Can a Pennsylvania HOA Foreclose Over Dues?

Unpaid assessments in Pennsylvania are not just a private debt — the Uniform Planned Community Act turns them into a lien on the home, and that lien can be foreclosed like a mortgage. Pennsylvania's version is notable because it reaches fines as well as assessments. For your specific situation, a licensed Pennsylvania attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.

The lien is automatic — and broad: 68 Pa.C.S. § 5315(a)

Under § 5315(a), "[t]he association has a lien on a unit for any assessment levied against that unit or fines imposed against its unit owner from the time the assessment or fine becomes due." Two things stand out. First, the lien arises automatically when the charge becomes due — no separate filing is needed for it to attach. Second, unlike some states that shield fines from the lien, Pennsylvania's lien expressly includes fines. The same subsection provides that "[t]he association's lien may be foreclosed in a like manner as a mortgage on real estate."

Where the lien sits in line

Section 5315(b)(1) makes the lien generally subordinate to a first mortgage "recorded before due date of the assessment." So a pre-existing first mortgage normally outranks the association's lien.

The limited six-month priority

Pennsylvania gives the association a narrow priority that survives even ahead of that mortgage. Under § 5315(b)(2)(i), the lien is divested at a judicial sale only "as to unpaid common expense assessments … that come due during the six months immediately preceding the date of a judicial sale," and then "only to the extent that the six months' unpaid assessments are paid out of the proceeds of the sale." That six-month slice of common-expense assessments is the part of the lien that can effectively jump ahead — a detail that matters to owners, associations, and lenders alike.

How foreclosure works

Because the lien is foreclosed "in a like manner as a mortgage on real estate," Pennsylvania's mortgage-foreclosure procedures apply — including the court process and the protections that come with it. A licensed Pennsylvania attorney can explain the steps and timeline that apply to a specific foreclosure.

A four-year limit on enforcing the lien

The same section sets an outer deadline that works in the owner's favor. Under § 5315(e), "[a] lien for unpaid assessments is extinguished unless proceedings to enforce the lien or actions or suits to recover sums for which subsection (a) establishes a lien are instituted within four years after the assessments become payable." In other words, each assessment carries its own four-year clock; once that window closes, the lien for that charge is extinguished. (That four-year period tracks Pennsylvania's general contract limitation in 42 Pa.C.S. § 5525.) Whether a particular charge still falls inside the window — and how the deadline is counted — is a fact-specific question for a licensed Pennsylvania attorney.

What people generally do

Owners facing assessment debt in Pennsylvania often:

• Request a written payoff and the association's records to confirm what is actually owed and how it was calculated
• Separate disputed fines from undisputed assessments — though in Pennsylvania both can feed the lien, so neither should simply be ignored
• Ask the board about a payment plan before costs and attorney's fees accumulate
• Watch deadlines, since foreclosure runs through the courts on fixed timelines
• Consult a licensed Pennsylvania attorney early, while options remain open

Sources

• 68 Pa.C.S. § 5315 — Lien for assessments
• 42 Pa.C.S. § 5525 — Four year limitation
• 68 Pa.C.S. § 5302 — Power of unit owners' association