's obligation -  (i) except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (iii), the additional charges authorized by Section 37-3-202;  (ii) the charge for any credit report on the debtor required by the creditor, if not paid to the creditor or a person related to the creditor; and  (iii) a nonrefundable assumption fee in an amount not exceeding the lesser of four hundred dollars or one percent of the unpaid balance of the loan at the time the assumption transaction is consummated.  HISTORY: 1982 Act No. 385, Section 56; 1984 Act No. 355, Section 10; 1989 Act No. 164, Section 3; 1991 Act No. 142, Section 23; 1996 Act No. 355, Section 1.
SC Code § 37-10-103 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code|Chapter 10 - Miscellaneous Loan Provisions|Section 37-10-103. Prepayment of loans of one hundred fifty thousand dollars or less.

 The debtor may prepay in full at any time without penalty the debt represented by a personal, family, or household purpose loan agreement that is secured in whole or in part by a first or junior lien on real estate if the aggregate of all sums advanced will not exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars.  HISTORY: 1982 Act No. 385, Section 56; 1984 Act No. 355, Section 11; 2003 Act No. 42, Section 2.A, eff Jan. 1, 2004, and applying to loans for which the loan applications were taken on or after that date.
SC Code § 37-10-104 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code|Chapter 10 - Miscellaneous Loan Provisions|Section 37-10-104. Agricultural loans under twenty-five thousand dollars.

 With respect to a loan under which the aggregate of all sums advanced or contemplated by the parties in good faith to be advanced is less than twenty-five thousand dollars and which is primarily for an agricultural purpose, the maximum loan finance charge that may be contracted for and received shall be eighteen percent per annum, calculated according to the actuarial method.  HISTORY: 1982 Act No. 385, Section 56.
SC Code § 37-10-105 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code|Chapter 10 - Miscellaneous Loan Provisions|Section 37-10-105. Violations; civil actions.

 (A) If a creditor violates a provision of this chapter, the debtor has a cause of action, other than in a class action, to recover actual damages and also a right in an action, other than in a class action, to recover from the person violating this chapter a penalty in an amount determined by the court of not less than one thousand five hundred dollars and not more than seven thousand five hundred dollars. No debtor may bring a class action for a violation of this chapter. No debtor may bring an action for a violation of this chapter more than three years after the violation occurred, except as set forth in subsection (C). The three-year statute of limitations applies to actions commenced after May 2, 1997. No inference should be drawn as to the applicable statute of limitations for any pending actions. This subsection does not bar a debtor from asserting a violation of this chapter in an action to collect a debt which was brought more than three years from the date of the occurrence of the violation as a matter of defense by recoupment or set-off in such action.  (B) No creditor may be held liable in an action brought under this section for a violation of this chapter if the creditor shows by a preponderance of evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adapted to avoid the error.  (C) If the court finds as a matter of law that the agreement or transaction is unconscionable pursuant to Section 37-5-108 at the time it was made, or was induced by unconscionable conduct, the court may, in an action other than a class action:  (1) refuse to enforce the agreement, or a term, or part of the agreement or transaction that the court determines to have been unconscionable at the time it was made;  (2) enforce the remainder of the agreement without the unconscionable term or part, or limit the application of the unconscionable term or part to avoid an unconscionable result;  (3) rewrite or modify the agreement to eliminate an unconscionable term, part, or result and enforce the new agreement; or  (4) award:  (a) not more than the total amount of the loan finance charge and allow repayment of the unpaid balance of the loan without any finance charge;  (b) not more than double the amount of the excess loan finance charge or other charges or fees actually received by the creditor or paid by the debtor to a third party; and  (c) attorney's fees and costs.  An action pursuant to this subsection may not be brought after the original scheduled maturity date of the debt.  (D) In an action in which it is found that a creditor has violated this chapter, the court shall award to the debtor the costs of the action and to his attorneys their reasonable fees. In determining attorneys' fees, the amount of the recovery on behalf of the debtor is not controlling.  HISTORY: 1982 Act No. 385, Section 56; 1997 Act No. 99, Section 1.
SC Code § 37-10-106 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code|Chapter 10 - Miscellaneous Loan Provisions|Section 37-10-106. Maximum rate of interest; legal rate of interest.

 (1) No greater interest than six percent per annum shall be charged, taken, agreed upon or allowed upon any contract arising in this State for the hiring, lending, or use of money or other commodity, either by way of straight interest, discount or otherwise, except upon written contracts wherein, by express agreement, any rate of interest may be charged, except as otherwise provided in this title or by law.  (2) Whenever the term legal rate of interest or lawful rate of interest is used in any contract, judgment or other document, it shall mean the rate specified in Section 34-31-20, unless the document otherwise specifically provides.  (3) No greater interest than eight percent per annum shall be charged on life insurance policy loans unless otherwise provided by law.  HISTORY: 1982 Act No. 385, Section 56.
SC Code § 37-10-107 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code|Chapter 10 - Miscellaneous Loan Provisions|Section 37-10-107. Certain legal or equitable actions prohibited.

 (1) No person may maintain an action for legal or equitable relief or a defense based upon a failure to perform an alleged promise, undertaking, accepted offer, commitment, or agreement:  (a) to lend or borrow money;  (b) to defer or forbear in the repayment of money; or  (c) to renew, modify, amend, or cancel a loan of money or any provision with respect to a loan of money, involving in any such case a principal amount in excess of fifty thousand dollars, unless the party seeking to maintain the action or defense has received a writing from the party to be charged containing the material terms and conditions of the promise, undertaking, accepted offer, commitment, or agreement and the party to be charged, or its duly authorized agent, has signed the writing.  (2) Failure to comply with subsection (1) precludes an action or defense based on any of the following legal or equitable theories:  (a) an implied agreement based on course of dealing or performance or on a fiduciary relationship;  (b) promissory or equitable estoppel;  (c) part performance, except to the extent that the part performance may be explained only by reference to the alleged promise, undertaking, accepted offer, commitment, or agreement; or  (d) negligent misrepresentation.  (3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to:  (a) a loan of money used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes;  (b) an agreement or change in the terms of an agreement relating to a line of consumer credit, lender credit card, or similar arrangement;  (c) an overdraft on a demand deposit or other bank account; or  (d) promissory notes, real estate mortgages, security agreements, guaranty and surety agreements, and letters of credit.  (4) In the event of a conflict between this section and any other provision of law of this State relating to the requirement of a signed writing, the provisions of the other provision of law shall control.  HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 142, Section 24.
SC Code § 37-11-10 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code|Chapter 11 - Licensing And Regulation Of Continuing Care Retirement Communities|Section 37-11-10. Short title.

 This chapter may be cited as the "State Continuing Care Retirement Community Act".  HISTORY: 1989 Act No. 97, Section 1.
SC Code § 37-11-20 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 37 - Consumer Protection Code|Chapter 11 - Licensing And Regulation Of Continuing Care Retirement Communities|Section 37-11-20. Definitions.

 As used in this chapter unless the context otherwise requires:  (1) "Department" means the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs.  (2) "Continuing care retirement community" means a community in which there is furnished, pursuant to a continuing care contract, to two or more persons not related to the administrator or owner of the facility within the third degree of consanguinity, board or lodging together with nursing, medical, or other health-related services, regardless of whether the services or lodging are provided at the same location or not. It does not include an institution operating solely as a nursing home or community residential care facility licensed by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.  (3) "Entrance fee" means a payment that assures a resident a place in a facility.  (4) "Facility" means the place in which an operator undertakes to provide continuing care to a person.  (5) "Health-related services" includes a degree of personal assistance in feeding, dressing, or other essential daily living activities.  (6) "Continuing care contract" means a contract to provide board or lodging together with nursing, medical, or other health-related services:  (a) to a person sixty-five years of age or older at the time the contract is signed or purchased; or  (b) which provides for services for the life of the person or for more than one year, including mutually terminable contracts; and  (c) which requires payment of an entrance fee or other fee in return for a promise of future care.  (7) "Living unit" means a room, apartment, cottage, or other area within a facility set aside for the exclusive use or control of one or more identified residents.  (8) "Operator" means the promoter, developer, or owner of a continuing care retirement community or of an institution, building, residence, or other place, whether operated for profit or not, or a person who solicits or undertakes to provide continuing care under a continuing care facility contract.  (9) "Resident" means a purchaser of, a nominee of, or a subscriber to a continuing care contract. It includes a person for whom an entrance fee has been paid.  (10) "Trust institution" means a state or national bank, state or federal savings and loan association, or trust company authorized to act in a fiduciary capacity in this State.  HISTORY: 1989 Act No. 97, Section 1; 2000 Act No. 400, Section 1.