Yes, a Maine condo association can lien and eventually foreclose on your unit over unpaid assessments and fines, even if your mortgage is current. Under § 1603-116(a), recording the declaration itself perfects the lien; the association doesn't file a separate claim of lien first, and the lien covers not just assessments but fines too, since § 1603-102(a)(11) fines are enforceable the same way. Foreclosure runs "in like manner as a mortgage on real estate," meaning a court process rather than a private trustee's sale.
The lien isn't unlimited. Section 1603-116(b) ranks it below liens recorded before the declaration, below a first mortgage (whether that mortgage was recorded before or after the assessment became delinquent), and below real estate tax liens, but ahead of most everything else. That first-mortgage rule matters: unlike states that give the assessment lien limited super-priority ahead of the mortgage for the most recent few months of dues, Maine's lien never leapfrogs a first mortgage at all. And the lien doesn't last forever either: § 1603-116(e) extinguishes it automatically if the association doesn't move to enforce it within six years of the full amount becoming due.
Use the ten-day payoff statement, and watch the escrow rule
Section 1603-116(h) gives you a fast, sharp tool: request a written statement of the unpaid assessments on your unit, and the association must furnish it within ten business days, a statement binding on the association once given. Separately, if you bought your unit after October 1, 2009 and your association required an assessment escrow at closing under § 1603-115-A, that money has to sit in a segregated, interest-bearing account beyond the reach of the association's creditors, and it comes back to you (minus anything still owed) when you sell.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
33 M.R.S. § 1603-116
Establishes the lien for unpaid assessments and fines, its priority below a first mortgage and prior recorded liens, the six-year period after which the lien is extinguished, and a ten-business-day deadline for a binding payoff statement.
33 M.R.S. § 1603-117
Prevents a money judgment against the association from becoming a lien on the common elements themselves; it attaches proportionally to each unit instead, and no other property of an individual owner is exposed.
33 M.R.S. § 1603-115-A
Lets an association require an assessment escrow from buyers since October 2009; the funds must sit in a segregated, interest-bearing account beyond the association's creditors and are returned at resale.
Step by step
How to respond to a Maine condo lien or foreclosure notice
Steps to take when your association records a lien or moves toward foreclosure over unpaid assessments or fines in Maine.
- 01
Get an itemized ledger
Request a written breakdown separating real assessments from fines, late charges, interest, and attorney's costs. The lien under § 1603-116(a) covers assessments and fines, but padding still deserves scrutiny.
- 02
Request the ten-day payoff statement
Submit a written request for a statement of unpaid assessments under § 1603-116(h). The association must respond within ten business days, and the statement binds it once furnished.
- 03
Check the lien's priority against your mortgage
Confirm your first mortgage still outranks the assessment lien under § 1603-116(b); Maine's lien never leapfrogs a first mortgage, whether it was recorded before or after the delinquency.
- 04
Check whether the lien has gone stale
If the debt is old and the association never enforced it, confirm whether six years have passed since the full amount became due under § 1603-116(e), which extinguishes an unenforced lien.
- 05
Get a Maine attorney before a foreclosure suit proceeds
Foreclosure of your home runs through court, and § 1603-116(g) lets the prevailing party recover costs and attorney's fees. Talk to a licensed Maine attorney while you still have time to respond.
Straight answers
Common questions
Can a Maine condo association really foreclose on my unit?
Yes. Section 1603-116(a) gives the association a lien for unpaid assessments and fines the moment they're due, foreclosed in like manner as a mortgage, meaning it goes through a court process rather than a private sale.
Does the assessment lien outrank my mortgage?
No. Section 1603-116(b) ranks the lien below a first mortgage recorded either before or after the assessment became delinquent, along with liens recorded before the declaration and real estate tax liens.
How long does the association have to act on a lien?
Six years. Section 1603-116(e) extinguishes the lien automatically if the association doesn't institute proceedings to enforce it within six years after the full amount becomes due.
What's this escrow requirement I keep hearing about?
Under § 1603-115-A, an association may require buyers who purchased after October 1, 2009 to escrow up to six months of assessments. That money must sit in a segregated, interest-bearing account beyond the association's creditors and is returned to you when you sell, minus anything still owed.