Liens & ForeclosureAR
Can an Arkansas HOA Foreclose Over Unpaid Dues?
By The HOARebel Team · May 28, 2026 · 3 min read · Updated June 2, 2026
The threat of losing a home over unpaid HOA dues is the kind of thing that keeps people up at night. In Arkansas, the answer depends on whether your community is under the Horizontal Property Act and what the declaration says about lien enforcement. For your specific situation, a licensed Arkansas attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.
What the HPA covers (when it applies)
For communities that opted into the Horizontal Property Act under § 18-13-103, the Act addresses liability for assessments — including that a buyer is jointly and severally liable with the seller for amounts owing at the time of conveyance:
"jointly and severally liable with the seller" — Ark. Code § 18-13-116 (paraphrasing the buyer-and-seller assessment-liability framework)
That joint liability matters in real-estate closings, but it isn't the whole foreclosure picture. The HPA is concise and doesn't lay out a comprehensive lien-foreclosure framework the way modern condominium acts in other states do. The actual lien-enforcement procedure often turns on the declaration / master deed and general Arkansas property law — typically through court action, not a private power of sale.
For communities outside the HPA
If your community didn't opt into the HPA (see Did Your HOA Opt In to the Horizontal Property Act?), the framework is entirely the declaration, the Arkansas Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1993 if incorporated, and general Arkansas law. Whether the association can record a lien, and how to enforce it, depends on what the declaration says — and most lien-enforcement happens through court action.
What homeowners commonly do
Because the documents do so much of the work in Arkansas, people facing collection typically:
- Confirm which framework applies (HPA opt-in or not)
- Pull the recorded declaration / master deed from the county recorder
- Request the full ledger and any rule or fine schedule supporting the underlying assessment — a records request under the Nonprofit Corporation Act can reach those documents
- Look at the declaration's specific lien-enforcement language carefully
Old debt and Arkansas's five-year clock
Assessments are usually built on a written declaration, so there is a time limit on how long an association can wait to sue. Arkansas's general statute of limitations for written obligations, Ark. Code § 16-56-111, sets a five-year window:
"Actions to enforce written obligations, duties, or rights, except those to which § 4-4-111 is applicable, shall be commenced within five (5) years after the cause of action shall accrue." — Ark. Code § 16-56-111
That same section adds that "[p]artial payment or written acknowledgment of default shall toll" the period — so a payment or a written admission can restart the clock. An association that sits on old, unpaid assessments may run into this limitations defense, which is one reason people facing collection look closely at how old each charge is. How the five-year period applies to a specific account is a question for a licensed Arkansas attorney.
Why the distinction matters
For an Arkansas homeowner, the practical takeaways:
- A lien is not the same as losing the home — it generally has to be enforced through a defined process, typically a court action under the declaration and general Arkansas property law.
- Whether the HPA applies changes the legal frame, but in either case the declaration is the document that controls most of what the association can actually do.
- The amounts, interest, and fees the association adds are reviewable.
For anything approaching actual enforcement, the timeline and defenses are something a licensed Arkansas attorney should review promptly.