HOA and condo association foreclosure in Rhode Island

HOA and condo collection rules in Rhode Island, step by step

• Which Rhode Island law applies

  Check your deed and declaration first

  The Rhode Island Condominium Act, chapter 34-36.1, covers condos created after July 1, 1982, and its lien section also applies to older condos. We found no Rhode Island statute for planned communities or homeowners associations that are not condos, so a subdivision association's power to charge, lien and collect comes from its recorded declaration and covenants. The lien and foreclosure sections were last amended in 2009.

  R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-1.02(a)

• The condo lien starts when a charge is due

  From the due date

  The association has a lien for any assessment or fine from the day it becomes due, and recording the declaration is enough to perfect it. Unless the declaration says otherwise, late charges, interest and attorney's fees count as assessments. The delinquent owner also owes the board's reasonable collection costs and legal fees, which become part of the lien.

  R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.16(a), (d), (i)

• Fines: hearing first, and dollar caps

  Before any fine is imposed

  The board must give you notice and a chance for a hearing before it imposes a fine. Daily fines on a residential condo can be no more than $100 a day, and other fines no more than $500 each. Fines are a lien on your unit.

  R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 34-36.1-3.02(a)(11), 34-36.1-3.20

• A 60-day delinquency notice

  After 60 days behind

  Once any part of your condo fees has been delinquent for at least 60 days, the association must send you a notice of the amount by certified and first class mail, and send the same notice to your first mortgage holder. You can also ask in writing for a statement of unpaid assessments, which must come within 10 business days.

  R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.16(b)(4), (h)

• How a condo association forecloses

  Notice at least 20 days before ads; sale at least 15 days after first ad

  The association can sell your unit at a public auction without a court case. It must mail you and your first mortgage holder notice of the sale by certified mail at least 20 days before publishing, then advertise once a week for 2 weeks, with the sale at least 15 days after the first ad. It must start within 6 years after the assessments became due. We found no statute requiring a payment plan or a minimum debt before sale.

  R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 34-36.1-3.16(e), 34-36.1-3.21(a)

• Six months of fees can come ahead of your mortgage

  At the association's foreclosure

  The lien is behind taxes and a first mortgage recorded before the fees became delinquent, except for up to 6 months of regular budget assessments plus up to $2,500 in attorney's fees and $5,000 in foreclosure costs, which come ahead of that mortgage. Special assessments, late charges, fines and interest do not get this priority. The sale is subject to liens that have priority over the association, so your mortgage stays on the home.

  R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 34-36.1-3.16(b)(1) to (3), 34-36.1-3.21(b)

• After the sale: no owner redemption, but a lender window

  30 days after the post-sale notice

  The statute gives the first mortgage holder, not the owner, 30 days to redeem by paying the association in full. The sale is a permanent bar against the former owner. Any surplus after the association's lien, costs and other recorded liens must be paid to you with an account of the sale.

  R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-36.1-3.21(a)(3), (c)

Common questions in Rhode Island