HOA and condo association foreclosure in Ohio

HOA and condo collection rules in Ohio, step by step

• Two Ohio laws: one for condos, one for planned communities

  Check your deed and declaration first

  Condominiums are governed by the Ohio Condominium Act, Chapter 5311. Subdivisions and other planned communities with an owners association are governed by the Ohio Planned Community Law, Chapter 5312, which covers every planned community in the state, but a rule that was already in documents recorded before September 10, 2010 still stands. The lien and fine sections we read were last changed by Senate Bill 61, effective September 13, 2022; we found no 2024 to 2026 change.

  Ohio Rev. Code §§ 5311.18, 5312.02(A), (C)

• The lien starts when the association records a certificate of lien

  Charges unpaid 10 days after they are due

  The association can claim a lien for any charge that stays unpaid 10 days after it is due, but the lien takes effect only when the board authorizes it and a certificate of lien is recorded with the county recorder. The certificate lists your unit or lot, your name and the amount. It lasts 5 years from filing unless it is released, paid or discharged by a court.

  Ohio Rev. Code §§ 5311.18(A)(1), (3), (4); 5312.12(A), (B)

• What the lien can include, and how your payments are applied

  Every time you pay

  Besides the assessments, the lien can include interest, late fees, enforcement assessments, collection costs and attorney's and paralegal fees, if your declaration, bylaws or rules allow them. Ohio law does not cap these amounts. Unless your documents say otherwise, your payments go first to interest, then late fees, then collection costs and legal fees, and only then to the assessments themselves, so ask for a ledger that shows where each payment went.

  Ohio Rev. Code §§ 5311.18(A)(1)(b), (A)(2); 5312.11(B); 5312.12(A)

• Fines need written notice and a chance at a hearing

  Ask for a hearing within 10 days of the notice

  Before the board can charge an enforcement assessment (a fine) or a damage charge, it must send written notice that describes the violation, gives the amount, explains your right to a hearing before the board and gives a date to fix the problem. If you send a written hearing request within 10 days, the board cannot levy the charge before the hearing, and it must notify you in writing within 30 days after the hearing if it imposes one. Once charged, a fine can become part of the lien.

  Ohio Rev. Code §§ 5311.081(B)(12), (C); 5312.11(C), (D)

• How an Ohio association forecloses

  Any time after the lien is recorded

  The association files a foreclosure case in the court of common pleas, and it is handled like a mortgage foreclosure, with a sheriff's sale and court confirmation. Ohio law sets no minimum debt and no waiting period, and no statute makes the association offer a payment plan, so ask for one in writing and check your community's collection policy. The association can bid at the sale unless its documents forbid it.

  Ohio Rev. Code §§ 5311.18(B)(1), (4); 5312.12(B)(4), (C)(2)

• No super priority over your first mortgage

  Depends on recording dates

  The association's lien comes ahead of liens recorded later, but it comes after real estate taxes and after a first mortgage that was recorded before the association's lien. If your lender forecloses, it must name the association in the case. In a condo foreclosure, the court can make the owner pay a reasonable rent during the case and appoint a receiver to collect it, and that money goes first to the condo fees that come due during the case.

  Ohio Rev. Code §§ 5311.18(B)(1) to (3); 5312.12(B)(4), (C)(1)

• Your rights if the lien is wrong, and redeeming

  Before the sale is confirmed

  If you believe the association charged you something it should not have, you can file your own case in the county court of common pleas to discharge all or part of the lien. Because the association forecloses like a mortgage holder, you can usually still redeem by paying the full judgment, interest and costs before the court confirms the sale. Your mortgage is a separate debt and does not go away because the association foreclosed.

  Ohio Rev. Code §§ 5311.18(C), 5312.12(D), 2329.33

Common questions in Ohio