Yes, a Pennsylvania association can lien your unit and foreclose, and it does not need your mortgage to be behind for it to happen. Section 3315(a) (condo) and § 5315(a) (planned community) create the lien 'for any assessment levied against that unit or fines imposed against its unit owner from the time the assessment or fine becomes due,' and the lien 'may be foreclosed in like manner as a mortgage on real estate.' There is no separate notice-of-lien filing step: recording the declaration itself 'constitutes record notice and perfection of the lien' (§ 3315(c) / § 5315(d)), which means the lien framework already exists against your unit from day one; it only attaches real value once something goes unpaid.
The lien is not unlimited, though. It generally sits behind liens recorded before the declaration and behind a first mortgage recorded before the assessment's due date, and it is extinguished if the association doesn't act on it within four years of when the assessment or fine became payable (§ 3315(d) / § 5315(e)). If a foreclosure sale does happen, roughly six months of unpaid common-expense assessments follow the property through the sale ahead of most other claims (§ 3315(b)(2) / § 5315(b)(2)), which is one reason associations move on liens rather than letting them sit.
Fight the math, not just the notice
Three specifics work in your favor. First, on written request the association must furnish you a 'recordable statement setting forth the amount of unpaid assessments' within ten business days, and that statement 'is binding on the association' (§ 3315(g) / § 5315(h)); use it to check the number they're chasing. Second, payments get applied in a set order: interest first, then any late fee, then the association's costs and attorney's fees, and only then to the actual delinquent assessment (§ 3315(h) / § 5315(i)), so a partial payment may not move your real balance the way you'd expect. Third, attorney's fees in any lien lawsuit go to whichever side prevails, not automatically to the association (§ 3315(f) / § 5315(g)), which means a lien pursued on a padded or incorrect balance can cost the association, not just you.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
68 Pa.C.S. § 3315
Creates the condo association's lien for unpaid assessments and fines, sets priority rules, a four-year enforcement window, prevailing-party attorney's fees, and the order payments get applied.
68 Pa.C.S. § 5315
The planned community (HOA) mirror of § 3315, with an added rule giving equal priority to multiple associations' liens on the same real estate.
68 Pa.C.S. § 3407
Requires the association to furnish, within ten days of a request, a certificate stating exactly what's currently due, and caps a purchaser's liability at that stated figure; § 5407 is the planned community equivalent.
Step by step
How to respond to a Pennsylvania HOA or condo lien
Steps to take the moment you receive notice of a lien, or of a foreclosure action, over unpaid assessments or fines in Pennsylvania.
- 01
Get the exact number in writing
Request the § 3315(g) / § 5315(h) statement of unpaid assessments. It must arrive within ten business days and is binding on the association once given.
- 02
Separate real assessments from padding
Confirm what the balance is actually made of: assessments, fines, and only the late charges and legal costs the statute and declaration allow. A resale certificate under § 3407 / § 5407 states the same figure and caps a buyer's exposure to it.
- 03
Check the four-year clock
Confirm the association is acting within four years of when the assessment or fine became payable (§ 3315(d) / § 5315(e)). A lien not enforced in that window is extinguished by statute.
- 04
Track how any payment you make gets applied
Under § 3315(h) / § 5315(i), payments are applied to interest, then late fees, then the association's costs and attorney's fees, before touching the actual delinquent assessment. Don't assume a partial payment reduced your real balance.
- 05
Get counsel before a sale is scheduled
Foreclosure of your home is the one place not to negotiate to the finish line alone. Because attorney's fees go to whichever side prevails (§ 3315(f) / § 5315(g)), a wrongly calculated or improperly perfected lien is a real fight to have, with counsel, before the sale date.
Straight answers
Common questions
Can a Pennsylvania HOA or condo actually foreclose over unpaid dues or fines?
Yes. Section 3315(a) (condo) and § 5315(a) (planned community) give the association a lien for unpaid assessments and unpaid fines alike, foreclosable in like manner as a mortgage.
Is there a deadline on how long the association can wait to enforce a lien?
Yes. Section 3315(d) / § 5315(e) extinguish the lien if proceedings to enforce it aren't started within four years after the assessment or fine became payable.
How do I find out exactly what I owe before a sale or refinance?
Request the statement of unpaid assessments under § 3315(g) / § 5315(h), or the resale certificate under § 3407 / § 5407. Both must be furnished on a set timeline and both bind the association to the figure they state.
If I make a payment, does it reduce the overdue assessment first?
Not necessarily. Section 3315(h) / § 5315(i) apply payments to interest, then late fees, then the association's costs and attorney's fees, before the delinquent assessment itself, unless your declaration says otherwise.