Civil Code Assessments & Liens
Enforcing the Lien
Chapter 8 · Assessments and Assessment Collection · Assessment Collection
Text current as of 2026-07-07 · Last amended by AB 805, eff. 2014-01-01
The code says CIV §5700
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this article, after the expiration of 30 days following the recording of a lien created pursuant to Section 5675, the lien may be enforced in any manner permitted by law, including sale by the court, sale by the trustee designated in the notice of delinquent assessment, or sale by a trustee substituted pursuant to Section 2934a.
(b) Nothing in Article 2 (commencing
with Section 5650) or in subdivision (a) of Section 726 of the Code of Civil Procedure prohibits actions against the owner of a separate interest to recover sums for which a lien is created pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 5650) or prohibits an association from taking a deed in lieu of foreclosure.
(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.
A lien can ultimately be foreclosed, but the Act sets thresholds and protections — foreclosure is a last resort, not a first move.
What this means for you
Editorial summary — not the statute’s text.
- Foreclosure has dollar thresholds and waiting periods — check them.
- Consider civil or small claims collection before foreclosure.
- Board approval and a recorded vote are required to foreclose.
Where this sits in the process
Editorial summaries — not the statute’s text.
Collecting a delinquent assessment
Before: §5675 — 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
After: §5705 — Foreclosure has its own gates: the statutory thresholds in §5720 — delinquent assessments that equal or exceed $1,800 or are more than 12 months delinquent — and a board decision by majority vote in executive session that cannot be delegated.
board vote ≥30 days before any public sale
How courts have read this
Editorial summaries — not the court’s words.
- Barry v. Oc Residential Properties, LLC 194 Cal. App. 4th 861 · 2011 Redeeming after an assessment foreclosure means paying the buyer’s repair costs.
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)
- 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(d)’s judicial-or-private-sale enforcement remedy, carried into §1367.1(g) in 2003 and now this section: the litigation privilege covers a recorded assessment lien even if the association later forecloses by private sale.
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.
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Cites (2)
Cited by (3)
References whole articles
- Article 2 — Assessment Payment and Delinquency (11 sections, commencing §5650)