Washington HOA Foreclosure

Overview

Washington runs its community associations under four parallel statutes. Which one governs any particular HOA depends almost entirely on when that community was created. The Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act—WUCIOA, at RCW 64.90—took effect July 1, 2018 and brought Washington into the Uniform Law Commission's Common Interest Ownership Act framework, a structure it shares with nine other states, including Alaska. Three older statutes remain in force alongside it: the Washington Condominium Act (RCW 64.34) covers condominiums formed between July 1, 1990 and June 30, 2018; the Horizontal Property Regimes Act (RCW 64.32) covers condominiums formed before July 1, 1990; and the Homeowners' Associations chapter (RCW 64.38) covers non-condominium associations formed before July 1, 2018, with several WUCIOA provisions now reaching all of them.^1,2,3,4,5

For post-2018 communities and 1990–2018 condominiums, the association lien carries a six-month super-priority over a prior recorded first mortgage—measured by the most recent six months of common-expense assessments under RCW 64.90.485 and RCW 64.34.364 respectively.^1,2 Foreclosure of the assessment lien may proceed judicially as a civil action ending in a sheriff's sale, or non-judicially under RCW 61.24 where the declaration grants a power of sale—but proceeding non-judicially forfeits the super-priority.^1,2,6 Federal overlays apply, including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act as construed in Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, and the bankruptcy automatic stay.⁷ The sections below lay out the statutory framework, the procedural sequence, recent legislative and judicial activity, and Washington's national position.

The statutory framework

The layered statutory structure

Washington does not have a single common interest community statute. Four chapters apply by creation date and community type. WUCIOA, RCW 64.90, took effect July 1, 2018 and adopts the Uniform Law Commission's Common Interest Ownership Act—a framework Washington shares with nine other states, including Alaska, according to the Washington State Law Library.³ It applies in full to condominiums, plat and other planned communities, and cooperatives created on or after July 1, 2018, and to older communities that opt in by amending their declaration.³ The Washington Condominium Act, RCW 64.34, is based on the 1980 Uniform Condominium Act and governs condominiums created on or after July 1, 1990 and before July 1, 2018.² The Horizontal Property Regimes Act, RCW 64.32, governs condominiums created before July 1, 1990.⁵ The Homeowners' Associations chapter, RCW 64.38, enacted in 1995, governs non-condominium associations (plat and planned communities) created before July 1, 2018.⁴ WUCIOA is the 2008-era amended UCIOA framework—practitioners must not conflate it with the older 1980-UCA-based Washington Condominium Act; the two differ materially on insurance, reserves, lien components, and owner protections.^2,3

The layering is not airtight. Several WUCIOA provisions reach back to pre-2018 communities. Under RCW 64.90.080, the budget-ratification and reserve provisions of RCW 64.90.525 and 64.90.545, the election provision in RCW 64.90.095, and parts of RCW 64.90.405 apply to communities created before July 1, 2018; and RCW 64.90.095 and 64.90.525 supersede inconsistent governing-document provisions of plat and miscellaneous communities previously subject to RCW 64.38.³ Two later bills extended this reach further. ESSB 5129 (Chapter 119, Laws of 2025) brought additional WUCIOA governance provisions—including open-meeting rules under RCW 64.90.445, a no-fee payment-method requirement, and electric-vehicle and heat-pump provisions—into force for all communities effective January 1, 2026.⁸ ESSB 5796 (Chapter 321, Laws of 2024), the "WUCIOA for All" bill, repeals RCW 64.32, 64.34, 64.38, and the Land Development Act effective January 1, 2028, after which WUCIOA governs every Washington common interest community.⁹ Until that date, an older condominium remains governed primarily by the act in force at its creation, overlaid by the WUCIOA provisions that apply by statute. The practical takeaway for any foreclosure file: identify the governing act by creation date and community type before taking any lien or notice step.

Liens and the six-month super-priority

Under WUCIOA, the association holds a statutory lien on each unit from the time an assessment is due, and recording of the declaration perfects that lien without any further recording (RCW 64.90.485(1), (8)).¹ The lien carries a super-priority over a prior recorded first mortgage to the extent of the common-expense assessments—excluding capital improvements—that would have come due during the six months immediately preceding institution of foreclosure proceedings, plus the association's actual costs and reasonable attorneys' fees in foreclosing, capped at the lesser of $2,000 or the six-month assessment amount (RCW 64.90.485(3)).¹ Fines, late charges, interest, collection charges, and fees for services unrelated to the foreclosure fall outside the priority amount.¹

The Washington Condominium Act mirrors this structure in RCW 64.34.364(3), measuring the six months back from a sheriff's sale, a mortgagee's trustee's sale, or a declaration of forfeiture; under RCW 64.34.364(4) the priority can be reduced by up to three months if a mortgagee requested a delinquency notice and the association failed to provide it.² RCW 64.38 confers no statutory super-priority: the HOA lien arises only "if the governing documents of an association provide for a lien," so its existence and priority turn entirely on the declaration rather than the statute.⁴ A critical limitation applies across both condominium acts: if the association forecloses its lien non-judicially under RCW 61.24, it forfeits the super-priority entirely and becomes subject to the deficiency limits of the Deeds of Trust Act (RCW 64.90.485(6); RCW 64.34.364(5)).^1,2 The super-priority therefore operates principally when a lender forecloses or when the association proceeds judicially.

Foreclosure, redemption, and federal overlays

Washington is predominantly a non-judicial foreclosure state for deeds of trust under RCW 61.24, and associations may enforce assessment liens either judicially or non-judicially. Non-judicial enforcement requires a notice of default followed by a notice of trustee's sale that is recorded, mailed, served, and published, with the sale occurring no sooner than 120 days after the notice of sale under RCW 61.24.040.⁶ Judicial foreclosure of the assessment lien proceeds as a civil action in Superior Court under RCW 61.12, ending in a sheriff's sale.¹

Redemption rights diverge sharply between the two tracks. After a non-judicial trustee's sale, no right of redemption exists and the trustee's deed is final (RCW 61.24.050(1)).¹⁰ After a judicial foreclosure, the statutory redemption period under RCW 6.23.020 is generally one year, reduced to eight months where the property is not principally agricultural, the instrument so declares, and the creditor expressly waives any deficiency; both condominium acts confirm an eight-month period on an express deficiency waiver in the complaint.^1,2,11

On the federal side, the FDCPA (15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq.) governs third-party collectors, and Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, 139 S. Ct. 1029 (2019), held that an entity engaged solely in non-judicial security-interest enforcement is not a "debt collector" for most purposes except 15 U.S.C. § 1692f(6), while broader obligations attach if the entity also collects.⁷ The Washington Consumer Protection Act (RCW 19.86) and Collection Agency Act (RCW 19.16) apply to collection conduct, the SCRA (50 U.S.C. § 3901 et seq.) stays action against active-duty servicemembers, and the bankruptcy automatic stay (11 U.S.C. § 362) halts foreclosure activity on an owner's filing.

The Washington HOA foreclosure procedural sequence

Lien establishment and recording

The lien's source depends on the governing act. For communities created on or after July 1, 2018, RCW 64.90.485(1) creates a statutory lien from the time the assessment is due, and recording of the declaration perfects it; no separate claim of lien need be recorded, though one is permitted (RCW 64.90.485(8)).¹ For condominiums created between July 1, 1990 and June 30, 2018, RCW 64.34.364(1) operates identically, with the declaration's recording serving as perfection.² For pre-1990 condominiums, RCW 64.32 supplies the lien, and for pre-2018 non-condominium HOAs, the lien exists only where the declaration provides for one, with RCW 64.38.100 supplying the notice mechanics.^4,5

Priority over a prior first mortgage is the six-month super-priority described above under RCW 64.90.485(3) or RCW 64.34.364(3); RCW 64.38 communities have no statutory super-priority and rank by the declaration and ordinary recording rules.^1,2,4 The statute of limitations on enforcement is six years under WUCIOA, three years for RCW 64.34 condominiums (RCW 64.34.364(8)), and six years for RCW 64.38 HOAs under the written-contract limitations period in RCW 4.16.040 as applied in Kiona Park Estates v. Dehls.^1,2,12 The declaration routinely supplements these statutory minima with late-fee, interest, and attorneys'-fee provisions, though those amounts fall outside the priority portion.

Pre-foreclosure notice and demand

Before foreclosing, an association must clear statutory delinquency and notice thresholds. Under RCW 64.90.485, RCW 64.34.364, and RCW 64.38.100, the owner must owe at least the greater of three months of assessments or $2,000, excluding fines, late charges, interest, fees, and collection costs; at least 90 days must have elapsed since that amount accrued (reduced from 180 days effective January 1, 2025); two preforeclosure notices must be mailed at the prescribed intervals, with the second no sooner than 60 days after the first; and the board must approve foreclosure against the specific unit.^1,2,4 Effective January 1, 2026, an owner referred to mediation under RCW 61.24.163 must complete that mediation before the association may commence the action.¹³

The Foreclosure Fairness Act mediation regime, historically framed around residential mortgage loans, was expanded by ESSB 5686 (Chapter 393, Laws of 2025)—which passed the Senate 30–19 and the House 56–41—to reach association assessment foreclosures across all four CIC statutes (RCW 64.32, 64.34, 64.38, and 64.90) effective January 1, 2026, with referral available any time after a notice of delinquency but no later than 30 days before the sale.^13,14 Third-party collectors face FDCPA exposure for conduct beyond the bare non-judicial process under Obduskey, and a pre-sale file should be checked for any bankruptcy stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 and any SCRA protection for active-duty servicemembers.⁷

Non-judicial trustee's sale or judicial foreclosure

For the assessment lien, the association chooses between two tracks, and the declaration is the gatekeeper for the non-judicial route. Under RCW 64.90.485(13) and RCW 64.34.364(9), non-judicial enforcement under RCW 61.24 is available only if the declaration grants the community in trust to a qualified trustee, contains a power of sale, states that the units are not used principally for agricultural purposes, and provides that the power of sale operates on an assessment default.^1,2 Non-judicial foreclosure of an assessment lien is therefore not freely available; absent those declaration provisions, the association cannot use the trustee's-sale track—and proceeding non-judicially forfeits the six-month super-priority (RCW 64.90.485(6); RCW 64.34.364(5)).^1,2

Where the non-judicial track does apply, the trustee records, serves, and publishes the notice of sale, and the sale occurs no sooner than 120 days after the notice under RCW 61.24.040, on a Friday, at public auction.⁶ The judicial track proceeds as a civil action in Superior Court under RCW 61.12, with the court entering a decree and the sheriff conducting the sale; a board member and their family and affiliates may not bid at an association foreclosure sale (RCW 64.90.485(13)(e)).¹ Because judicial foreclosure preserves the super-priority and can extinguish a junior or improperly joined mortgage, many practitioners choose the judicial track despite the longer timeline.

Post-sale rights and redemption

The post-sale picture turns entirely on which track was used. After a non-judicial trustee's sale, there is no right of redemption; the trustee's deed is final once recorded, and the purchaser is entitled to possession on the twentieth day after the sale, with non-tenant occupants removable by summary proceedings (RCW 61.24.050).¹⁰ After a judicial foreclosure, the judgment debtor and redemptioners may redeem under RCW 6.23.020, generally within one year, or within eight months where the deficiency is waived and the property is non-agricultural; both condominium acts fix the eight-month period on an express waiver of any deficiency in the complaint.^1,2,11

Surplus sale proceeds are distributed to junior lienholders by priority and then to the former owner, and junior liens not satisfied are extinguished as to the property where the holders were properly joined. Eviction of remaining occupants follows the unlawful-detainer process. Deficiency exposure differs by track: there is no deficiency after a non-judicial sale, while a judicial foreclosure can support a deficiency judgment subject to the upset-price and waiver rules.⁶

Recent legislative and judicial activity

Recent bills

Washington's legislative activity since 2024 centers on one structural goal: consolidating all community associations under a single statute by 2028 while accelerating key WUCIOA governance requirements in the meantime.

Recent appellate rulings

Recent Washington appellate authority addressing the six-month super-priority directly is scarce; the leading super-priority cases predate this window, and recent litigation has shifted toward limitations and allocation questions.

Active legislative debates

Debate continues over the burden the 2028 "WUCIOA for All" transition places on small and volunteer-run associations, and over the reach and funding of the expanded foreclosure mediation program. Stakeholder groups, including the Community Associations Institute's Washington chapter, continue to press for adjustments ahead of full applicability.

National positioning

Washington sits among the WUCIOA-adopting states through RCW 64.90, sharing the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act framework with nine other states, including Alaska, and like other full-UCIOA peers—Colorado, Minnesota, Vermont, Connecticut, and West Virginia—it grants a six-month assessment-lien super-priority over a prior first mortgage.^1,3 Washington does not require community association managers to hold a real estate broker's license; RCW 18.85.151 exempts on-site managers from that requirement, and no separate CAM license statute exists in Washington.¹⁷ The six-month super-priority window places Washington below Nevada's nine-month variant under NRS 116.3116(2) and apart from non-UCIOA states that rely on declaration-based liens without a statutory super-priority.

What sets Washington apart from its UCIOA peers is its four-statute layered structure, in which creation date and community type still dictate the governing act until the 2028 consolidation, and its predominantly non-judicial foreclosure posture under the Deeds of Trust Act. For multi-state operators, the practical implication is clear: Washington cannot be administered on a single-statute assumption. A portfolio may contain RCW 64.90, 64.34, 64.32, and 64.38 communities at once, each with different lien, notice, and priority mechanics, and each converging on WUCIOA only in 2028.

Boards and managers operating in Washington should map each community to its governing act before initiating any lien or foreclosure step, confirm whether the declaration authorizes non-judicial enforcement, and weigh the loss of the super-priority that the non-judicial track carries. The 2028 consolidation will simplify that analysis, but until then the layered structure remains the controlling reality.

Footnotes

1. Washington State Legislature, RCW 64.90.485, Lien for unpaid assessments (WUCIOA) ↩
2. Washington State Legislature, RCW 64.34.364, Lien for assessments (Washington Condominium Act) ↩
3. Washington State Legislature, RCW 64.90.080, Applicability to preexisting common interest communities; Washington State Law Library, "Take Note! New Community Association Law" (nine UCIOA states including Alaska) ↩
4. Washington State Legislature, RCW 64.38.100, Lien for assessments; preforeclosure notices (Homeowners' Associations chapter) ↩
5. Washington State Legislature, RCW 64.32, Horizontal Property Regimes Act ↩
6. Washington State Legislature, RCW 61.24.040, Notice of trustee's sale; 120-day timeline ↩
7. Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, 139 S. Ct. 1029 (2019) ↩
8. Washington State Legislature, ESSB 5129, Chapter 119, Laws of 2025 (bill summary) ↩
9. Washington State Legislature, ESSB 5796, Chapter 321, Laws of 2024 (Senate Bill Report) ↩
10. Washington State Legislature, RCW 61.24.050, Redemption precluded after trustee's sale; purchaser's right to possession ↩
11. Washington State Legislature, RCW 6.23.020, Redemption of property — period; one year or eight months ↩
12. Kiona Park Estates v. Dehls, 19 Wn. App. 2d 1, 493 P.3d 784 (Div. II 2021); RCW 4.16.040 ↩
13. Washington State Legislature, RCW 61.24.163, Foreclosure mediation program ↩
14. Washington State Legislature, ESSB 5686, Chapter 393, Laws of 2025 (Senate Bill Report as amended by House; Senate 30–19, House 56–41) ↩
15. Copper Creek (Marysville) Homeowners Ass'n v. Kurtz, 1 Wn.3d 711, 532 P.3d 601 (Wash. 2023) ↩
16. 3710 Irongate, LLC v. Unit Owners Ass'n of Judson Plaza Condominium, No. 86717-2-I (Wash. Ct. App. Div. I Nov. 10, 2025) (unpublished) ↩
17. Washington State Legislature, RCW 18.85.151, Exemptions from broker licensing — on-site managers of common interest communities ↩