Quick Answers
- Step 1: A Notice of Late Assessment (NOLA) giving the owner 30 days to pay without attorney's fees. No attorney's fees can be charged to the owner until this notice is sent and the 30 days run.
- Step 2: A Notice of Intent to Record a Claim of Lien, giving the owner 45 days to pay.
- Step 3: A Notice of Intent to Foreclose, sent with the claim of lien as it goes to recording, giving another 45 days.
- Step 4: A foreclosure action against the property or a suit for a money judgment, with fees and costs recoverable if every step was followed.
- Other tools: Demanding rent from a tenant of the delinquent unit (if the unit is rented), and suspending voting and common area use rights for owners more than 90 days delinquent.
- Same sequence for both: The steps are substantially the same under Chapter 718 for condominiums and Chapter 720 for HOAs.
Delinquencies Building Up? Get the Sequence Right From Step One
We handle assessment collections for condominium and HOA boards throughout Florida.
Unpaid assessments are the most common legal problem Florida associations face, and the one where small procedural mistakes cost the most. Florida gives condominium and homeowners' associations strong collection rights, including a lien on the unit or parcel and the right to foreclose it. But those rights depend on a fixed sequence of statutory notices, each with its own waiting period. Skip a step, send notices out of order, or start the clock on the wrong date, and the association can lose the right to recover its attorney's fees or have to start over. This guide walks boards and community association managers through the sequence, the tools available along the way, and where the manager's role ends and counsel's begins.
The Collection Sequence at a Glance
| Step | Owner's time to pay | Condominium | HOA | Who typically handles it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Notice of Late Assessment (NOLA) | 30 days | s. 718.121(5) | s. 720.3085(3)(d) | Manager or counsel |
| 2. Notice of Intent to Record a Claim of Lien | 45 days | s. 718.121(6) | s. 720.3085(4) | Counsel |
| 3. Notice of Intent to Foreclose, with the lien sent to recording | 45 days | s. 718.116(5) and (6)(b) | s. 720.3085(1) and (5) | Counsel |
| 4. Foreclosure or money judgment | Not applicable | s. 718.116(6) | s. 720.3085(1)(c) | Counsel |
Step 1: The Notice of Late Assessment
Since 2021, both Acts require a written Notice of Late Assessment (NOLA) before an association can require the owner to pay attorney's fees on a past-due account. The notice uses the form in the statute, states the amount owed, and gives the owner 30 days to pay without incurring attorney's fees. It is sent by first class mail, and notice is deemed delivered on mailing.
This is the step most often done wrong. A management company's ordinary dunning letter that does not follow the statutory form, or that omits the itemization or the 30-day language, is not a Notice of Late Assessment, and any attorney's fees that follow it may not be recoverable unless and until the 30 day NOLA period passes without payment. If an attorney prepares the NOLA, the fees and costs of preparing it may be recoverable in step 2 below. Where the balance is straightforward, a licensed community association manager can prepare this notice; see what a Florida CAM can and cannot do without an attorney.
Step 2: The Notice of Intent to Record a Claim of Lien
If the NOLA's 30 days run without payment, the association may send a Notice of Intent to Record a Claim of Lien. This notice also follows a statutory form, itemizes what is owed, and may now include the attorney's fees and costs of preparing and delivering it. The owner has 45 days from the date the notice is deposited in the mail to pay in full.
Step 3: Recording the Claim of Lien and the Notice of Intent to Foreclose
Once the 45 days run, the association sends a separate Notice of Intent to Foreclose and waits another 45 days. This notice cannot be combined with the Notice of Intent to Record a Claim of Lien in step 2. The Notice of Intent to Foreclose includes a copy of the claim of lien being sent to recording, and the lien is recorded in the official records of the county where the property sits. The lien secures the unpaid assessments plus interest, late fees, and the costs of collection allowed by the statute and the governing documents. Foreclosure may be commenced 45 days after the notice is sent and the lien has been recorded.
In an HOA, the owner can record and serve a notice of contest of lien, after which the association has 90 days to file suit or the lien is void under section 720.3085(1)(b). HOA liens are good for 5 years. Condominium liens have a 1 year limit for filing suit after recording, so counsel should calendar it the day the lien is recorded.
Step 4: Foreclosure or a Money Judgment
After the final 45 days have run and the lien has been recorded, the association can file suit to foreclose its lien, sue for a money judgment, or both. When every step was followed, reasonable attorney's fees, costs, interest, and late charges are recoverable from the owner. In an HOA foreclosure, an owner may make a qualifying offer to pay everything due, which can stay the foreclosure for up to 60 days under section 720.3085(6).
Collection Tools Beyond Foreclosure
- Rent demand to tenants. If a delinquent unit or parcel is rented, the association can demand that the tenant pay rent directly to the association until the debt is paid. A tenant who ignores a proper demand can be evicted. See sections 718.116(11) and 720.3085(8).
- Suspension of rights. Both Acts allow the board, at a properly noticed meeting, to suspend voting rights and common area use rights of an owner more than 90 days delinquent, subject to the statutory limits on what cannot be suspended.
- Payment plans. A written payment plan can resolve an account without litigation. It should state what happens on a missed payment so the association can resume the sequence without starting over. Payment plans are discretionary; each board decides whether to approve one on a case by case basis, and they are not required.
How Partial Payments Must Be Applied
When an owner pays part of a delinquent balance, both Acts require the payment to be applied in a set order: first to interest, then to late fees, then to costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred in collection, then to special assessments, and only then to the delinquent regular assessment. A restrictive endorsement on the check does not change that order, and an owner in collections does not get to pick which period a payment covers.
When a Lender Forecloses First
If the first mortgage lender forecloses and takes title, Florida's safe harbor limits that lender's liability for assessments that came due before it took title. The limit is generally the lesser of 12 months of assessments or 1 percent of the original mortgage debt, under sections 718.116(1)(b) and 720.3085(2)(c). The prior owner remains personally liable for the full balance. Associations that monitor lender foreclosures and appear in them protect more of what is owed.
Most lost attorney's fees in association collections trace back to the first two weeks of the process, not the courtroom. A dunning letter that is not a compliant Notice of Late Assessment, or a lien notice sent before the 30 days ran, can make every fee that follows unrecoverable. Contested collections, once they reach the attorney's office, can also get expensive quickly.
The fix is a written collection policy adopted by the board that names who sends each notice, when the account moves to counsel, and how each deadline is calendared from the mailing date. Boards with a policy collect faster and defend their fee claims more easily than boards that decide case by case.
Interest and Late Fees
Interest and late fees are part of what the lien secures, but only within the limits set by the statutes and the governing documents. If the declaration or bylaws do not set an interest rate, the statutes supply a default rate, and late fees are capped. Boards should confirm what their documents authorize before charging either.
What Collections Cost the Association
When the statutory sequence is followed, the association's reasonable attorney's fees and costs of collection are generally recoverable from the delinquent owner, including through the lien and the foreclosure case. The association advances those costs until they are recovered. Counsel can quote collection work per stage, and the board should ask how fees are handled if an account is not collectible, such as after a lender foreclosure.
Need a collection process that holds up?
Kelley, Grant & Tanis handles assessment collections for condominium and HOA boards throughout Florida, with Kara Tanis leading the firm's association law practice. Call (561) 672-1161 or contact the firm. Related reading: the Florida association compliance calendar and Chapter 720 vs. 718.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first step when an owner stops paying assessments in Florida?
A Notice of Late Assessment in the statutory form, giving the owner 30 days to pay without attorney's fees. Both the Condominium Act and the HOA Act require this notice before the association can require the owner to pay attorney's fees on the account.
How long before an association can record a lien for unpaid assessments?
After the 30-day Notice of Late Assessment period runs, the association sends a Notice of Intent to Record a Claim of Lien. Once 45 days have passed from the date that notice was mailed, the association sends the Notice of Intent to Foreclose with the claim of lien, and the lien is recorded.
How long before an association can foreclose on a unit or parcel?
Only after the lien is recorded and a separate Notice of Intent to Foreclose has been sent, followed by another 45 days. The foreclosure notice cannot be combined with the lien notice. In total, a foreclosure can be filed about 120 days after the process starts, plus a few additional days for mailing the statutory notices.
Can a community association manager send collection notices?
A licensed manager can prepare a Notice of Late Assessment where the balance is straightforward. Drafting the notice of intent to record a lien, the claim of lien itself, and foreclosure are legal work for association counsel.
Can an association collect rent from a tenant of a delinquent owner?
Yes. Both Acts allow the association to demand that the tenant pay rent directly to the association until the owner's debt is paid, and a tenant who does not comply can be evicted.
Can a board suspend a delinquent owner's voting rights?
Yes, for an owner more than 90 days delinquent, by board action at a properly noticed meeting, subject to the limits in the statute. Common area use rights can also be suspended, but not access to the owner's own unit or parcel.
How must an association apply a partial payment?
First to interest, then to late fees, then to costs and reasonable attorney's fees of collection, and only then to the delinquent assessment, regardless of any restrictive endorsement on the payment. The statute is clear on this order, so an owner in collections cannot choose to pay only future assessments.
What happens to past-due assessments if the lender forecloses?
A first mortgagee that takes title by foreclosure before the association's own lien foreclosure reaches auction is generally liable only for the lesser of 12 months of past-due assessments or 1 percent of the original mortgage debt. The prior owner remains personally liable for the rest. If the bank's auction results in a third party buyer, the past-due balance most likely passes to that new owner. Each association's covenants control this scenario, so boards that are unsure should consult association counsel.
Can an HOA owner pause a foreclosure by offering to pay?
Yes. Under section 720.3085(6), an HOA owner may make a qualifying offer to pay all amounts due, which can stay (pause) the foreclosure for up to 60 days while the owner completes payment.