Can My HOA Foreclose on My Home in Texas?

In Texas, a property owners' association generally can foreclose on a home to collect unpaid assessments — but the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act (Chapter 209 of the Texas Property Code) puts an important check in the way: the association must go to court first. For your specific situation, a licensed Texas attorney is the right resource. This is general information about how that framework works, not legal advice.

Where the rules come from: Chapter 209 is the main state law governing Texas POAs, but it does not stand alone. The association's recorded declaration (CC&Rs), applicable federal law (including the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act), and the Texas Business Organizations Code that governs most associations as nonprofits all apply alongside it.

What court order does a Texas HOA need to foreclose?

Generally, a court order obtained in an application for expedited foreclosure. Under Tex. Prop. Code ch. 209, § 209.0092, an association may not foreclose an assessment lien without first obtaining that order, unless the owner waives it in writing at the time foreclosure is sought. Under subsection (d), it may instead elect a court judgment foreclosing the lien and ordering the sale.

The headline protection in Texas is that an association cannot simply sell your home through a private, non-judicial process to collect an assessment lien. Under §209.0092, it must obtain a court order first:

"Except as provided by Subsection (c) or (d) and subject to Section 209.009, a property owners' association may not foreclose a property owners' association assessment lien unless the association first obtains a court order in an application for expedited foreclosure under the rules adopted by the supreme court under Subsection (b)." — §209.0092(a), Tex. Prop. Code

Section 209.0092(d) gives an association a second court route: it may "in its discretion elect not to use that procedure and instead foreclose the association's assessment lien under court judgment foreclosing the lien and ordering the sale." Either way, the practical effect is judicial oversight: a court reviews the matter before a home can be sold.

Can a Texas HOA foreclose over unpaid fines?

No, not over fines alone. Under Tex. Prop. Code ch. 209, § 209.009, an association may not foreclose its assessment lien if the debt securing it consists solely of fines, attorney's fees solely associated with those fines, or certain administrative amounts added to the owner's account. Such a lien may still complicate a later sale of the property.

Texas draws a hard line between unpaid assessments and unpaid fines. Under §209.009, an association may not foreclose its assessment lien if the debt is made up only of fines:

"A property owners' association may not foreclose a property owners' association's assessment lien if the debt securing the lien consists solely of: (1) fines assessed by the association; (2) attorney's fees incurred by the association solely associated with fines assessed by the association; or (3) [certain administrative amounts added to the owner's account]." — §209.009, Tex. Prop. Code

Foreclosure under Chapter 209 is reserved for genuinely unpaid assessments.

Notice and a chance to cure come first

Foreclosure is the end of a longer road, but the general enforcement notice in §209.006 is not the step that governs it: that section expressly excludes "a suit to collect a regular or special assessment or foreclose under an association's lien." Chapter 209 builds notice into the collection steps that lead up to foreclosure instead:

• Before a lien is filed (§209.0094): the association must send a first notice of delinquency by first-class mail or e-mail, then a second by certified mail, return receipt requested, not earlier than the 30th day after the first. It "may not file an assessment lien before the 90th day after the date notice of delinquency was sent to the property owner under Subsection (e)," meaning the second, certified-mail notice. These notice steps do not apply where the association is giving an owner covered by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act the protections that Act provides.
• Before collection-agent fees (§209.0064): an owner can't be held liable for a collection agent's fees unless the association first sends certified-mail notice that itemizes the delinquency, describes the options for avoiding collection (including any payment plan the association must offer), and gives at least 45 days to cure before further collection action.
• Before a foreclosure filing (§209.0091): the association must send written notice of the total delinquency to any junior lienholder whose lien is evidenced by a deed of trust, and give that lienholder an opportunity to cure before the 61st day after the notice is mailed.

Section 209.006's certified-mail notice, with a cure period for curable violations and the right to request a hearing, still applies before fines, suspensions, property-damage charges, and reporting a delinquency to a credit reporting service.

Does a Texas HOA have to offer a payment plan?

Yes, if the association has more than 14 lots. Under Tex. Prop. Code ch. 209, § 209.0062, it must adopt reasonable guidelines for an alternative payment schedule for partial payments on delinquent amounts without accruing additional monetary penalties. Plans run at least three months, the association need not allow one longer than 18 months, and limited exceptions apply.

Texas also requires many associations to offer a way to catch up short of foreclosure. Under §209.0062, a property owners' association "composed of more than 14 lots shall adopt reasonable guidelines to establish an alternative payment schedule by which an owner may make partial payments" toward "delinquent regular or special assessments or any other amount owed to the association without accruing additional monetary penalties." The statute sets a minimum term of three months, and the association is not required to allow a plan that "extends more than 18 months." There are limited exceptions — for example, the association need not offer a new plan to an owner who defaulted on a prior plan within the past two years, or more than once in any 12-month period. The association must file its payment-plan guidelines in the county real property records.

Can I get my home back after a Texas HOA foreclosure sale?

Generally yes, for a limited time. Under Tex. Prop. Code § 209.011, a right of redemption may be available: the owner may redeem the property from any purchaser "not later than the 180th day after the date the association mails written notice of the sale" under § 209.010. Redeeming requires paying the amounts the statute lists.

The clock starts with a notice. Under §209.010, an association that conducts a foreclosure sale must send the lot owner and each lienholder of record a written notice, by certified mail, return receipt requested, "not later than the 30th day after the date of the foreclosure sale," stating when the sale occurred and informing them of the right to redeem under §209.011. The lienholder notice goes to the holder of the most recent deed of trust of record (and any transferee or assignee who has notified the association), and there is no duty to notify a lienholder whose recorded instrument includes no address. The same notice and redemption rights apply when a sheriff or constable sells the lot under a judgment the association obtained.

Section 209.011(b) gives the right to "the owner of property in a residential subdivision or a lienholder of record," but a lienholder's right starts later and is narrower:

"A lienholder of record may not redeem the property as provided herein before 90 days after the date the association mails written notice of the sale to the lot owner and the lienholder under Section 209.010, and only if the lot owner has not previously redeemed." — §209.011(b), Tex. Prop. Code

What redemption costs depends on who bought the property at the sale:

• If the association bought it (§209.011(d)): the lot owner or lienholder must pay the association all amounts due at the time of the sale; interest from the sale to redemption at the rate in the dedicatory instruments for delinquent assessments or, if no rate is stated, 10 percent a year; the association's costs of foreclosing and conveying the property, including reasonable attorney's fees; any assessment levied after the sale; any reasonable cost the association incurred, "including mortgage payments and costs of repair, maintenance, and leasing of the property"; and the purchase price it paid at the sale, less any amounts due to it that were satisfied out of the sale proceeds.
• If someone else bought it (§209.011(e)): the lot owner or lienholder must pay the association the amounts due at the time of the sale less the sale price it received, interest on the same terms, its costs of foreclosing and conveying including reasonable attorney's fees, unpaid assessments levied after the sale, and taxable costs of any forcible entry and detainer suit under subsection (a); and must pay the purchaser any post-sale assessments the purchaser paid, the purchase price, the deed recording fee, ad valorem taxes, penalties and interest the purchaser paid after the sale, and the taxable costs of that suit.

The statute adds timing and recording rules. During the redemption period, the purchaser may not transfer ownership to anyone other than a redeeming lot owner. A written request to redeem sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, on or before the last day of the period extends the right "until the 10th day after" the association and any third-party purchaser give written notice of the amounts that must be paid. If, before the period ends, the redeeming owner or lienholder fails to record the purchaser's deed or an affidavit stating that the property has been redeemed, the right of redemption as against a bona fide purchaser or lender for value expires after the redemption period. Redeemed property "remains subject to all liens and encumbrances on the property before foreclosure."

The bigger picture

Texas gives associations a real collection remedy but surrounds foreclosure with a court process and advance notice. Whether every requirement was met — proper notice, the court order, the amounts claimed — is fact-specific, and how it applies to a particular home is the kind of question a licensed Texas attorney evaluates. How the lien is created and how it ranks against a mortgage are covered in Texas HOA Assessment Liens Explained and Texas HOA Assessment Lien Priority. For how this compares to other states, see our general overview of whether an HOA can foreclose on your home.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Texas HOA foreclose without going to court?

Generally no. Section 209.0092 requires the association to obtain a court order through an expedited-foreclosure application before foreclosing an assessment lien, unless the owner waives that process in writing at the time.

Does the association have to warn me first?

Yes, before a lien is filed. Section 209.0094 requires two notices of delinquency, the second by certified mail at least 30 days after the first, and the association may not file an assessment lien until 90 days after that second notice. Section 209.0064 adds a certified-mail notice with at least 45 days to cure before an owner can be charged a collection agent's fees. The general §209.006 notice does not apply to suits to collect assessments or foreclose the lien.

What can I do if my HOA threatens foreclosure?

The options depend on the specific facts — the amounts, the notices given, and whether the court process was followed. A licensed Texas attorney familiar with Chapter 209 is the appropriate resource for advice about a particular situation.

Sources

• Texas Property Code §209.0092 — Judicial Foreclosure Required
• Texas Property Code §209.006 — Notice Required Before Enforcement Action
• Texas Property Code §209.009 — Foreclosure Sale Prohibited in Certain Circumstances
• Texas Property Code §209.0062 — Alternative Payment Schedule for Certain Assessments
• Texas Property Code §209.0064 — Third Party Collections
• Texas Property Code §209.0091 — Prerequisites to Foreclosure: Notice and Opportunity to Cure for Certain Other Lienholders
• Texas Property Code §209.0094 — Assessment Lien Filing
• Texas Property Code §209.010 — Notice After Foreclosure Sale; §209.011 — Right of Redemption After Foreclosure