Published October 24, 2026
In a Virginia community covered by the Property Owners’ Association Act, unpaid assessments can become a lien on the lot, and the lien stays with the lot when the house sells. That is why a buyer wants any recorded association lien paid and released at closing. Before the lien exists, the association has to send a certified-mail notice at least 10 days ahead and then file a verified memorandum within 12 months of the first unpaid assessment.
This guide reads the sections of the Code of Virginia that govern that lien, as they appeared on the Virginia Legislative Information System on October 22, 2026. It is written for people buying or selling a house in an association in the city of Richmond, Henrico County or Chesterfield County. It is general information, not legal advice, and a Virginia real estate attorney should read your own documents and records.
Where this law applies, and where it does not
§ 55.1-1801 says the Act applies to developments subject to a declaration first recorded after January 1, 1959, and to associations organized after that date. It does not apply to the documents or operations of associations governing condominiums, cooperatives, time-shares or membership campgrounds, and it does not apply to a nonstock, nonprofit corporation with nonmandatory membership whose main job is making golf, ski and other recreation available to members and the public.
Two consequences follow. A condominium has its own lien rules under a different act, and our guide to the resale certificate and a golf or club obligation covers how optional club membership differs from a mandatory association. If any one lot in a development is subject to the Act, the section says all lots are.
From unpaid assessment to recorded lien: the timeline
The statute sets a sequence. Each step has a number attached, so the table below lists them in order. Nothing here happens automatically; the association has to take each step.
| Step | What the Code says | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment goes unpaid | Unless the declaration or rules say otherwise, the board may add a late fee once an assessment or installment is more than 60 days past due. The cap is tied to a penalty set elsewhere in the Code | § 55.1-1824 |
| Facilities suspension, if the documents allow it | For assessments more than 60 days past due, the board may suspend use of facilities or services if the declaration or rules expressly say so, but not access to the lot and not if it would endanger health, safety or property | § 55.1-1819 |
| Notice before filing | Written notice by certified mail to the owner at least 10 days before the memorandum of lien is filed | § 55.1-1833, subsection C |
| Filing the memorandum | Within 12 months of the time the first unpaid assessment became due, in the circuit court clerk’s office for the county or city where the development is | § 55.1-1833, subsection B |
| Enforcement window | No foreclosure may be initiated after 120 months from recording of the memorandum | § 55.1-1833, subsection E |
Source: Code of Virginia sections linked in the table, read at law.lis.virginia.gov on October 22, 2026.
The memorandum has to be verified by the oath of the association’s principal officer or the officer the declaration names. It must state the name of the development, a description of the lot, the owners’ names, the unpaid amounts and the date each fell due, the date of issuance, the association’s name with a contact person and current address for payment or release, and a statement that the lien is being obtained under the Act. The clerk records it in the deed books and indexes it as a lien for lot assessments.
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Tell us you want the checklist and we will send a closing timeline that shows where the association documents, the title commitment and any payoff fall, so you can see which dates to ask about when a lot is in an association.
Where the lien ranks
A perfected lien is ahead of subsequent liens and encumbrances, with three exceptions: real estate tax liens on the lot, liens and encumbrances recorded before the declaration, and sums owed under a mortgage or deed of trust recorded before the lien was perfected. Mechanics’ and materialmen’s liens keep whatever priority they already had. Our guide on the judgment lien and lis pendens on a Virginia home sale explains how a court-ordered lien differs from this one. The association’s lien is statutory and arises from the declaration, not from a judgment.
How an association enforces the lien
There are two routes under § 55.1-1833. The association can file a civil action for judicial foreclosure in the circuit court where the lot is, or it can follow the nonjudicial path. Either way, subsection I allows a foreclosure sale only if the total sums secured are more than $5,000, not counting attorney fees and costs. The nonjudicial path has its own steps:
- Notice to the owner. It must say what debt is secured, what must be done to satisfy it, a date at least 60 days away, and that failure may result in sale of the lot. It must also tell the owner about the right to sue in circuit court to assert the debt does not exist or any other defense.
- Trustee. After the 60 days, the association may appoint a trustee and file the appointment with the clerk.
- Advertising and notices. The sale is advertised once a week for four successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation, or on five different days in a city or a county next to a city. The sale falls between 8 days after the first ad and 30 days after the last. Notice goes by certified or registered mail at least 14 days before the sale to the owner, and by mail to lienholders whose deeds of trust were recorded at least 30 days earlier.
- The sale. Bidders may be required to post a deposit of up to 10 percent of the sale price. The trustee delivers a trustee’s deed with special warranty of title.
Until the sale, the owner can stop it by paying the debt and the expenses of perfecting and enforcing the lien. A sale that skips the advertising requirements can be set aside on petition. If the sale is made and accounted for, the purchaser’s title is not disturbed unless it is set aside, or an appeal is filed and an order entered, within 12 months of the commissioner of accounts confirming the accounting.
What stays with the lot when the house sells
The lien is on the lot for unpaid assessments, not on the seller’s name. A recorded memorandum stays of record against the lot until it is released. In a sale, the title company lists it as an item to clear, as our guide to reading a title commitment describes, and the payoff is normally taken from the seller’s proceeds at closing. The association then has to release it under § 55.1-339. For routine dues that are owed but have not become a lien, closing prorations explains who credits whom on the settlement statement.
Fines are part of this picture too. A charge for a rule violation is treated as an assessment against the lot for purposes of the lien statute, which is covered in our companion post on HOA fines, rules and enforcement under the Act. If you are looking at a home in an association, you can browse homes for sale and ask for the association’s account of the lot before you write an offer.
What this guide does not cover
We did not read the condominium lien statute, the rules for cooperatives, or how a federal lender or a title insurer prices an association lien. We also did not read the resale certificate sections themselves; our guide to the HOA documents to read before you sign covers what to request. Bring any of those questions to a Virginia real estate attorney.
What to ask before closing
- Is there a recorded memorandum of lien against this lot, and what is the unpaid balance and each date it fell due?
- Was the certified-mail notice sent before the memorandum was filed?
- Has any foreclosure notice or trustee appointment been recorded?
- Who will confirm the payoff in writing, and who will record the release?
- Does the lot’s assessment account show any late fees or charges, and are any fines on it?
Get the Richmond closing-timeline checklist
Ask for the checklist and we will send the closing timeline, including where the association payoff and release fall, whether or not you work with us.
Frequently asked questions
Does the association’s lien come ahead of my mortgage?
Not if your lender’s deed of trust was recorded first. Under § 55.1-1833, a perfected lien ranks ahead of later liens and encumbrances, but behind real estate tax liens, liens and encumbrances recorded before the declaration, and sums owed under a mortgage or deed of trust recorded before the lien was perfected. It does not change the priority of mechanics’ and materialmen’s liens. Your lender will want any recorded memorandum cleared before it funds.
Can the association foreclose over a small balance?
There is a floor. Subsection I lets the association conduct a judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure sale only if the total sums secured are more than $5,000, not counting attorney fees and costs. The association can also sue to collect what is owed without foreclosing, and the section says nothing in it prohibits actions at law for the sums the lien secures.
How long does the association have to file the lien, and how long does it last?
It must file the memorandum before 12 months pass from the time the first unpaid assessment became due. After the memorandum is recorded, no foreclosure may be initiated after 120 months. A civil action or a notice of nonjudicial foreclosure counts as starting the action. The 12-month filing window cannot be stretched by the 120-month enforcement window.
Who gets the money if the lot is sold at a nonjudicial foreclosure?
The statute sets the order. Reasonable expenses of sale, including attorney fees, come first. Then taxes, levies and assessments with costs and interest, then the association’s lien for owners’ assessments, then remaining inferior claims of record in priority order. Whatever is left goes to the owner or the owner’s assigns. The purchaser gets a trustee’s deed with special warranty of title.
Can an owner stop a foreclosure sale once it has been advertised?
Yes, before the sale. The owner can have enforcement discontinued by paying the debt secured by the lien and all expenses and costs of perfecting and enforcing it, including advertising costs and reasonable attorney fees. The 60-day notice must also tell the owner about the right to bring a court action in circuit court to assert that the debt does not exist or raise any other defense to the sale.
What if the debt was paid but the memorandum of lien is still in the land records?
The release runs through § 55.1-339, the same statute that governs mortgage releases. § 55.1-1833 says a lien not released after payment subjects the lien creditor to the penalty in subdivision B 1 of that section, and it treats the association’s principal officer, or the officers the declaration names, as the lien creditor’s authorized agent. Our guide to getting a mortgage released after payoff walks through the 90-day clock and the $500 penalty.
Who pays to record and release the memorandum?
The cost of recording and releasing the memorandum is taxed against the person found liable in any judgment or order enforcing the lien. That means the owner bears it if the association wins the enforcement action. The same section also says the judgment or order must include costs and reasonable attorney fees for the prevailing party, with interest at the legal rate for the association if it prevails.
