Section 1: Overview

Nebraska sets no statutory percentage cap on assessment increases. For condominiums, the executive board adopts the budget, and that budget takes effect — ratified by default — unless a majority of all association votes reject it at a ratification meeting. For non-condominium homeowners associations, the declaration drives assessment authority, backed by a statutory assessment lien.

Condominiums built after January 1, 1984 fall under the Nebraska Condominium Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 76-825 to 76-894; the budget ratification mechanism sits at Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-861(c).¹ Regular increases move through board adoption and then take effect automatically unless owners vote them down — no numeric ceiling in the statute applies.² Special assessments follow the same framework for condominiums; for non-condominium associations, the statutory homeowners' association lien in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 52-2001 governs collection of unpaid assessments.³

On the national spectrum, Nebraska stands apart from statutory-cap states like California, which limits regular and special increases by percentage. Nebraska condominiums belong to the ratification-mechanism camp — an owner veto controls increases — while non-condominium associations operate as declaration-driven communities. The sections below walk through the authority to levy, limits on increases, lien and statement rules, procedures in practice, recent legislative and judicial activity, and where Nebraska stands relative to other states.

1. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-861 (Neb. Legislature, Executive board; powers and duties; budget ratification) ↩
2. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-825 (Neb. Legislature, Nebraska Condominium Act, how cited) ↩
3. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 52-2001 (Neb. Legislature, Homeowners' association lien; foreclosure; furnish statement) ↩
4. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-860 (Neb. Legislature, Unit owners association; powers) ↩
5. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-873 (Neb. Legislature, Assessment for common expenses) ↩
6. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-844 (Neb. Legislature, Allocation of common elements, expenses, and votes) ↩
7. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-861 (Neb. Legislature, Executive board; powers and duties; budget ratification) ↩
8. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-861(c) (Neb. Legislature, Budget ratification by rejection; quorum irrelevant to ratification) ↩
9. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-861(c) (Neb. Legislature, Continuation of last-ratified budget upon rejection) ↩
10. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-873 (Neb. Legislature, Assessment for common expenses; misconduct and limited-common-element allocations) ↩
11. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-874 (Neb. Legislature, Lien for assessments; foreclosure like a mortgage) ↩
12. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-874 (Neb. Legislature, Three-year enforcement window; ten-business-day statement requirement) ↩
13. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 52-2001 (Neb. Legislature, Homeowners' association lien; foreclosure like a mortgage) ↩
14. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 52-2001 (Neb. Legislature, Three-year enforcement window; ten-business-day statement; binding effect on board and members) ↩
15. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-861(c) (Neb. Legislature, Budget adoption, summary mailing, and ratification meeting procedure) ↩
16. Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 76-860, 76-873 (Neb. Legislature, Budget and assessment authority governing special assessments) ↩
17. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-861(c) (Neb. Legislature, Ratification-by-rejection as the operative mechanism in lieu of a percentage cap) ↩
18. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-874(g) (Neb. Legislature, Ten-business-day statement requirement; notice obligations under § 76-861(c)) ↩
19. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 52-2001 (Neb. Legislature, Statement of unpaid assessments on written request; ten-business-day response) ↩
20. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-861 (Neb. Legislature, Last amended by Laws 2020, LB808, § 47) ↩
21. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-874 (Neb. Legislature, Last amended by Laws 2013, LB442, § 5) ↩
22. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 52-2001 (Neb. Legislature, Last amended by Laws 2013, LB442, § 1) ↩
23. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-873 (Neb. Legislature, Unamended since Laws 1983, LB433, § 49) ↩
24. Twin Towers Condo. Assn. v. Bel Fury Invest. Group, 290 Neb. 329, 860 N.W.2d 147 (Neb. 2015) (annotation under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-874; foreclosure without prior personal judgment) ↩
25. Hillsborough Homeowners Assn. v. Karnish, 33 Neb. App. 228 (Neb. Ct. App. Oct. 8, 2024) ↩
26. LB1094, 109th Leg., 2d Sess. (Neb. 2026) (By-Right Housing Development Act and Permitting Approval Timeliness Act) ↩
27. Cal. Civ. Code § 5605 (Cal. Legislature, Assessment increases; requirements and limitations) ↩