Removing or Disputing a Texas HOA Assessment Lien

A recorded assessment lien in Texas clouds title and can lead to foreclosure, so homeowners want to know how one is cleared — and what protections exist along the way. For your specific situation, a licensed Texas attorney is the right resource. This is general information about Chapter 209 of the Texas Property Code, not legal advice. Chapter 209 works alongside the association's dedicatory instrument and general Texas law.

Payment and release

The straightforward path is paying the secured delinquency, generally followed by a release of the lien. Because Chapter 209 builds in notice steps before a lien is even filed, an owner often has time to resolve the debt before a lien hits the record at all.

Does a Texas HOA have to offer a payment plan?

Generally yes, if it has more than 14 lots. Under Texas Property Code §209.0062, such an association must adopt reasonable guidelines for an alternative payment schedule of partial payments without additional monetary penalties. The minimum term is three months, and a plan longer than 18 months isn't required, with limited exceptions.

In the statute's words, an 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 minimum plan term is three months, and a plan extending "more than 18 months" isn't required. The exceptions include an owner who defaulted on a prior plan within the past two years. Catching up under such a plan is one way an owner can stop the delinquency from advancing toward a recorded lien and foreclosure.

Can I dispute a Texas HOA lien before foreclosure?

Yes, Texas builds in checkpoints where a defective process can be raised. Under Texas Property Code §209.0091(a)(2), the association must give inferior lienholders an opportunity to cure before the 61st day after it mails notice, and §209.0092 generally requires a court order before foreclosing an assessment lien, giving an owner a forum to dispute the debt.

Even after a lien exists, the association must notify inferior lienholders and provide a cure opportunity:

"provided the recipient of the notice an opportunity to cure the delinquency before the 61st day after the date the association mails the notice" — §209.0091(a)(2), Tex. Prop. Code

That court order requirement under §209.0092, covered in our foreclosure article, adds judicial oversight before an assessment lien can be foreclosed.

How long is the Texas HOA foreclosure redemption period?

180 days. Under Texas Property Code §209.011(b), the owner or a lienholder of record may redeem the property from the foreclosure-sale purchaser no later than the 180th day after the association mails written notice of the sale under §209.010. A lienholder may not redeem before 90 days after that notice, and only if the owner has not previously redeemed.

Section 209.011(b) lets an owner buy the property back after an assessment-lien foreclosure, and gives a lienholder of record a later, narrower right:

"The owner of property in a residential subdivision or a lienholder of record may redeem the property from any purchaser at a sale foreclosing a property owners' association's assessment lien not later than the 180th day after the date the association mails written notice of the sale to the owner and the lienholder under Section 209.010. 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

The bigger picture

A Texas assessment lien generally clears on payment and release; the notice, cure, and court-order prerequisites create points to contest an improper one; and even after a sale, a 180-day redemption right may apply. Because liens and foreclosures affect title to your home, and the deadlines are strict, a licensed Texas attorney is the appropriate resource. For how liens are created and ranked, see Texas HOA Assessment Liens Explained and lien priority; for enforcement, see Can My HOA Foreclose on My Home in Texas?.

Frequently asked questions

What does it cost to redeem a Texas home after an HOA foreclosure sale?

It depends on who bought the property at the sale. If the association bought it, §209.011(d) requires paying the association the amounts due at the time of the sale, interest, its costs of foreclosing and conveying the property including reasonable attorney's fees, any assessment levied after the sale, other reasonable costs it incurred, and its purchase price less amounts satisfied out of the sale proceeds. If someone else bought it, §209.011(e) splits the payment between the association and that purchaser. Both lists are set out item by item in Can My HOA Foreclose on My Home in Texas?.

What has to happen before the HOA can foreclose?

Texas requires notice and a cure opportunity to inferior lienholders (§209.0091) and, under §209.0092, generally a court order before an assessment-lien foreclosure.

Sources

• Texas Property Code §209.0062 — Alternative Payment Schedule for Certain Assessments
• Texas Property Code §209.0091 — Prerequisites to Foreclosure: Notice and Opportunity to Cure
• Texas Property Code §209.0092 — Judicial Foreclosure Required
• Texas Property Code §209.011 — Right of Redemption After Foreclosure