Yes, a Nebraska condo association can foreclose on your unit over unpaid assessments, even if your mortgage is current, and even though your home might otherwise qualify for Nebraska's homestead exemption. Section 76-874(a) gives the association "a lien on a unit for any assessment levied against that unit," running from the time the assessment becomes due and a notice of the dollar amount is recorded in the mortgage records. That lien "may be foreclosed in like manner as a mortgage on real estate," with reasonable notice to other lienholders whose interest would be affected. Section 76-874(b) is explicit that this lien "is not subject to the homestead exemption pursuant to section 40-101," one of the sharpest owner-hostile lines in the whole Act.
The lien isn't automatic or unlimited, though. It generally sits behind liens recorded before the declaration, a first mortgage recorded before the assessment notice, and real-estate tax liens, and, critically, it "is extinguished unless proceedings to enforce the lien are instituted within three years after the full amount of the assessments becomes due." A stale, unrecorded, or improperly documented lien is a lien you can push back on.
Assessments vs. fines, and the escrow wrinkle
Keep straight what the lien actually secures. Section 76-874(a) says fees, late charges, and fines authorized under subdivisions (a)(10) through (12) of § 76-860 are enforceable as assessments under this same lien, meaning an old unpaid fine can ride along with your dues into the same foreclosure exposure, on top of interest the association sets that can't exceed eighteen percent a year under § 76-873(b). If you bought your unit on or after September 6, 2013, the association may also have required you to fund an escrow account under § 76-874.01, capped at six months of assessments, held in an interest-bearing account and returned to you in full when you sell with everything paid. Ask whether that escrow exists and whether it was correctly applied before assuming a delinquency is real.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-874
Establishes the condo association's recorded assessment lien, its priority, the express carve-out from Nebraska's homestead exemption, and the three-year window to enforce it.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-873
Governs how and when assessments are set, and caps interest on a past-due assessment at eighteen percent per year.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-874.01
Lets the association require an escrow account, capped at six months of assessments, from unit owners who bought on or after September 6, 2013, held separately and returned in full when the unit sells.
Step by step
How to respond to a Nebraska condo lien or foreclosure notice
Steps to take the moment your Nebraska condo association records a lien or moves toward foreclosure over unpaid assessments.
- 01
Confirm the lien was actually recorded
Section 76-874(a) requires a notice with the dollar amount to be recorded in the office where mortgages are recorded before the lien attaches. Check the county register of deeds; an unrecorded claim isn't yet the statutory lien.
- 02
Get an itemized, written statement
Section 76-874(g) entitles you to a recordable statement of unpaid assessments within ten business days of a written request, binding on the association. Use it to separate real assessments from fines, late charges, and interest.
- 03
Check the lien's age
A lien for unpaid assessments is extinguished unless the association starts enforcement proceedings within three years after the full amount became due. An old, unenforced lien may already be dead under § 76-874(d).
- 04
Ask about your escrow account
If you bought on or after September 6, 2013, ask whether an escrow account exists under § 76-874.01 and whether it was applied to the delinquency before any harsher step was taken.
- 05
Get a Nebraska attorney before a foreclosure filing
Remember your homestead exemption does not protect you here under § 76-874(b). Talk to a licensed Nebraska attorney while you still have time to respond to any foreclosure action.
Straight answers
Common questions
Can a Nebraska condo association really foreclose on my home?
Yes. Section 76-874(a) gives the association a lien for unpaid assessments that can be foreclosed like a mortgage, and § 76-874(b) says that lien is not protected by Nebraska's homestead exemption.
Does the homestead exemption protect me from an HOA or condo lien?
Not from this one. Section 76-874(b) expressly states the condo association's assessment lien is not subject to the homestead exemption under § 40-101, unlike many other creditor claims against your home.
Is there a time limit on how long the association can wait to foreclose?
Yes. Under § 76-874(d), a lien for unpaid assessments is extinguished unless the association institutes proceedings to enforce it within three years after the full amount becomes due.
Can old fines or late charges get swept into the foreclosure lien?
Yes. Section 76-874(a) says fees, late charges, and fines authorized under § 76-860(a)(10) through (12) are enforceable as assessments under the same lien used for foreclosure.