HOA and condo association foreclosure in Utah

HOA and condo collection rules in Utah, step by step

• Which Utah law covers your community

  Before you answer any letter

  The Condominium Ownership Act (Title 57, chapter 8) covers an association whose declaration says it applies or, if the declaration is silent, whose plats are condominium plats. The Community Association Act (chapter 8a) covers other associations of residential lot owners and does not cover condos. The lien and foreclosure rules in the two acts are nearly the same.

  Utah Code §§ 57-8-2, 57-8a-102(2)

• The lien is automatic, and the homestead exemption does not protect against it

  From the date an assessment is due

  The association has a lien for assessments, collection costs, attorney fees, late charges and interest, perfected by the recorded declaration. A fine becomes part of the lien only after the time to appeal it has run or a court upholds it. The lien is not subject to the Utah Exemptions Act, so your homestead exemption does not shield the home from it.

  Utah Code §§ 57-8-44(1), (5); 57-8a-301(1), (5)

• No super priority over your mortgage

  At any sale

  The association's lien comes after a first or second mortgage or deed of trust recorded before the association records a notice of lien, and after property taxes. So an association sale generally does not wipe out an earlier mortgage, and you still owe it.

  Utah Code §§ 57-8-44(4), 57-8a-301(4)

• Notice of nonjudicial foreclosure and your right to demand a court case

  At least 30 days before a notice of default is recorded; your demand within 30 days of delivery

  The association must send, by certified mail, a notice titled "Notice of Nonjudicial Foreclosure and Right to Demand Judicial Foreclosure." If you mail a written demand for judicial foreclosure by certified mail, return receipt requested, within 30 days after the notice is delivered, the association cannot use a trustee's sale. The notice warns that a court case usually costs more, and you may have to pay the association's costs and fees if it wins.

  Utah Code §§ 57-8-46, 57-8a-303

• Fines cannot be part of a nonjudicial sale, and small debts cannot trigger one

  Before the trustee's sale

  An association cannot use a nonjudicial foreclosure if the lien includes a fine, or if the lien does not include an assessment that is more than 180 days delinquent. Fines can be pursued only in a court case. You can appeal a fine by filing a civil action within 180 days after the board's final decision or the deadline to ask for a hearing.

  Utah Code §§ 57-8a-303(3), 57-8-46, 57-8-37(5)

• How the trustee's sale works and what it can add

  After the notice of default

  The association appoints a qualified trustee and follows the same steps as a deed of trust foreclosure, including the notice of default and notice of sale timelines in Utah Code sections 57-1-24 through 57-1-27. It can add reasonable attorney fees and the costs of preparing, recording and foreclosing the lien. A board can also cut off utilities paid as a common expense or recreation access after at least 14 days' notice, and you can ask in writing for an informal hearing within 14 days.

  Utah Code §§ 57-8a-302, 57-8a-304, 57-8a-306(2), 57-8a-309

• Ask the state HOA Ombudsman about state law

  Within one year of the problem

  Utah's Office of the Homeowners' Association Ombudsman, in the Department of Commerce, can review a complaint and issue an advisory opinion on whether a state statute was followed. Its website says you should first use your association's internal steps and that a request has a $150 fee. It does not represent you or stop a sale, and it maintains the registry associations must keep current to enforce a lien.

  Utah Code §§ 13-79-102, 13-79-103, 57-8a-105(6)

Common questions in Utah