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.

Can a Pennsylvania HOA put a lien on my home?

Generally, yes. Under 68 Pa.C.S. § 5315, the association has a lien on a unit for any assessment levied against it or fines imposed against its owner, from the time the charge becomes due. Recording the declaration perfects the lien, so no separate filing is needed. Some small and pre-Act communities are covered more narrowly (§ 5102).

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 when the charge becomes due — under § 5315(d), "recording of the declaration constitutes record notice and perfection of the lien," so no separate filing is needed for it to attach. Second, Pennsylvania's lien expressly includes fines (which the association may levy only "after notice and an opportunity to be heard," § 5302(a)(11)). "Unless the declaration otherwise provides," fees, late charges, fines, interest, and reasonable collection costs including legal fees are also "enforceable as assessments" under the section. The same subsection provides that "[t]he association's lien may be foreclosed in a like manner as a mortgage on real estate."

Not every community gets the full rule. Under § 5102(a)(1), a planned community of no more than 12 units without subdivision, conversion, or expansion rights is subject only to a short list of sections "unless the declaration provides that the entire subpart is applicable," and § 5102(c) treats small pre-Act communities the same way. For communities created before the Act took effect (it was enacted December 19, 1996, effective in 45 days), § 5315 applies "only with respect to events and circumstances occurring after the effective date of this subpart" and does "not invalidate specific provisions contained in existing provisions of the declaration" (§ 5102(b)). Condominiums are governed by the Uniform Condominium Act instead, whose lien section (68 Pa.C.S. § 3315) is similar and also reaches fines.

Does a Pennsylvania HOA lien outrank my first mortgage?

Generally, no, if the mortgage was recorded before the assessment came due. Under 68 Pa.C.S. § 5315, the association's lien is prior to all other liens and encumbrances except three kinds: liens and encumbrances recorded before the declaration, first mortgages recorded before the assessment's due date (and judgments on them), and real estate tax and other governmental liens.

Under § 5315(b)(1), the lien "is prior to all other liens and encumbrances on a unit except" three kinds: liens and encumbrances recorded before the declaration; first mortgages "recorded before due date of the assessment" (and judgments on them); and "Liens for real estate taxes and other governmental assessments or charges against the unit."

Is a Pennsylvania HOA lien wiped out at a judicial sale?

Not entirely. Under 68 Pa.C.S. § 5315, the limited nondivestiture rule says unpaid common expense assessments that came due in the six months immediately before a judicial sale are divested only to the extent the sale proceeds pay them. All other unpaid common expense assessments are divested in full, whether or not the proceeds are adequate to pay them.

Section 5315(b)(2), titled "Limited nondivestiture," says what happens to the association's lien when the unit is sold at a judicial sale. Unpaid common expense assessments "that come due during the six months immediately preceding the date of a judicial sale" are divested "only to the extent that the six months' unpaid assessments are paid out of the proceeds of the sale" (§ 5315(b)(2)(i)). All other unpaid common expense assessments are divested "in a full amount of the unpaid assessments, whether or not the proceeds of the judicial sale are adequate to pay these assessments" (§ 5315(b)(2)(ii)). In other words, the last six months of common expense assessments are not wiped out by the sale unless the proceeds pay them — 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," the procedures for foreclosing a mortgage apply, and § 5315(b)(2) speaks of a "judicial sale" of the unit. A licensed Pennsylvania attorney can explain the steps and timeline that apply to a specific foreclosure.

How long does a Pennsylvania HOA have to enforce a lien?

Four years for each assessment. Under 68 Pa.C.S. § 5315, a lien for unpaid assessments is extinguished unless proceedings to enforce it, or suits to recover the sums it secures, are instituted within four years after the assessments become payable. How the deadline is counted is fact-specific.

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

Steps owners facing assessment debt in Pennsylvania commonly take:

• Requesting a written payoff and the association's records to confirm what is actually owed and how it was calculated
• Separating disputed fines from undisputed assessments — though in Pennsylvania both can feed the lien, so neither should simply be ignored
• Some owners ask the board about a payment plan before costs and attorney's fees accumulate
• Deadlines matter once a foreclosure action is underway
• Early on, while options remain open, a licensed Pennsylvania attorney is the right resource

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
• 68 Pa.C.S. § 5102 — Applicability
• 68 Pa.C.S. § 3315 — Lien for assessments (condominiums)