Civil Code Assessments & Liens
Foreclosure Prerequisites
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 §5705
(a) Notwithstanding any law or any provisions of the governing documents to the contrary, this section shall apply to debts for assessments that arise on and after January 1, 2006.
(b) Prior to initiating a foreclosure on an owner’s separate interest, the association shall offer the owner and, if so requested by the owner, participate in dispute resolution pursuant to the association’s “meet and
confer” program required in Article 2 (commencing with Section 5900) of Chapter 10 or alternative dispute resolution as set forth in Article 3 (commencing with Section 5925) of Chapter 10. The decision to pursue dispute resolution or a particular type of alternative dispute resolution shall be the choice of the owner, except that binding arbitration shall not be available if the association intends to initiate a judicial foreclosure.
(c) The decision to initiate foreclosure of a lien for delinquent assessments that has been validly recorded shall be made only by the board and may not be delegated to an agent of the association. The board shall approve the decision by a majority vote of the directors in an executive session. The board shall record the vote in the minutes of the next meeting of the board open to all members. The board shall maintain the confidentiality of the owner or owners of the separate interest by identifying the matter in
the minutes by the parcel number of the property, rather than the name of the owner or owners. A board vote to approve foreclosure of a lien shall take place at least 30 days prior to any public sale.
(d) The board shall provide notice by personal service in accordance with the manner of service of summons in Article 3 (commencing with Section 415.10) of Chapter 4 of Title 5 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure to an owner of a separate interest who occupies the separate interest or to the owner’s legal representative, if the board votes to foreclose upon the separate interest. The board shall provide written notice to an owner of a separate interest who does not occupy the separate interest by first-class mail, postage prepaid, at the most current address shown on the books of the association. In the absence of written notification by the owner to the association, the address of the owner’s separate interest may be treated as the owner’s
mailing address.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 180, Sec. 2. (AB 805) Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 3 of Ch. 180.)
Where this sits in the process
Editorial summaries — not the statute’s text.
Collecting a delinquent assessment
Before: §5700 — 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.
- 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)
- Huntington Continental Townhouse Ass'n v. Miner 230 Cal. App. 4th 590 · 2014 Associations must accept partial payments toward delinquent assessments.
cited 2×
Cites (2)
Cited by (2)
References whole articles
- Article 2 — Internal Dispute Resolution (6 sections, commencing §5900)
- Article 3 — Alternative Dispute Resolution Prerequisite to Civil Action (9 sections, commencing §5925)