Can a Nebraska HOA Foreclose Over Unpaid Dues?

Few HOA threats are scarier than the word "foreclosure." In Nebraska, a condominium association does have a lien for unpaid assessments — but the Nebraska Condominium Act channels how that lien is enforced, and it runs through the courts. For non-condominium HOAs, the picture comes from the declaration and general Nebraska law. For your specific situation, a licensed Nebraska attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.

The condominium assessment lien (§76-874)

For condominiums, the Condominium Act creates an automatic lien for unpaid assessments:

"The association has a lien on a unit for any assessment levied against that unit from the time the assessment becomes due ..." — Neb. Rev. Stat. §76-874

Enforcement is like a mortgage

The same section sets how the lien is enforced:

"The association's lien may be foreclosed in like manner as a mortgage on real estate but the association shall give reasonable notice of its action to all lienholders of the unit whose interest would be affected." — Neb. Rev. Stat. §76-874

That's a meaningful protection. Foreclosing "in like manner as a mortgage" means a court process — with notice, an opportunity to dispute the debt and the accounting, and the procedural steps Nebraska requires of mortgage foreclosure — not a quiet private sale. The statute also requires the association to give reasonable notice to other lienholders. The amounts, interest, and fees the association adds are governed by the statute and the declaration, and are reviewable.

Non-condominium HOAs: the §52-2001 lien

If your community is not a condominium, §76-874 does not apply — but Nebraska does not leave non-condo HOAs entirely to the declaration. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. §52-2001, a homeowners' association has a lien on a member's property for unpaid assessments "from the time" a notice stating the dollar amount "is recorded." Unlike the condominium lien, this one is not automatic — recording the notice is what creates it. The lien "may be foreclosed in like manner as a mortgage," with reasonable notice to other affected lienholders, and (unless the declaration provides otherwise) fees, late charges, and interest are enforceable as assessments. It is prior to other liens except a first mortgage or deed of trust recorded before the lien notice, pre-declaration encumbrances, and tax liens — so there is no super-priority over an earlier first mortgage. The lien is extinguished unless enforcement begins within three years after the full amount becomes due. The recorded declaration and the Nonprofit Corporation Act still fill in the rest. See Which Nebraska Laws Govern Your HOA?.

The statute caps what the declaration can do

Section 52-2001 also limits how far the governing documents can stretch the lien. The statute provides that the declaration, agreements, bylaws, or rules "may not provide" that the lien "relates back to the date of filing of the declaration" or that it "takes priority over any mortgage or deed of trust" recorded after the declaration but before the association records its lien notice. In other words, the association cannot draft its way into a super-priority position — the no-super-priority point above is the statute's own rule, not just the default.

Separately, the statute lets an association require a person who purchases restricted real estate (on or after September 6, 2013) to fund an escrow account — but only "in an amount not to exceed six months of assessments," held in an interest-bearing account beyond the reach of the association's creditors, usable to cover that owner's delinquent assessments. The declaration can set a higher escrow requirement, so the six-month figure is the statutory floor on what the statute itself authorizes, not necessarily the ceiling under a particular declaration.

Practical takeaways

• For a condominium, a lien is not the same as losing the home — it generally has to be foreclosed in court, like a mortgage.
• A records request can reach the ledger showing how the balance was calculated.
• An improperly imposed fine folded into the balance is worth scrutinizing.

For anything approaching actual enforcement, the timeline and defenses are something a licensed Nebraska attorney should review promptly.

Sources

• Neb. Rev. Stat. §76-874 — Lien for assessments (condominiums)
• Neb. Rev. Stat. §52-2001 — Homeowners' association lien; foreclosure; priority
• Neb. Rev. Stat. §76-876 — Association records
• Neb. Rev. Stat. §76-824.01 — Applicability of the Nebraska Condominium Act