HOA and COA Laws and Foreclosures in Arizona

If you own a home or condo in a planned community or condominium project in Arizona, you might belong to a homeowners' association (HOA) or condominium owners' association (COA). Knowing Arizona's HOA and COA laws can help you protect your home and your rights. State law governs how HOAs and COAs operate, what fees they can charge, and the steps they must follow to collect unpaid charges.

You should be aware that an HOA or COA in Arizona may place a lien on your home and even foreclose if dues remain unpaid. Knowing what protections are available for homeowners is the best way to avoid trouble with your HOA or COA.

Summary of HOA and COA Laws in Arizona

In Arizona, if your home is part of an HOA or a COA:

• The association can charge you for common expenses (assessments).
• The HOA or COA can usually get a lien on your home if you don't pay the assessments.
• The association might choose to foreclose its lien. But Arizona law limits an HOA or COA's ability to foreclose.
• Lien priority determines what happens to other liens, like a mortgage, if an HOA or COA lien is foreclosed.

If the HOA or COA initiates a foreclosure, you might have a defense to the action, or you might be able to negotiate a way to get caught up on the overdue amounts and save your home.

Where to Find Arizona HOA and COA Laws

Often, different sets of state laws govern HOAs in subdivision communities and COAs. In Arizona, one set of state laws covers HOAs in planned communities (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1801 and following), and another covers COAs (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1201 and following).

The two sets of laws are very similar.

Can an HOA or COA Foreclose in Arizona?

When you buy a single-family home, townhome, or condominium that's part of a planned community with covenants, you'll most likely pay fees and assessments, often collectively called "assessments," to an HOA or COA. If you fall behind in the assessments, the association will likely initially try to collect the debt using traditional methods. For instance, the association will probably call you and send letters. But if those tactics don't get you to pay up, the association might try other ways to collect from you. The association might take away your privileges to use the common facilities or file a lawsuit for a money judgment against you.

Based on the association's Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) or Declaration of Condominium and state law, most HOAs and COAs also have the power to get a lien on your property if you become delinquent in assessments. Once you fall behind in payments, a lien will usually automatically attach to your property. Sometimes, the association will record its lien with the county recorder to provide public notice that the lien exists, regardless of whether state law requires recording.

In Arizona, the HOA or COA gets a lien on a for any assessment or portion of the assessment levied against that from the time the assessment becomes due. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1807, § 33-1256 (2025).) An assessments lien clouds the title to the property, hindering your ability to sell or refinance the home. In addition, the property can also be foreclosed to force a sale to a new owner—even if the property has a mortgage.

How HOA Liens and COA Liens in Arizona Work

Again, an HOA or a COA lien attaches to the property at the time the assessment becomes due. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1807, § 33-1256 (2025).) The HOA or COA doesn't have to record the lien in the county records for it to be valid. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1807, § 33-1256 (2025).)

Although Arizona law doesn't require an association to record its lien, filing a "Notice of Claim of Lien" is common.

What Types of Charges Can Lead to Foreclosure?

An HOA may include past-due assessments in its common expense lien, charges for late payment of assessments if authorized in the CC&Rs, reasonable collection fees and costs incurred or applied by the association and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs that are incurred with respect to those assessments, if the attorney fees and costs are awarded by a court. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1807, § 33-1256 (2025).)

Notice of Delinquent Assessments

At least 30 days before authorizing an attorney or a collection agency to begin collection activities, the association has to mail (by certified mail, return receipt requested) a written notice to the homeowner at the owner's address. The notice must state:

Your account is delinquent. If you do not bring your account current or make arrangements that are approved by the association to bring your account current within thirty days after the date of this notice, your account will be turned over for further collection proceedings. Such collection proceedings could include bringing a foreclosure action against your property.

The notice must be in boldfaced type or all capital letters and include the contact information for the person that the homeowner may contact to discuss payment. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1807, § 33-1256 (2025).)

Arizona HOA and COA Foreclosure Process Overview

In Arizona, the HOA or COA may foreclose on its lien in the same manner as a mortgage lender can foreclose on a mortgage. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1807, § 33-1256 (2025).) Because mortgages in Arizona must be foreclosed judicially, the HOA or COA must file a lawsuit in court to foreclose its lien. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-721 (2025).)

Arizona home loans, on the other hand, are usually secured by a deed of trust rather than a mortgage. So, foreclosures by mortgage lenders in Arizona are typically nonjudicial.

Limitation on HOA and COA Foreclosures in Arizona

Arizona has laws that limit the HOA's or COA's ability to foreclosure in certain circumstances. Effective September 26, 2025, an HOA can't foreclose unless the owner has been delinquent in the payment of any assessment or portion of the assessment for a period of 18 months or the delinquent amount is $10,000 or more, whichever occurs first, as determined on the date the action is filed. (Through September 25, 2025, these limitations are one year and $1,200.) In addition, the HOA must offer the homeowner a reasonable payment plan before filing a foreclosure action. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1807 (2025).)

A COA can't foreclose unless the owner has been delinquent in the payment of assessments for a period of one year, or the delinquent amount is $1,200 or more, whichever occurs first, as determined on the date the action is filed. In addition, the COA must offer the homeowner a reasonable payment plan before filing a foreclosure action. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1256 (2025).)

Statute of Limitations

For the lien to remain valid, the HOA or COA must initiate an action to enforce the lien within six years from the date that the full amount of the assessments became due. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1807, § 33-1256 (2025).)

Can I Get My Home Back After an HOA Foreclosure in Arizona?

After a judicial foreclosure, Arizona law provides a redemption period of:

• six months after the sale date, or
• 30 days after the sale date, if the court determines the home is abandoned, and the property was not used primarily for grazing or agricultural purposes. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 12-1282 (2025).)

What Happens to My Mortgage in an HOA or a COA Foreclosure?

A common misconception is that the association can't foreclose if you're current with your mortgage payments. But an association's right to foreclose isn't dependent on whether you're up to date on your mortgage. Instead, lien priority determines what happens in a foreclosure.

What Is Lien Priority?

The priority of liens establishes who gets paid first following a foreclosure sale and often determines whether a lienholder will get paid at all. Liens generally follow the "first in time, first in right" rule, which says that whichever lien is recorded first in the land records has higher priority than later recorded liens. A first lien has a higher priority than other liens and gets the first crack at the foreclosure sale proceeds.

If any proceeds are left after the first lien is paid in full, the excess proceeds go to the second lienholder until that lien is paid off, and so on. A lien with a low priority might get nothing from a foreclosure sale.

But state law or an association's governing documents can adjust lien priority.

HOA and COA Lien Priority in Arizona

An association's lien is prior to all other liens, except for:

• liens recorded before the declaration
• liens for real estate taxes (and other governmental charges), and
• a recorded first mortgage, a seller's interest in a first contract for sale recorded before the association lien, or a recorded deed of trust. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1807, § 33-1256 (2025).)

So, a foreclosure by an HOA or COA usually won't eliminate a first mortgage or deed of trust because the association's lien is normally lower in priority.

How to Avoid or Stop an HOA or COA Foreclosure in Arizona

You might have several options for preventing an HOA or COA foreclosure, such as:

• paying off the delinquency or fixing the violation
• negotiating a reduced payoff or payment plan
• filing for bankruptcy, or
• raising a defense.

Talk to a Lawyer If You're Facing an HOA or COA Foreclosure in Arizona

If you're facing an HOA or COA foreclosure in Arizona, consider consulting with a foreclosure attorney to discuss all legal options available in your circumstances.