Kentucky HOA Collections & Liens
Section 1: Overview
Kentucky runs its community association collections through three distinct frameworks, and the organizing principle is straightforward: what type of community, and when was it created. None of the three gives an association super-priority over a first mortgage. Condominiums created on or after January 1, 2011 fall under the Kentucky Condominium Act (KRS 381.9101 to 381.9207), a framework rooted in the 1980 Uniform Condominium Act — not the later Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act. Condominium regimes created before that date remain under the Horizontal Property Law (KRS 381.805 to 381.910), which dates to the 1960s. Planned communities — non-condominium HOAs — had no comprehensive statute until the 2023 Planned Community Act (KRS 381.785 to 381.801) took effect on June 29, 2023.
Under the Condominium Act, the assessment lien arises automatically the moment an assessment or fine becomes due. Recording the declaration supplies the record notice — no separate filing against each delinquent owner required. Under the Planned Community Act, a continuing lien attaches to any amount still unpaid 30 days after it comes due, but the association must record the lien to fix its priority. Under the Horizontal Property Law, the lien attaches to a unit for its unpaid share of common expenses.
In every framework, the association lien sits behind any mortgage or encumbrance recorded before the association lien arose — or, for condominiums, recorded before the assessment went delinquent. That gives associations meaningful but limited leverage. Every foreclosure runs through the courts: the association files in Circuit Court, and a county master commissioner conducts the sale. No statute sets a minimum dollar amount or a minimum number of months of delinquency before foreclosure, and no statute requires a payment plan or pre-suit mediation. On the national spectrum, Kentucky belongs to the group of states that adopted the uniform-act condominium structure but declined the super-priority lien. The mechanics below differ by community type, and each row identifies which scheme applies.
Kentucky HOA Collections & Liens at a glance
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Governing collections statute(s) |
Condominiums (post-2011): Kentucky Condominium Act, KRS 381.9193.1 Condominiums (pre-2011): Horizontal Property Law, KRS 381.883.2 Planned communities: Planned Community Act, KRS 381.799.3 |
| Lien arises |
Condominiums (post-2011): automatically when the assessment or fine becomes due; declaration recording is record notice.1 Planned communities: on amounts unpaid 30 days after due; recording required for priority.3 Pre-2011 condominiums: on the unit for unpaid common expenses.2 |
| Super-priority over first mortgage | None, all three schemes.1,2,3 |
| Lien priority (general rule) |
Condominiums (post-2011): prior to all liens except liens/encumbrances recorded before the declaration and a mortgage recorded before the assessment became delinquent.1 Planned communities: prior to all liens except tax/governmental liens and any mortgage or encumbrance recorded before the association lien was recorded.3 Pre-2011 condominiums: prior to all liens except government tax liens and sums unpaid on first mortgages of record.2 |
| Minimum debt before foreclosure | None set by statute (all schemes).1 |
| Minimum delinquency duration before foreclosure | None set by statute; planned-community lien attaches at 30 days past due.3 |
| Foreclosure type | Judicial, Circuit Court, master commissioner sale (all schemes).1,2 |
| Pre-lien notice required | Condominiums and pre-2011 condominiums: none specified by the lien statute. Planned communities: written notice and opportunity to be heard before imposing fines, damages, or individual assessments.3 |
| Pre-foreclosure notice required | Governed by general judicial-foreclosure procedure and the governing documents; no association-specific statutory pre-foreclosure notice.1 |
| Mandatory payment-plan offer | None (all schemes).1 |
| Board vote required to foreclose | Not required by statute; governing documents may impose one.3 |
| Redemption period after sale | Six months under KRS 426.530, only if the sale brings less than two-thirds of appraised value.4 |
| Recoverable in the lien |
Condominiums (post-2011): assessments, fines, fees, charges, late charges, reasonable collection costs, attorney fees, and interest.1 Planned communities: assessments, special assessments, interest, fines, administrative late fees, enforcement assessments, collection costs, reasonable attorney fees.3 Pre-2011 condominiums: unpaid share of common expenses (and insurance premiums).2 |
| Fines foreclosable | Condominiums (post-2011) and planned communities: yes, fines are secured by the lien. Pre-2011 condominiums: the lien statute reaches common expenses, not fines.1,2,3 |
| Applies to | Condominiums by recording date (Condominium Act post-2011; Horizontal Property Law pre-2011) and planned communities under the 2023 Act.5,6 |
Source: Kentucky Revised Statutes (legislature.ky.gov), KRS 381.9193, 381.883, 381.799, 426.530; 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23 (SB 120).
Section 2: The lien and its priority
2A. Lien creation, authority, and what it secures
For condominiums created on or after January 1, 2011, KRS 381.9193(1) gives the association a lien on a unit the moment an assessment or fine becomes due — no separate filing required. When an assessment is payable in installments, the full amount of the assessment is secured from the time the first installment comes due. The lien also covers fees, charges, late charges, reasonable collection costs, attorney fees, fines, and interest. Recording the declaration constitutes record notice of the lien, so the association does not need to file a separate notice against each delinquent unit. Because KRS 381.9103(2) makes KRS 381.9193 applicable to pre-2011 condominiums for events occurring after January 1, 2011, this rule also reaches many older regimes. This is a Condominium Act provision.
For planned communities, KRS 381.799 (Section 15 of the 2023 Act) gives the association a continuing lien for nonpayment of any assessment, special assessment, or charge levied under Section 13, together with related interest, fines, administrative late fees, enforcement assessments, collection costs, and reasonable attorney fees — any portion that remains unpaid 30 days after it came due. The component charges, including fines and the cost of enforcing the declaration, are set out in the Act's companion assessment provision. Before imposing a fine, damages, or an individual assessment, the board must give the owner written notice and an opportunity to be heard. This is a Planned Community Act provision.
For pre-2011 condominium regimes that remain under the Horizontal Property Law, KRS 381.883 provides that sums assessed by the council of co-owners but unpaid for a unit's share of the common expenses constitute a lien on that unit. KRS 381.885 treats insurance premiums as common expenses enforceable under the same lien right. This is a Horizontal Property Law (legacy) provision.
2B. Lien priority and any super-priority component
Kentucky grants no super-priority in any of its three schemes — and that is the single most consequential fact for lenders, title insurers, and association counsel. Under KRS 381.9193(2), the condominium lien takes priority over all other liens and encumbrances on a unit except liens and encumbrances recorded before the declaration was recorded, and a mortgage on the unit recorded before the date on which the enforced assessment became delinquent. There is no carve-out giving the association even a few months of assessments ahead of a first mortgage. Kentucky adopted the 1980 Uniform Condominium Act framework but omitted the optional limited super-priority that the uniform drafters offered, placing it among the states that took the uniform structure without the priority split.
The Planned Community Act follows the same subordinate pattern. KRS 381.799(2) makes a properly recorded association lien prior to other liens except tax and governmental liens (including local-government liens filed under KRS 65.8835) and any mortgage, lien, or encumbrance recorded before the association lien was recorded. Recording is the operative act for planned-community priority, in contrast to the condominium scheme, where declaration recording supplies the notice. The Horizontal Property Law reaches the same result by different language: KRS 381.883 makes the lien prior to all other liens except government tax liens and all sums unpaid on first mortgages of record. (KRS 381.837(3) permits a master deed for certain non-residential regimes to subordinate a mortgage lien to the assessment lien by agreement, but the default rule keeps the assessment lien behind a first mortgage.)
2C. CC&R interaction, corporate-law overlay, and federal overlay
In every Kentucky community, the recorded declaration or CC&Rs is the primary source of collection authority. The statutes supplement those documents — they do not replace them. For planned communities formed before June 29, 2023, the recorded covenants and the corporate framework carry most of the weight, because the 2023 Act does not invalidate provisions already in a recorded declaration and, by its terms, applies its formation requirements only to communities formed after the effective date. Most Kentucky associations are organized as nonprofit corporations under KRS Chapter 273, which supplies the corporate formalities — board authority, meetings, records, and director standards — that govern how a board authorizes and pursues collection. Steps grounded only in the declaration or corporate bylaws, rather than in a lien statute, are contractual or corporate in nature and should be treated as such.
Three federal overlays apply regardless of community type. The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act can govern third-party collectors and law firms pursuing association debts, imposing notice, validation, and conduct requirements. The automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 halts collection and foreclosure the moment an owner files bankruptcy, and continued action without relief from the stay risks sanctions. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act restricts default judgments and can stay or adjust enforcement against active-duty servicemembers. These federal rules operate on top of Kentucky's statutes and apply across all states.
Section 3: The collection and foreclosure process
3A. Pre-lien collection sequence
Collection starts with internal, contractual steps: invoices, late notices, and demand letters sent under the schedule in the governing documents. For planned communities, the statute adds one mandatory pre-charge step that applies to fines, damages, and individual assessments: the Planned Community Act requires written notice and an opportunity to be heard before the board imposes such a charge. For condominiums under either the Condominium Act or the Horizontal Property Law, the lien statutes impose no specific pre-lien notice, so the demand sequence is contractual and driven by the declaration. A planned-community board may also deny a delinquent owner access to common areas — but it cannot block access to a road that provides direct access to the owner's lot.
3B. Recording and the pre-foreclosure sequence
For condominiums, no separate lien recording is required because the recorded declaration provides record notice under KRS 381.9193(4). Associations sometimes record a notice of lien anyway for clarity in the chain of title — a contractual or precautionary step, not a statutory prerequisite. For planned communities, recording the lien is a substantive step that fixes the priority date under KRS 381.799(2). On written request, a condominium association must furnish a statement of the unpaid amount within ten business days, which matters at closings and payoffs. Beyond that, the pre-foreclosure sequence tracks Kentucky's general judicial-foreclosure procedure rather than any association-specific statute.
3C. Foreclosure mechanics and thresholds
Each lien statute routes enforcement through judicial foreclosure. KRS 381.9193(1) states that the condominium lien may be foreclosed in like manner as a mortgage on real estate, and KRS 381.883 provides that the Horizontal Property Law lien may be enforced by suit in like manner as a mortgage of real property — with the association entitled to seek appointment of a receiver to collect rents and able to bid at the court sale. The Planned Community Act lien is valid and releasable in the same manner as a mortgage, and enforcement proceeds judicially through the recorded lien. The action is filed in Circuit Court, and after judgment the property is appraised by two appraisers and sold by the county master commissioner. No Kentucky association statute sets a minimum delinquent dollar amount, a minimum number of months delinquent, or a board-vote requirement as a precondition to foreclosure — unlike several other states.
3D. Post-sale: redemption, deficiency, surplus, reinstatement
After the master commissioner sale, the central post-sale right is statutory redemption under KRS 426.530. If the property sells for less than two-thirds of its appraised value, the former owner or the owner's representatives may redeem within six months of the sale by paying the purchase price plus ten percent annual interest and the purchaser's reasonable post-sale costs — which the statute lists as utilities, insurance, association fees, taxes, and the cost of meeting local nuisance-code minimums. If the sale brings two-thirds or more of appraised value, no redemption right arises. Because KRS 426.530 applies to any sale made under a court judgment or order other than an execution, it reaches association lien foreclosures, which are judicial. This redemption right applies to both condominiums and planned communities. Sale proceeds distribute by priority, so the association lien is paid only after any senior mortgage and tax liens are satisfied, and any surplus passes down the priority chain. A money judgment for unpaid common expenses may be pursued separately without waiving the lien under the Horizontal Property Law, and any deficiency remaining after sale is subject to Kentucky's general judgment-collection rules.
Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity
Recent Legislation
Two bills in the past 24 months amended the planned-community chapter, but neither changed assessment-lien priority, recording requirements, or foreclosure mechanics.
HB 472 · 2024 Ky. Acts ch. 150 · 2024 Regular Session
HB 472 created KRS 381.803, giving a city the ability to petition a court to appoint a receiver for a planned community that fails to maintain its infrastructure or common areas. The receiver can impose and collect fees, and the city can recover its costs. The bill did not alter assessment-lien priority, the recording rules, or foreclosure procedure.7
| Property managers | City-initiated receivership can disrupt management continuity in failing communities; document all infrastructure maintenance work to demonstrate ongoing compliance. |
| HOA board members | Deferred infrastructure maintenance in a planned community now carries the risk of city-initiated court receivership under KRS 381.803 — a separate exposure from assessment enforcement. |
| Community association attorneys | Advise clients that KRS 381.803 gives municipalities a direct path to petition for a receiver; proactive maintenance planning is the clearest way to keep that risk off the table. |
| Homeowners | If your community falls behind on infrastructure upkeep, the city — not just the association — now has standing to ask a court for outside management oversight. |
HB 27 · 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 32 · 2025 Regular Session
HB 27 amended the Planned Community Act's political-yard-sign provision and is unrelated to assessment collection, liens, or foreclosure.8
| Property managers | Review any form enforcement letters or template violation notices that reference sign restrictions; the Planned Community Act's political-sign provision changed. |
| HOA board members | Audit existing sign rules against the amended language; enforcing outdated provisions could expose the board to challenge. |
| Community association attorneys | Update governing-document templates and enforcement checklists to reflect the revised political-sign language in the Planned Community Act. |
| Homeowners | Your right to display political yard signs in a planned community now follows the amended language in the 2023 Act as updated by HB 27. |
Recent Court Rulings
No published Kentucky appellate decision in the past 36 months squarely addresses the assessment-lien priority provisions of the Condominium Act, the Horizontal Property Law, or the 2023 Planned Community Act. The most recent association case the record shows is Saturday v. Ashwood Townhouses of Laredo Association, Inc.
Saturday v. Ashwood Townhouses of Laredo Association, Inc.
A unit owner's consolidated appeals against his homeowners' association, arising from Fayette Circuit Court, came before a panel led by Judge McNeill, with Judges Eckerle and Goodwine concurring. The panel unanimously affirmed the outcome in favor of the association. Because the opinion carries a Not To Be Published designation, it is non-binding under Kentucky Rule of Civil Procedure 76.28(4)(c) and may be cited only as that rule permits. The specific substantive ground regarding assessments or lien enforcement could not be confirmed from the public record.9
| Property managers | No new appellate rule changes current collection practice; continue following documented procedures under the governing documents and applicable statute. |
| HOA board members | Consistent, well-documented collection procedure remains the strongest protection in any contested foreclosure or collection action. |
| Community association attorneys | Cite the lien statutes directly for priority arguments; this unpublished opinion is non-binding under CR 76.28(4)(c) and establishes no priority-rule precedent. |
| Homeowners | Procedural compliance by the association remains a common contested issue and a viable defense in collection actions. |
Active Legislative Debates
Recent General Assembly activity has centered on planned-community governance — receivership for failing communities and political-sign rights — not on assessment collection or lien priority. No measure to add a super-priority lien or alter the master commissioner sale has moved forward.
Section 5: National positioning and related coverage
On the national spectrum of association lien priority, Kentucky sits firmly on the lender-protective end. Nevada grants true nine-month super-priority under NRS 116.3116(2), and the Nevada Supreme Court in SFR Investments Pool 1 v. U.S. Bank, 334 P.3d 408 (Nev. 2014) (en banc) held that priority to be genuine lien priority — not merely payment priority — capable of extinguishing a previously recorded first deed of trust. Connecticut gives a nine-month priority under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-258(b), raised from six to nine months by Public Act 13-156 in 2013, covering the common-expense assessments that would have come due in the nine months before the enforcement action. Other UCIOA states — including Colorado, Minnesota, and Vermont — maintain a limited priority portion. Kentucky, by contrast, took the uniform condominium structure without the super-priority and keeps every association lien behind an earlier-recorded mortgage.
Kentucky also differs from threshold-restricted states. California bars foreclosure under Cal. Civ. Code § 5720(b) until the assessment debt (excluding accelerated assessments, late charges, fees, collection costs, attorney fees, or interest) reaches $1,800 or is more than 12 months delinquent, and requires a board vote and alternative dispute resolution. Arizona, after SB 1494 took effect on September 26, 2025, now bars planned-community foreclosure under A.R.S. § 33-1807(A) unless the owner has been delinquent for 18 months or owes $10,000 or more, whichever comes first — Arizona condominiums under A.R.S. § 33-1256 remain at $1,200 or one year. Colorado conditions foreclosure on six months of delinquency. Kentucky sets none of those minimums, and like other judicial-only states, it channels every association sale through court. For planned communities formed before mid-2023, Kentucky still resembles a CC&R-primary state, where collection rests mainly on recorded covenants and nonprofit corporate law.
Recommendations
- Before any collection action, confirm which statute governs. Pull the recorded declaration and its date. Post-2011 condominiums use KRS 381.9193; pre-2011 condominium regimes use KRS 381.883 (with KRS 381.9193 reaching post-2011 events); planned communities formed after June 29, 2023 use KRS 381.799, and earlier planned communities rely mainly on their CC&Rs and KRS Chapter 273. Misidentifying the scheme is the most common source of defective notice and lien filings.
- Do not assume any priority over a first mortgage. Underwrite every payoff and foreclosure decision on the premise that the association lien is junior to an earlier-recorded mortgage. If a senior mortgage forecloses, the association generally recovers only from surplus, so act early while equity remains.
- For planned communities, record the lien. Recording fixes the priority date under KRS 381.799(2). For condominiums, recording a notice of lien is optional but useful for title clarity. Always provide the statutory written notice and opportunity to be heard before imposing planned-community fines or individual assessments.
- Calendar the limitation period. Bring condominium lien-enforcement actions within the Condominium Act's five-year window after the full amount becomes due; treat the underlying written-contract assessment obligation under the 15-year limitation in KRS 413.090(2) as a backstop, but do not let the shorter lien-enforcement period lapse.
- Factor the redemption risk into your bid. When the association or an investor bids at a master commissioner sale, a bid below two-thirds of appraised value opens a six-month KRS 426.530 redemption window; bidding at or above two-thirds closes it. Notice generators and payoff letters should flag the redemption period as conditional on the two-thirds appraisal test — not automatic.
- Track these benchmarks for changes: a Kentucky General Assembly bill adding a super-priority lien or a foreclosure threshold; a published Court of Appeals or Supreme Court opinion construing KRS 381.9193(2), 381.883, or 381.799 priority; or any amendment to KRS 426.530. None had occurred as of June 9, 2026.
Caveats
- Kentucky's official statute pages on legislature.ky.gov returned non-text (binary) responses to automated retrieval; the statutory language reported here was cross-verified against multiple reproductions of the official text and the enacted 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23 PDF, but readers relying on exact day-counts and dollar figures should pull directly from the official Legislative Research Commission statute pages cited in the footnotes.
- The substantive holding in Saturday v. Ashwood Townhouses of Laredo Association, Inc. could not be confirmed because the full opinion was not retrievable from public sources; only the disposition — an affirmance for the association, designated Not To Be Published — is verified from the court's official November 8, 2024 minutes. Do not rely on it as a priority-rule precedent.
- The legislative review located the two enacted bills affecting KRS Chapter 381 in 2024 to 2026 and found no enactment changing lien priority, the master commissioner sale, or KRS 426.530 redemption; a complete review of introduced-but-failed bills was not performed.
- National comparison figures change frequently. Arizona's planned-community threshold rose to 18 months or $10,000 effective September 26, 2025 — a reminder that other states' thresholds need independent verification before reuse.
Footnotes
- Ky. Rev. Stat. § 381.9193, Lien for assessments (Kentucky Condominium Act), legislature.ky.gov ↩
- Ky. Rev. Stat. § 381.883, Lien for unpaid assessments; Foreclosure; Suit (Horizontal Property Law), legislature.ky.gov ↩
- 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 23 (SB 120), Planned Community Act, Sections 13 and 15 (codified at KRS 381.785 to 381.801), legislature.ky.gov ↩
- Ky. Rev. Stat. § 426.530, Right of redemption, legislature.ky.gov ↩
- Ky. Rev. Stat. ch. 381, including §§ 381.9101 (short title) and 381.9103 (applicability), legislature.ky.gov ↩
- Ky. Rev. Stat. § 381.786, Planned communities subject to KRS 381.785 to 381.801 (eff. June 29, 2023), legislature.ky.gov ↩
- 2024 Regular Session HB 472 legislative record, 2024 Ky. Acts ch. 150, legislature.ky.gov ↩
- 2025 Regular Session HB 27 legislative record, 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 32, legislature.ky.gov ↩
- Kentucky Court of Appeals, Minutes of November 8, 2024, Saturday v. Ashwood Townhouses of Laredo Association, Inc., No. 2023-CA-0541-MR (consolidated), kycourts.net ↩