A Board collects delinquent dues and assessments by applying one written collections policy to every owner. The steps are a reminder, the late fee and interest your documents allow, a payment plan offer and referral to association counsel. Lien and foreclosure rules differ in DC, Maryland and Virginia. Foreclosure is the last step and often the wrong one.
Key takeaways (the short version)
- Adopt one written collections policy by Board resolution and apply it to every owner behind on dues: reminder, late fee and interest, payment plan offer, then referral to counsel. Once counsel has an account, the Board and the manager leave all communication about the debt to counsel, whether by phone, in writing or in the hallway.
- A DC condominium's lien arises automatically. Up to six months of regular budgeted assessments outrank an institutional first mortgage.
- Maryland condominium and HOA liens run through the Contract Lien Act. When a lender forecloses a first mortgage recorded on or after October 1, 2011, up to four months of regular assessments, capped at $1,200, are paid ahead of the lender.
- A Virginia condominium lien ranks behind an institutional first mortgage recorded before the lien was perfected. A POA lien ranks behind any earlier mortgage. Foreclosure requires a secured debt above $5,000.
- Virginia HB 444 sets new default judgment rules for consumer debt suits from July 1, 2027. It appears to reach money-only assessment suits against individual owners. Confirm with association counsel.
What should our written collections policy say?
A written collections policy sets the steps and dates for every owner behind on dues or assessments, from the first reminder to referral to counsel. Adopt it by Board resolution and apply it to every owner the same way. Include:
- the due date and the grace period before a late fee applies
- the late fee and interest rate, quoted from the declaration or bylaws
- the reminder schedule, such as a notice at 15 days and a demand letter at 45
- the payment plan terms the manager may offer without a Board vote
- the referral trigger, a day count or a dollar balance
- the decisions reserved for a Board vote: recording a lien, filing suit and foreclosure
Build the policy around the delinquency aging report. The budget season playbook asks for it in September and uses its collection rate in October. Buyers' lenders check delinquencies too. Fannie Mae's full project review allows no more than 15 percent of a condominium's units to be 60 or more days past due on assessments. Verify with your lender.
Send letters in the association's own name. Under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), a creditor that collects under a name suggesting a third party becomes a debt collector. Mail owners the policy with the budget and our guide to condo fees and assessments.
What late fees and interest can our association charge?
Your declaration and bylaws set late fees and interest, within limits that differ by jurisdiction.
| Association | Late fee | Interest on late assessments |
|---|---|---|
| DC condominium | Set by the documents, with no statutory cap | Set by the documents. If they are silent, the lesser of 10 percent a year or DC's first-mortgage maximum, starting on the 15th day after the due date. |
| Maryland condominium | Up to $15 or one-tenth of the installment, whichever is greater, charged once after 15 calendar days. Must be in the bylaws. | Up to 18 percent a year. The default is 18 percent when the bylaws are silent. |
| Maryland HOA | Same cap as condominiums | Set by the declaration; confirm with counsel |
| Virginia condominium and POA | Set by the documents or association rules. If both are silent, the Board may charge up to 5 percent once a payment is 60 days late. | Set by the documents; confirm with counsel |
A fine is a separate charge for a rule violation. DC condominiums and the Maryland and Virginia associations above must give notice and a chance to be heard before imposing one. Maryland's procedure applies unless the declaration or bylaws state otherwise. Track fines on their own ledger line.
When should the Board offer a payment plan?
Early, on terms the collections policy already sets. Your documents and counsel decide whether any rule requires a plan.
Put each plan in writing, signed by the owner. Require the current assessment each month plus a fixed installment on the arrears over a short term. State whether late fees stop while the plan is current and what a missed payment triggers.
In Maryland, a written agreement with the owner can extend the deadline for recording a lien. In Virginia from July 1, 2027, an owner's waiver of HB 444's default judgment rules is void. A voluntary settlement such as a payment plan is still allowed. Have counsel word the Maryland clause and keep waiver language out of Virginia plans.
When should we refer an account to association counsel?
Refer an account once it passes the day count or dollar balance in your policy and these checks are complete.
- DC condominium notice. When the association tells an owner it intends to take legal action, the notice must include an itemized statement, a settlement contact and an 18-point housing-counseling notice (D.C. Code § 42-1903.12a).
- Good standing. Confirm the association's corporate filings are current before counsel files suit. Our compliance calendar lists each filing date.
- The ledger. Send counsel the full ledger with every charge, payment and credit, dated.
A written dispute within 30 days after the owner receives counsel's validation notice pauses collection of the disputed amount until counsel sends verification.
Once counsel has the account, leave all communication about the debt to counsel. From the day of referral, the Board and the management team should avoid any communication with the owner about the delinquency. That covers phone calls, emails, letters and casual conversations in the hallway or after a meeting. Anything a director or manager says or writes to an owner in collections about the debt can affect the case, and each contact needs the utmost care. Pass every question, dispute and payment offer about the debt to counsel. The owner then hears one set of figures and deadlines. Communication on everything unrelated to the collection, such as maintenance requests and meeting notices, carries on as normal. The exception is any right, privilege or amenity the association has restricted because of the delinquency, such as a suspended vote or pool access. Treat those as part of the collection matter. Write this handoff into the collections policy.
Which collection laws apply to our Board and our manager?
The FDCPA governs the lawyers and agencies that collect for the association. Maryland and DC statutes may also reach the association itself. Federal courts generally treat home assessments as consumer debts. Confirm with counsel.
- An association collecting its own assessments in its own name is a creditor. It falls outside the FDCPA's definition of a debt collector.
- Lawyers and agencies that regularly collect consumer debts are debt collectors (Heintz v. Jenkins, 1995). They can collect only the interest and fees the documents or the law authorize.
- A management company's status depends on its role. Ask counsel about yours.
- Maryland's Consumer Debt Collection Act covers any person collecting a consumer debt. DC's debt collection statute (D.C. Code § 28-3814) names original creditors as debt collectors.
- Since October 1, 2025, Maryland's Attorney General can enforce any violation of the Condominium Act or the HOA Act (Real Property §§ 11-130 and 11B-115). Before that date the power reached only violations affecting a consumer.
When can our association file a lien?
A DC condominium's lien exists as soon as an assessment is due. Maryland and Virginia associations must take formal steps within fixed deadlines to create or perfect one.
| Association | How the lien is created | Priority over an earlier first mortgage | Foreclosure |
|---|---|---|---|
| DC condominium | Automatically when each assessment is due | Up to six months of regular budgeted assessments, ahead of an institutional lender | Allowed without court unless the documents expressly prohibit it |
| DC HOA | Through the recorded declaration | Set by the declaration and general DC law | Set by the declaration; confirm with counsel |
| Maryland condominium or HOA | Notice of intent, a 30-day owner challenge window, then a recorded statement of lien | Up to four months of regular assessments, capped at $1,200, over first mortgages recorded on or after October 1, 2011 | Allowed for assessments, interest and capped fees. Never for fines. |
| Virginia condominium | Memorandum of lien recorded within 90 days | None over an institutional lender | Only when the secured debt tops $5,000 |
| Virginia POA | Certified-mail notice, then a memorandum recorded within 12 months | None | Only when the secured debt tops $5,000 |
DC condominiums, HOAs and co-ops
The DC condominium lien covers the assessment plus interest, late fees, legal fees actually incurred and collection costs (D.C. Code § 42-1903.13). No recording is required. The priority covers regular budgeted assessments that would have come due in the six months before the association sues or records a memorandum of lien. Late fees, interest and legal fees fall outside that slice. Counsel can say whether special assessments count.
DC has no homeowners association statute. Association counsel can say how an HOA's lien is created and ranked under its recorded declaration and general DC law. DC housing cooperatives have no statutory lien and collect through the proprietary lease and bylaws, as our guide to co-op Boards in DC explains.
Maryland condominiums and HOAs
Maryland uses its Contract Lien Act (Real Property §§ 14-201 to 14-206). The recorded declaration or bylaws must expressly provide for a lien.
- Within two years of the missed payment, serve a notice of intent to create a lien by certified or registered mail or personal delivery.
- The owner has 30 days to ask the circuit court whether probable cause exists. If the owner files, the association carries the burden of proof.
- Record the statement of lien 30 days after service or 30 days after a court order. If the association waits more than 90 days past that point, the process starts over.
Priority runs from recording, subject to the lender foreclosure rule in the table (§§ 11-110(f) and 11B-117(c)). Confirm each step and deadline with association counsel.
Virginia condominiums and POAs
A Virginia condominium lien ranks behind an institutional first mortgage recorded before the lien was perfected. A POA lien ranks behind any earlier mortgage or deed of trust.
- Condominiums record a memorandum of lien in the circuit court clerk's office within 90 days after the first assessment in it came due (Va. Code § 55.1-1966).
- POAs have 12 months. They must send the owner a certified-mail notice at least 10 days before filing (§ 55.1-1833).
Confirm deadlines and lien rank with association counsel before recording.
Which deadlines can cost the association its lien?
DC's three-year enforcement window, the 10-day statement reply and Maryland's reply to a first-mortgage holder can each end a lien or its priority.
- DC condominiums. The lien lapses if foreclosure or another enforcement action has not started within three years of the assessment's due date.
- DC and Virginia condominiums. A written request for a statement of unpaid assessments must be answered within 10 days of receipt, or the lien on that unit is extinguished. In DC any owner or purchaser can ask. In Virginia the right applies once the unit is under a sales contract.
- Maryland. A late answer to a first-mortgage holder's request for details of the $1,200 priority forfeits it. Ask counsel for the exact deadline.
When is foreclosure a mistake?
Often. Foreclosure is a mistake on a small balance, during a lender's foreclosure or when the amount is disputed.
- Small balances. Virginia bars foreclosure unless the secured debt exceeds $5,000, excluding attorney fees and costs.
- Lender foreclosures. When a lender forecloses an earlier first mortgage, a Maryland association is paid at most $1,200 ahead of it. A Virginia association is paid only from any surplus. In DC, arrears lost in a foreclosure become common expenses for every owner. Ask counsel what the association can recover.
- Disputed amounts. A Maryland court may award attorney fees to any party in a lien case. In DC the substantially prevailing party recovers reasonable fees unless the documents say otherwise.
How a DC condominium forecloses
A DC condominium can sell a unit without going to court unless its instruments expressly prohibit it. The association's chief executive officer acts as trustee at the Board's direction. Since April 7, 2017, the sale notice must elect a sale for the six-month priority lien free of the first deed of trust or a larger sale subject to it.
In Chase Plaza (2014), the DC Court of Appeals held that a six-month sale extinguished the lender's first deed of trust. Counsel should advise on the election every time.
The recorded notice goes to the owner, the Mayor's designated agent, junior lienholders and the first mortgage holder at least 31 days before the sale.
How a Maryland lien is foreclosed
A recorded Maryland lien is foreclosed the same way as a mortgage with a power of sale, within 12 years of recording. Foreclosure is allowed only when the lien secures delinquent assessments and interest, plus reasonable lien costs and attorney fees no larger than the assessments. Counsel can explain how Maryland's residential foreclosure rules apply.
How a Virginia lien is foreclosed
A perfected Virginia lien can be foreclosed in circuit court or through a trustee. Before a trustee sale, the owner gets a notice allowing at least 60 days to pay and explaining the right to dispute the debt in court. Foreclosure must start within 120 months of recording. Association counsel should confirm the threshold, notice and route before the Board votes.
What does Virginia HB 444 change for our collections on July 1, 2027?
From July 1, 2027, a Virginia default judgment on a covered consumer debt needs an itemized complaint, a record of the debt and a separate warning notice. HB 444 enacted these rules as the Uniform Consumer Debt Default Judgments Act (2026 Acts of Assembly Chapter 395, Va. Code §§ 8.01-465.26 to 8.01-465.34), approved April 8, 2026.
The Act excludes an "action to (i) take possession or dispose of real or personal property", even one that also asks for money. It never mentions associations or assessments. On its text, a warrant in debt against an individual owner for unpaid assessments appears to be covered as a money-only suit on a consumer debt (§ 8.01-465.27(A)). A lien foreclosure falls under the exclusion. Confirm both readings with association counsel.
Keep a dated, itemized ledger for every delinquent account now. Ask counsel to review collection forms once the Supreme Court of Virginia's Office of the Executive Secretary publishes the required notice form.
Frequently asked questions
Can an HOA take your house in DC, Maryland or Virginia?
In limited cases, yes. DC condominiums can foreclose without going to court if they follow strict notice rules. Maryland allows foreclosure only for assessments, interest and capped fees, never for fines. Virginia requires a secured debt above $5,000 and, before a sale without court, a 60-day notice.
What happens if you don't pay HOA fees?
Late fees, interest and collection costs build up as the documents and statutes allow. The association can record a lien and sue for a money judgment. A DC condominium Board may suspend the voting rights of an owner more than 30 days behind. Virginia associations whose documents allow it may suspend services after 60 days, following notice and a hearing.
Can an HOA put a lien on your house?
Yes. A DC condominium's lien arises automatically when each assessment comes due. A Maryland association whose documents provide for a lien serves a notice of intent and then records a statement of lien. Virginia condominiums record a memorandum of lien within 90 days and POAs within 12 months.
Does an HOA lien affect your credit?
A recorded lien is a public property record that title searches find when the owner sells or refinances. Whether the account appears on a credit report depends on whether the association or a collector reports it. Anyone who reports must flag information the owner disputes.
Can an owner stop an HOA foreclosure by paying?
For a DC condominium, yes, at any time before the sale, by paying the past-due assessments with late charges or interest, reasonable attorney fees and costs. In a Virginia sale without court, paying the secured debt plus enforcement costs and reasonable attorney fees stops the sale. Ask counsel about Maryland and Virginia court foreclosures.
Does bankruptcy stop HOA collections?
A bankruptcy filing automatically stops collection on earlier debts and any lien filing or enforcement against the unit or lot. Assessments that come due after the filing are generally not discharged while the owner keeps an ownership interest. The rules differ by bankruptcy chapter. Stop collection work and call counsel the day you learn of a filing.
This article is general information for association Boards and is not legal advice. Your governing documents and association counsel control.
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