Maryland HOA Collections & Liens

Section 1: Overview

Maryland enforces assessment liens for both homeowner associations and condominiums primarily through the Maryland Contract Lien Act (MCLA), Md. Code, Real Property § 14-201 et seq. Before any lien attaches, the Act requires a specific pre-lien notice and an opportunity for the owner to dispute the debt.¹ The Condominium Act (Real Property § 11-110) and the Homeowners Association Act (Real Property § 11B-117) each grant a limited priority for up to four months of unpaid regular assessments ahead of a first mortgage.²

The association lien does not arise automatically when an assessment falls due. It comes into existence only when the association records a statement of lien in the county land records — after completing the notice and dispute process — and it takes priority from the date of that filing.³ Maryland's narrow super-priority is capped at four months of regular assessments and a maximum of $1,200, and it applies only against mortgages recorded on or after October 1, 2011.² Foreclosure of the association lien is judicial: it proceeds in the Circuit Court in the same manner as a mortgage or deed of trust under Real Property Title 7 and Maryland Rules Title 14, Chapter 200.⁴

No statute sets a minimum dollar threshold or a minimum delinquency duration before an association may foreclose, though the statute restricts which categories of debt a foreclosure may recover.⁵ Nationally, Maryland holds a middle position: it grants a capped super-priority, but its four-month, $1,200 ceiling is far narrower than Nevada's nine-month super-priority under NRS 116.3116(2)(b),⁶ and it lacks the dollar or time thresholds that gate foreclosure in states such as California, where Civil Code § 5720(b) bars foreclosure unless delinquent regular or special assessments total at least $1,800 or are more than 12 months delinquent.⁷ The sections below detail the lien, its priority, the collection and foreclosure sequence, and recent legislative and judicial activity.

Maryland HOA Collections & Liens at a glance

Source: Md. Code, Real Property §§ 11-110, 11B-117, 14-201 to 14-204; § 7-105.1; Maryland Rules Title 14, Chapter 200. Last verified: June 9, 2026.

Section 2: The lien and its priority

2A. Lien creation, authority, and what it secures

The authority for an association assessment lien in Maryland is contractual in origin but statutory in operation. Both the Condominium Act and the HOA Act direct that associations enforce assessments "by the imposition of a lien" "in accordance with the Maryland Contract Lien Act."¹¹ The recorded declaration or bylaws supply the contract the MCLA requires, but the declaration alone does not create a lien. Maryland's appellate courts have held that a recorded declaration only authorizes the future creation of a lien; the lien itself arises only when the association completes the MCLA process and records a statement of lien.¹² The lien does not attach automatically when an assessment becomes past due.

Under the MCLA, once the notice and dispute steps are satisfied, the association may file the statement of lien in the land records of the county where the property sits. If the owner files no complaint, the statement may be filed 30 days after the owner was served; if the owner did file a complaint, it may be filed 30 days after the court order allowing the lien.³ If the association fails to file within 90 days after that window, it must restart the process.³ The lien takes priority from the date the statement of lien is filed.³ The 12-year clock to foreclose also runs from the date of recordation.¹³

What the lien secures is broader than what a foreclosure may collect. For collection purposes, the lien may secure unpaid assessments together with interest, late charges, costs of collection, and reasonable attorney fees.¹⁰ Condominium assessments not paid when due bear interest at up to 18 percent per year, and the bylaws may impose a one-time late charge of $15 or one-tenth of the delinquent amount — whichever is greater — after a 15-day delinquency.¹⁴ The lien attaches to the unit or lot, and a voluntary grantee can be jointly liable for assessments unpaid as of a recorded statement of lien.¹⁴

2B. Lien priority and any super-priority component

The general rule in Maryland is first in time, first in right, measured by recording date. An association lien recorded after a first mortgage or deed of trust is ordinarily junior to that security interest, and a senior foreclosure can extinguish it.

The exception is the statutory super-priority. When a first mortgage or deed of trust goes to foreclosure, a portion of the association's lien takes priority over that first mortgage or deed of trust — but only if that instrument was recorded on or after October 1, 2011.² That priority portion consists solely of not more than four months of unpaid regular assessments for common expenses, and it may not exceed $1,200.² The priority portion expressly excludes interest, costs of collection, late charges, fines, attorney fees, special assessments, and any other costs. The condominium and HOA provisions are identical on this point. A lender may request written information from the association about the priority portion; if the association fails to respond within 30 days after the statement of lien is filed, the priority portion is lost.²

The super-priority is not a rolling, automatically renewing lien. Maryland's highest court has held that an MCLA lien cannot secure amounts that accrue after the statement of lien is recorded, so an association that wants to secure later delinquencies must record a new statement of lien for each.¹⁵ Liens for state, county, and municipal obligations — and the Columbia Association annual charge in Howard County — retain their own statutory priority and are not affected.²

2C. CC&R interaction, corporate-law overlay, and federal overlay

Recorded covenants, conditions, and restrictions supply the contractual right to assess and to lien, and they may set interest rates, late charges, and acceleration terms within statutory limits. They cannot expand the super-priority beyond the four-month, $1,200 statutory ceiling, cannot make fines foreclosable, and cannot dispense with the MCLA notice and recording process — because those protections exist to satisfy due process.¹²

The limitations period on the underlying assessment debt is separate from the lien-foreclosure period. An action on the assessment debt, as a contract claim, falls under Maryland's general three-year limitations period.¹⁶ An action to foreclose a recorded lien, by contrast, must be brought within 12 years of recordation.¹³

Three federal frameworks operate on top of the Maryland regime. The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act governs third-party collectors and association counsel acting as debt collectors. The automatic stay in bankruptcy halts collection and foreclosure the moment a petition is filed. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protects active-duty servicemembers, and Maryland extends comparable protection to National Guard members on state duty for 14 consecutive days or longer.¹⁷ These federal rules apply regardless of the Maryland framework.

Section 3: The collection and foreclosure process

3A. Pre-lien collection sequence

The statutory pre-lien step — applicable to both condominiums and planned communities through the MCLA — is the written notice of intent to create a lien.¹ The party seeking the lien must give the notice within two years of the breach. The association serves it by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, to the owner's last known address, or by personal delivery; if the owner cannot be reached that way, by mailing to the last known address and posting on the property before a competent witness.¹ The notice must state the name and address of the party seeking the lien, identify the contract and the breach, state the amount due, describe the property, and inform the owner of the right to a hearing.¹

The owner's protection is the right to contest the debt before any lien attaches. Within 30 days after the notice is served, the owner may file a complaint in the Circuit Court for the county where the property sits, asking the court to determine whether probable cause exists to establish the lien.¹ If the owner files such a complaint, the association bears the burden of proof, and the court holds a hearing if one is requested.¹ The earlier notice-and-hearing steps in the Condominium Act were held unconstitutional in the 1980s for lack of due process — which is why the General Assembly built the MCLA process.¹² No statute requires an association to offer a payment plan before recording a lien; payment plans remain a matter of association policy and the governing documents.

3B. Recording and the pre-foreclosure sequence

Recording the statement of lien is the act that creates the lien for both condominiums and planned communities. The association files it in the land records of each county where the property is located, in substantially the statutory form, affirmed under penalty of perjury, stating the amount and that notice was given under § 14-203(a).¹⁸ For a lien claiming super-priority, the statement must also itemize the months and the monthly amount that support the priority portion.¹⁸ Timing is governed by § 14-203(h): the statement may be recorded 30 days after service (if no complaint was filed) or 30 days after the court order (if a complaint was filed), and must be recorded within the following 90 days — or the process restarts.³

Because the lien is foreclosed in the same manner as a deed of trust, the pre-foreclosure notices of the residential mortgage-foreclosure regime apply to both condominiums and planned communities. Under Real Property § 7-105.1 and Maryland Rules Title 14, that includes a notice of intent to foreclose before the action is docketed and a notice of sale mailed to the owner between 10 and 30 days before the sale, plus newspaper publication once a week for three successive weeks.⁸

3C. The foreclosure proceeding itself

An association lien "may be enforced and foreclosed by the party who obtained the lien in the same manner, and subject to the same requirements, as the foreclosure of mortgages or deeds of trust on property in this State containing a power of sale or an assent to a decree."⁴ The association files the action in the Circuit Court for the county where the property sits, following Real Property Title 7 and Maryland Rules Title 14, Chapter 200. A trustee or substitute trustee publishes notice and conducts a public auction.⁸

A statutory limit applies specifically to association foreclosures. A governing body may foreclose only if the damages secured by the lien consist of delinquent periodic or special assessments and any interest, plus reasonable costs and attorney fees directly related to filing the lien that do not exceed the amount of the delinquent assessments excluding interest. The foreclosure may not include fines or the fees and costs of recovering fines.⁵ Fines are not foreclosable, though the association may pursue them by other means. The owner may reinstate by bringing the account current up to one business day before the sale.⁹ After the auction, the trustee files a report of sale, and the court must ratify the sale; the owner may file exceptions to the sale, generally within 30 days after the report of sale is filed.¹⁹

3D. Post-sale: redemption, deficiency, surplus

Maryland recognizes an equitable right of redemption — not a post-sale statutory redemption window. The owner may redeem by paying the full amount owed at any time before the Circuit Court ratifies the sale; once the court ratifies, the equity of redemption is cut off.⁹ Ratification typically follows the sale by several weeks, after the exceptions period runs.

A deficiency judgment is available. Because the association lien is foreclosed like a mortgage, the association may bring suit for any deficiency in the same proceeding, and it may pursue a separate money judgment for unpaid assessments without waiving the lien.²⁰ A motion for a deficiency may be filed within three years after final ratification of the auditor's report.²¹ After ratification, a court-appointed auditor states an account and determines the distribution of the sale proceeds; any surplus remaining after senior liens, the foreclosing lien, and costs is distributed to junior lienholders in order of priority and then to the former owner.¹⁹

Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity

Recent Legislation

Maryland's 2025 session produced one significant measure for HOA and condominium governance. It does not alter the MCLA lien process or the super-priority, but it expands owner protections in ways that bear on disputes arising during collection.

Recent Court Rulings

Maryland's courts have produced two decisions that shape how practitioners approach MCLA liens. The first — from the state's highest court — settles a fundamental question about the scope of a recorded lien. The second, more recent, addresses whether foreclosure actions face a statute of limitations at all.

A more recent decision — Estate of Brown v. Ward, No. 1009, Sept. Term 2023 (Appellate Court of Maryland, 2024) — confirms there is no statute of limitations on foreclosure actions in Maryland. That case involves a deed-of-trust foreclosure rather than an assessment lien, but the principle carries weight.²³

Active Legislative Debates

Recent sessions have focused on reserve-funding mandates and funding plans for condominiums, cooperatives, and HOAs. Those requirements raise assessment levels and feed the delinquencies that drive collections — but no current proposal would alter the MCLA lien process or the four-month, $1,200 super-priority.²⁴

Section 5: National positioning

Maryland holds a middle position on the collections spectrum. It grants a capped super-priority — similar to states adopting the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, under which Nevada and others grant HOA liens true lien priority rather than mere payment priority²⁵ — but its four-month, $1,200 ceiling is modest next to Nevada's nine-month super-priority lien.⁶ Maryland also lacks the dollar-amount and delinquency-duration thresholds that gate foreclosure in states like California and Arizona. Arizona raised its planned-community thresholds in 2025: effective September 26, 2025, Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1807 lets a planned-community HOA foreclose only if the owner has been delinquent for 18 months or owes $10,000 or more — up from one year or $1,200 — while Arizona condominiums under § 33-1256 remain at one year or $1,200.²⁶

Unlike states with no dedicated assessment-collection statute that leave associations to enforce recorded covenants alone, Maryland channels every association lien through one statutory process — the MCLA — with a mandatory pre-lien notice, a dispute window, and recording before attachment. For a multi-state operator, the practical lesson is clear: a collection sequence or notice valid in one state can be defective or time-barred in another. Maryland's two-year notice deadline, 30-day dispute window, recording-based attachment, and 12-year foreclosure period do not match the timelines elsewhere. Maryland's current direction of travel is toward tighter owner protections and stronger enforcement of the governing acts — not expanded lien remedies.

1. Md. Code, Real Property § 14-203 (Maryland Contract Lien Act — creation of lien; notice, content, service, and 30-day complaint window) ↩
2. Md. Code, Real Property §§ 11-110(f) and 11B-117(c) (four-month, $1,200 super-priority over first mortgage or deed of trust recorded on or after October 1, 2011; exclusions; lender-information requirement) ↩
3. Md. Code, Real Property § 14-203(h) (statement of lien may be filed 30 days after service or court order; 90-day filing window; lien has priority from date statement is filed) ↩
4. Md. Code, Real Property § 14-204(a) (lien enforced and foreclosed in the same manner as a mortgage or deed of trust); Real Property Title 7 and Maryland Rules Title 14, Chapter 200 ↩
5. Md. Code, Real Property § 14-204(d)(2) (a governing body may foreclose only on delinquent periodic or special assessments and interest, plus filing-related costs and fees not exceeding the delinquent assessments; fines and fine-recovery fees excluded) ↩
6. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 116.3116(2)(b) (2024) (nine-month super-priority lien covering assessments "which would have become due in the absence of acceleration during the 9 months immediately preceding the date on which the notice of default and election to sell is recorded") ↩
7. Cal. Civ. Code § 5720(b) (no foreclosure unless delinquent regular or special assessments total at least $1,800, excluding accelerated assessments, late charges, fees, costs of collection, attorney fees, and interest, or are more than 12 months delinquent) ↩
8. Md. Code, Real Property § 7-105.1 and Maryland Rules Title 14, Chapter 200 (notice of intent to foreclose; notice of sale mailed 10 to 30 days before sale; newspaper publication; trustee sale) ↩
9. Md. Code, Real Property § 7-105.1 (right to reinstate up to one business day before sale; equity of redemption until court ratifies the sale) ↩
10. Md. Code, Real Property § 11-110(d) (assessments, interest, late charges, costs of collection, and reasonable attorney fees enforceable by lien); compare § 14-204(d)(2) (categories foreclosable) ↩
11. Md. Code, Real Property §§ 11-110(d) and 11B-117(b) (assessments enforced by imposition of a lien in accordance with the Maryland Contract Lien Act) ↩
12. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. v. Saddlebrook West Utility Co., LLC, 455 Md. 313 (2017) (a recorded declaration does not itself create a lien; the lien arises only after the Maryland Contract Lien Act procedures are followed and a statement of lien is recorded) ↩
13. Md. Code, Real Property § 14-204(c) (an action to foreclose a lien must be brought within 12 years following recordation of the statement of lien) ↩
14. Md. Code, Real Property § 11-110(e) (interest up to 18 percent per year; one-time late charge of $15 or one-tenth of the delinquent amount after 15 calendar days) and § 11-110(c) (grantee joint liability for assessments unpaid as of a recorded statement of lien) ↩
15. In re Walker, 473 Md. 68, 248 A.3d 981 (2021) (an MCLA lien cannot secure damages, costs, late charges, or attorney fees accruing after recordation; no continuing lien) ↩
16. Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 5-101 (general three-year limitations period for civil actions) ↩
17. Md. Code, Public Safety § 13-704 (extending Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protections to National Guard members ordered to state duty for 14 consecutive days or longer) ↩
18. Md. Code, Real Property § 14-203(j) (form of statement of lien; affirmation under penalty of perjury; for super-priority liens, itemization of months and monthly amount) ↩
19. Maryland Rule 14-305 (procedure following sale; report of sale; exceptions generally within 30 days after the report of sale is filed; ratification; auditor's account) ↩
20. Md. Code, Real Property §§ 14-204(b) and 11-110(d)(2) (suit for deficiency in the same proceeding; separate money judgment for unpaid assessments without waiving the lien) ↩
21. Md. Code, Real Property § 7-105.17 and Maryland Rule 14-216 (motion for deficiency judgment within three years after final ratification of the auditor's report) ↩
22. 2025 Md. Laws ch. 512 (Senate Bill 758 / House Bill 1534), Condominiums and Homeowners Associations – Elections, Financial Statements, and Enforcement; effective October 1, 2025; amending Real Property §§ 11-109, 11-116, 11-130, 11B-112, 11B-115, 11B-118 ↩
23. Estate of Brown v. Ward, No. 1009, Sept. Term 2023 (Appellate Court of Maryland, 2024) (no statute of limitations applicable to foreclosure actions in Maryland; deed-of-trust foreclosure) ↩
24. 2025 Md. Laws (Senate Bill 63 / House Bill 292), Cooperative Housing Corporations, Condominiums, and Homeowners Associations – Funding of Reserve Accounts and Preparation of Funding Plans ↩
25. SFR Invs. Pool 1, LLC v. U.S. Bank, N.A., 334 P.3d 408, 410 (Nev. 2014) (en banc) (Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act super-priority is true lien priority, not mere payment priority) ↩
26. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 33-1807 (planned communities; thresholds raised by 2025 Ariz. SB 1494, effective September 26, 2025, to 18 months delinquent or $10,000) and § 33-1256 (condominiums; one year or $1,200) ↩