An HOA Lien or Unpaid Dues on Your House? We Buy As-Is

Selling a House With an HOA Lien

If your homeowners association has recorded a lien against your condo, townhome, or house for unpaid assessments, or you've simply fallen behind and know a lien could be coming, the situation is common and it does not mean the house is stuck. California's Davis-Stirling Act sets out exactly how an HOA lien gets recorded, when it can actually turn into a foreclosure, and what has to happen to release it. As-Is Home Buyer purchases Los Angeles County properties directly for cash, as-is, and works through an open HOA lien as part of the purchase rather than requiring you to pay it off first — one of the paths, including the "we buy houses los angeles" route, that other owners in this situation have used. There is no fee, no repair requirement, and no obligation to find out where you stand.

This overview of California HOA lien law is general information, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for guidance from a licensed California attorney about your specific situation.

What an HOA Lien Actually Is

If you own a house, condo, or townhome inside a homeowners association in Los Angeles County and you've fallen behind on regular or special assessments, the HOA can turn what you owe into a lien recorded against your property. Under California Civil Code section 5650, a regular or special assessment, along with any late charges, reasonable collection costs, and interest, becomes "a debt of the owner of the separate interest at the time the assessment or other sums are levied." That debt is generally delinquent 15 days after it's due, unless the association's own governing documents set a longer grace period. Falling behind does not by itself put a lien on title. The association has to go through its own notice and recording process first, and that process gives you a chance to act before it does.

The 30-Day Notice Your HOA Has to Send Before Recording a Lien

Before an association can record a lien against your unit, Civil Code section 5660 requires it to notify you in writing, generally by certified mail, at least 30 days ahead of time. That notice has to include an itemized statement of what's owed, a general description of the association's collection and lien-enforcement procedures, and specific statutory warning language telling you the property could eventually be sold without court action if the debt goes unresolved. It also has to describe your right to dispute the charges and request a meeting with the board, or pursue alternative dispute resolution, before things move further. If you're behind on assessments and haven't received a notice like this yet, a lien has likely not been recorded against the property.

How and When the Lien Attaches to Your Title

The lien doesn't exist against your property until the association actually records it. Under Civil Code section 5675, an assessment becomes a lien on the property "from and after the time the association causes to be recorded with the county recorder ... a notice of delinquent assessment." Once that notice of delinquent assessment is recorded with the Los Angeles County Recorder, the lien attaches to the unit itself, not to you personally, and it shows up on a title report from that point forward the same as any other recorded lien. That is one of the first things a title company checks before a sale can close, whether you go the traditional listing route or sell to a cash buyer directly.

Can the HOA Actually Foreclose? The $1,800/12-Month Threshold

A recorded HOA lien is not the same as the HOA taking your house. Under Civil Code section 5720, an association generally cannot foreclose on a lien unless the delinquent assessments secured by it, not counting late fees, interest, or collection costs, "equal[] or exceed[] one thousand eight hundred dollars ($1,800)" or the underlying assessment debt itself "[is] more than 12 months delinquent." Below that floor, the lien can stay recorded against the property, but the statute doesn't let the association force a sale over it. Once crossed, section 5700 allows the lien to be enforced by any manner permitted by law, including a trustee's sale, but only after 30 days since recording. Section 5705 adds guardrails: the foreclosure decision must be made by the board itself, approved at least 30 days before any sale, and the association must offer dispute resolution first.

Clearing the Lien and Getting the Release Recorded

An HOA lien is generally resolved through escrow at the time of sale: the unpaid balance, plus accrued costs and interest, is paid from the sale proceeds, and the association supplies a current payoff figure. Once paid, Civil Code section 5685 requires the association to record a lien release, or notice of rescission, "within 21 days of the payment," and give you a copy. If your file also carries a judgment recorded against you, see how we clear a lien or judgment before you sell, or if the property tax bill is behind too, here's how to sell a house with back property taxes owed. The same layered-lien pattern shows up often when a unit passed through an estate, where you'll want to sell a house held in a probate estate while an HOA lien is still open. Each of those liens generally clears through the same escrow, on its own priority track rather than by which balance is largest.

HOA Estoppel and Demand Statements: What Escrow Needs From the Association

Before closing, escrow generally needs a current statement from the HOA showing exactly what's owed, sometimes called an estoppel or demand statement. Civil Code section 4525 requires the association to provide "a true statement in writing" showing its current assessments, any amount unpaid on your unit, and any fines or penalties on the books. Under section 4530, the association generally must produce those documents within 10 days of a written request and can only charge "a reasonable fee ... based upon the association's actual cost." A demand statement that takes a while, or shows a higher payoff than expected, is a normal part of closing inside an association, not a sign of trouble.

Condos, Townhomes, and Selling As-Is With the Lien Still Open

HOA liens come up most often on condos and townhomes, since those units are almost always inside a common interest development with mandatory assessments, but a single-family house in a planned community with its own HOA works under the same statute. Selling as-is to a cash buyer doesn't erase the lien or the amount owed. That debt still gets paid through escrow the same way it would in a traditional sale. It does mean you're not required to bring the account current or make repairs out of your own pocket before a buyer will make an offer. If a house or condo in the South Bay is carrying the same kind of open lien, see our "sell my house as is redondo beach california" page for the same estoppel-and-payoff process described above.

Timeline and Cost Reality

There's no single timeline for resolving an HOA lien before a sale. It depends on how far behind the account is, how quickly the management company turns around a demand statement, and whether the $1,800/12-month threshold has already been crossed. In many cases, a lien can be identified and paid off inside a normal escrow window once the payoff figure comes back. A slower management company, a disputed charge, or a lien already in the section 5700 foreclosure-enforcement stage can take longer, and we never promise a specific number of days. We do not charge sellers anything to buy a house or condo with an open HOA lien. There is no upfront fee, no inspection charge, and nothing taken from your proceeds that you weren't told about first.

Common HOA Lien Questions

These FAQs about California HOA lien law are general information, not legal advice; consult a licensed California attorney about your specific circumstances.