Liens & ForeclosureVA
Can a Virginia HOA Foreclose Over Dues?
By The HOARebel Team · June 2, 2026 · 3 min read
Unpaid assessments in Virginia are not just a private debt — the Property Owners' Association Act lets the association perfect a lien on the home and, eventually, foreclose. But the lien depends on a timely filing and yields to a prior mortgage, which shapes how the process works. For your specific situation, a licensed Virginia attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.
The lien must be perfected — within 12 months: Va. Code § 55.1-1833
Virginia's lien is not automatic. Under § 55.1-1833, the association perfects it by filing "a memorandum, verified by the oath of the principal officer," in the circuit court clerk's office, and it must do so "before the expiration of 12 months from the time the first such assessment became due and payable." Miss that 12-month window for a given assessment, and the lien is not perfected as to it. Charges for violations count here too: under § 55.1-1819 they are "treated as an assessment … for the purposes of § 55.1-1833."
Where the lien sits in line
Section 55.1-1833 makes the perfected lien "prior to all other subsequent liens and encumbrances except" three things: "(i) real estate tax liens on that lot, (ii) liens and encumbrances recorded prior to the recordation of the declaration, and (iii) sums unpaid on and owing under any mortgage or deed of trust recorded prior to the perfection of such lien." In plain terms, property taxes and a first mortgage recorded before the lien was perfected normally outrank the association. Virginia gives no super-priority slice ahead of the first mortgage.
How foreclosure works
If the debt is not resolved, the lien can be enforced against the home through "judicial foreclosure in the circuit court" or, where authorized, "nonjudicial foreclosure." For a nonjudicial sale, the association must give notice specifying the debt and the action required, with a deadline "not less than 60 days from the date the notice is given," and then advertise the sale as the statute directs. A licensed Virginia attorney can explain the steps and timeline that apply to a specific foreclosure.
Section 55.1-1833 also sets two numeric guardrails on a sale. First, there is a dollar floor: the association may conduct a foreclosure sale only "if the total sums secured by such lien or liens are in excess of $5,000, exclusive of attorney fees and costs." Second, there is an outer time limit — the statute provides that "no foreclosure of any lien perfected under this section shall be initiated after 120 months from the time when the memorandum of lien was recorded." In other words, a debt below the $5,000 threshold cannot itself trigger a sale, and a lien is no longer subject to foreclosure once 120 months (10 years) have passed since the memorandum was recorded.
What people generally do
In a Virginia assessment-debt situation, a few points commonly matter:
- The association's records and a payoff figure show what is actually owed and how it was calculated.
- Disputed charges and undisputed assessments are treated separately — though both can feed the lien, so neither is simply ignored.
- The numbers and dates matter: the 12-month perfection window, the 60-day nonjudicial-foreclosure notice, the $5,000 sale threshold, and the 120-month outer limit for initiating foreclosure.
- A payment plan, before costs and attorney's fees accumulate, is something owners often raise with the board.
- A licensed Virginia attorney is the resource early, and the Ombudsman complaint route is available for disputes, while options remain open.