Defenses Against HOA Foreclosure: Legal Strategies for Homeowners

Once a homeowners' association (HOA) has a lien on your property, it generally may foreclose, even if you're current on your mortgage payments. So, you could potentially lose your home even if you're only a few hundred or thousand dollars behind on HOA fees. Usually, the foreclosure will occur in much the same way it would if your mortgage lender foreclosed. Some states, however, impose limitations on an HOA's ability to foreclose.

If your HOA begins a foreclosure, don't panic; you might have a defense to the action. This guide covers the most common homeowner strategies to challenge an HOA lien and stop foreclosure.

What Is an HOA Foreclosure and When Can It Happen?

If you live in a planned development, your community might offer various amenities, like pools, parks, and clubhouses. These common areas are usually jointly owned by the development's homeowners, who bear the costs of maintaining, repairing, and replacing them when needed. To cover these costs, the homeowners must pay monthly (or yearly or quarterly) dues and special assessments (collectively called "fees") to the community's HOA.

Also, when you purchased a home in the development, you agreed to the terms and conditions in the development's governing documents, including agreeing to comply with the covenants and pay all fees or fines that the HOA assesses. A Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) governs most HOAs. The CC&Rs set out the community's rules, including the fees the HOA may charge residents.

HOA Liens

A lien will usually automatically attach to your property if you don't pay the amounts due to the HOA. The HOA might also record the lien with the county recorder to provide public notice that the claim exists, even if your state doesn't require recordation.

HOA Foreclosures

Once an HOA has a lien on your property, it generally may foreclose that lien. An HOA foreclosure is a legal process that allows an HOA to sell a member's property to satisfy unpaid assessments, dues, or fines. The foreclosure happens according to state laws and HOA documents.

Your Rights When Facing HOA Foreclosure

In an HOA foreclosure, you (the homeowner) have many rights. Often, the homeowner is entitled to receive written notice of the delinquency, the amount owed, and the HOA's intent to foreclose, as well as information about how to avoid a foreclosure, such as with a payment plan or another option. Most states give homeowners the right to pay off the overdue assessments to stop a foreclosure. In addition, state law sometimes gives owners a limited redemption period after a foreclosure sale by paying the full outstanding amount due.

If an HOA forecloses, the HOA must follow the foreclosure procedures set out in state law and the community's governing documents (like the CC&Rs). You also have the right to fight the foreclosure by raising one or more defenses if the HOA violates any of your rights.

Common Defenses to HOA Foreclosure

Here are some defenses you might have to an HOA foreclosure, with more details below.

• The HOA charged the wrong amount.
• The HOA charged unauthorized or unreasonable fees.
• The CC&Rs don't authorize the HOA's charges.
• The HOA didn't provide proper notice.
• The HOA failed to follow state laws.
• The HOA misapplied your payments.
• The HOA failed to record the lien properly.
• The CC&Rs don't authorize the HOA to foreclose.

Challenging Incorrect, Unauthorized, or Unreasonable Fees

Sometimes, liens are invalid because the HOA charged the wrong amount. If you think the HOA improperly calculated the amount due and raise this as a defense, the HOA must show how all amounts were calculated. The HOA must properly account for the amount of fees, late charges, interest, fines, and costs. These charges must be in the correct amount and have a basis provided for in the CC&Rs.

Also, the fines, interest, late fees, management fees, and attorneys' fees that the HOA assessed must be reasonable. For example, if the HOA forecloses due to $500 in back fees, but penalties and costs associated with the foreclosure, like fines and attorneys' fees, increase the amount due to over $10,000, a judge might decide these charges are unreasonable.

In addition, state law and HOA documents typically limit the type and amount of charges that can be included in a foreclosure action.

HOA Governing Documents Don't Authorize the Fees

Sometimes, an HOA might assess a charge that the CC&Rs don't authorize. If the HOA then initiates foreclosure of the lien resulting from an unauthorized charge, the lien and foreclosure would be invalid.

Lack of Proper Notice

State law often requires an HOA to provide notice of a lien to the homeowner, typically by mail. The HOA also has to provide notice about a foreclosure. The type of notice required in a foreclosure depends on state law and the association's governing documents. If the foreclosure process deviates from what state law requires or the association's own procedures, this is a valid defense.

Failure to Follow HOA Foreclosure Laws or State Foreclosure Laws

The foreclosure might be invalid if the HOA fails to adhere to state statutory requirements. For example, in California, the delinquent fees must exceed $1,800, or the delinquency must be at least 12 months old before the HOA can initiate foreclosure proceedings. (Cal. Civ. Code § 5720 (2025).) If the HOA prematurely starts a foreclosure, the homeowner can raise the failure to comply with the statutory requirements as a defense.

Some states have laws that restrict or prohibit HOAs from foreclosing under certain circumstances, like if the HOA lien consists only of unpaid fines and related costs, such as attorneys' fees. For example, Texas law prohibits HOAs from foreclosing liens that consist just of fines, attorney's fees associated with those fines, and amounts owed to the HOA for compiling, producing, and reproducing its records. (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.009 (2025).) So, you might have a defense if your HOA didn't comply with state foreclosure laws or laws specific to HOAs..

In addition, state foreclosure laws and the HOA's governing documents typically describe certain procedures that the HOA must follow in order to foreclose. If the foreclosure process doesn't comply with state foreclosure laws or the association's own requirements, you might have a valid defense to foreclosure.

Misapplication of Payments

While you might have a defense based on a clerical or accounting error in the amount due, you might also have a defense if you made the payment, but it was misapplied. Depending on the state and the CC&Rs, the HOA might have to first apply payments to fees before applying them to other types of debt. So, a lien and subsequent foreclosure could be invalid if the HOA applied payments to a category other than fees, like fines.

Improper Lien Filing or Process Violations

In some states, the lien must be perfected by recording the lien in the county records. If the HOA improperly records the lien or doesn't record the lien at all, you might have a defense to the foreclosure in a state that requires recording.

Also, if an HOA improperly records a lien against a property, you might be able to bring a wrongful lien claim against the HOA. In Arizona, for example, a homeowner is entitled to a minimum of $5,000 in damages against a party that improperly records a lien, plus attorneys' fees and costs, as well as an additional $1,000 if the party refuses to release the incorrect lien within twenty days from the date of a written request. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-420 (2025).)

Governing Documents Don't Authorize the HOA to Foreclose

Generally, an HOA's CC&Rs contain a provision governing how and when the association may foreclose. But in some cases, the CC&Rs might not authorize foreclosure.