Civil Code Assessments & Liens
Recording an Assessment Lien
Chapter 8 · Assessments and Assessment Collection · Assessment Payment and Delinquency
Text current as of 2026-07-07 · Last amended by AB 805, eff. 2014-01-01
The code says CIV §5675
(a) The amount of the assessment, plus any costs of collection, late charges, and interest assessed in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 5650, shall be a lien on the owner’s separate interest in the common interest development from and after the time the association causes to be recorded with the county recorder of the county in which the separate interest is located, a notice of delinquent assessment, which shall state the amount of the assessment and
other sums imposed in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 5650, a legal description of the owner’s separate interest in the common interest development against which the assessment and other sums are levied, and the name of the record owner of the separate interest in the common interest development against which the lien is imposed.
(b) The itemized statement of the charges owed by the owner described in subdivision (b) of Section 5660 shall be recorded together with the notice of delinquent assessment.
(c) In order for the lien to be enforced by nonjudicial foreclosure as provided in Sections 5700 to 5710, inclusive, the notice of delinquent assessment shall state the name and address of the trustee authorized by the association to enforce the lien by sale.
(d) The notice of delinquent assessment shall be
signed by the person designated in the declaration or by the association for that purpose, or if no one is designated, by the president of the association.
(e) A copy of the recorded notice of delinquent assessment shall be mailed by certified mail to every person whose name is shown as an owner of the separate interest in the association’s records, and the notice shall be mailed no later than 10 calendar days after recordation.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 180, Sec. 2. (AB 805) Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 3 of Ch. 180.)
In plain English
Editorial summary — not the statute’s text.
Once the required notices are sent, the association can record a lien on the unit — a formal claim that must follow strict procedure.
What this means for you
Editorial summary — not the statute’s text.
- Complete every pre-lien notice step before recording.
- Have the lien decision made and documented properly by the board.
- Procedural errors can void the lien — use counsel or a specialist.
Where this sits in the process
Editorial summaries — not the statute’s text.
Collecting a delinquent assessment
Before: §5673 — The lien exists only once recorded: it attaches from and after the association records a notice of delinquent assessment with the county recorder.
After: §5700 — Enforcement waits out a 30-day clock: the recorded lien may be enforced, including by sale, only after 30 days from recording.
30 days after recording
How courts have read this
Editorial summaries — not the court’s words.
- In re: Maria A. Basave De Guillen 604 B.R. 826 · 2019 Assessment liens secure only the amounts stated in the recorded notice.
central to this opinion — cited 4×
- Diamond v. Superior Court 217 Cal. App. 4th 1172 · 2013 Foreclosing an assessment lien requires strict compliance with every notice requirement.
decided before the current text (eff. 2014-01-01, AB 805)
- Diamond Heights Village Ass'n v. Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp. 196 Cal. App. 4th 290 · 2011 Assessment liens merge into the judgment when judicially foreclosed.
decided before the current text (eff. 2014-01-01, AB 805)
- Bear Creek Master Ass'n v. Edwards 130 Cal. App. 4th 1470 · 2005 Unbuilt condominium units still owe association assessments.
Construes former §1367(b), whose lien-on-recording text was carried into §1367.1(d) in 2003 and now this section: the statute does not require re-recording for each new delinquency. One recorded notice of delinquent assessment (here, one stating that later assessments would accrue under it) secures the assessments that keep accruing.
decided before the current text (eff. 2014-01-01, AB 805)
- Wilton v. Mountain Wood Homeowners Assn., Inc. 18 Cal. App. 4th 565 · 1993 Recording an assessment lien is protected by the litigation privilege.
Relies on former §1367(b)’s authorization to record an assessment lien after default, carried into §1367.1(d) in 2003 and now this section: because the lien is permitted by law as the first step toward foreclosure, recording it is absolutely privileged under Civil Code §47(b) and cannot support a slander-of-title suit.
decided before the current text (eff. 2014-01-01, AB 805)
- Huntington Continental Townhouse Ass'n v. Miner 230 Cal. App. 4th 590 · 2014 Associations must accept partial payments toward delinquent assessments.
cited 4×
- Zakia Mashiri v. Epsten Grinnell & Howell 845 F.3d 984 · 2017 HOA pre-lien collection notices must honor federal debt-dispute rights.
mentioned in passing