DC Condo Assessment Lien Super-Priority Calculator

How it works

This is a collection-file tool for District of Columbia condominium associations. Given the current monthly common-expense assessment, the months of delinquency, payments to date, the first mortgage balance on the unit, the unit market value, and the contractual interest and late-charge rates, it returns:

1. The SUPER-PRIORITY AMOUNT under DC Official Code § 42-1903.13(a)(2) — up to six months of common-expense assessments at the current rate, plus attributed late charges, interest, and reasonable attorney fees and costs.
2. The SUB-PRIORITY AMOUNT — everything else owed, subordinate to the first mortgage of record.
3. The ESTIMATED EQUITY in the unit — market value minus first mortgage balance.
4. The RECOVERY PROBABILITY (strong, mixed, weak) based on the relationship between estimated equity and the lien amounts.

Use the calculator before recording a lien notice to quantify the leverage from the super-priority; use it before negotiating a workout with the unit owner or the senior lender to set the payoff demand; use it before initiating the § 42-1903.13(c)(4) nonjudicial foreclosure to confirm the bifurcation between the super-priority and sub-priority portions.

The relevant statute

The DC Condominium Act lives in DC Official Code Title 42, Chapter 19 (§ 42-1901.01 et seq.), and the assessment-lien provisions are concentrated in § 42-1903.13.

§ 42-1903.13(a) — The unit owners association has a lien on each unit for unpaid common-expense assessments. The lien attaches automatically by operation of law when the assessment becomes due. No recording is required for attachment. The lien covers common-expense assessments, late charges, interest, and reasonable attorney fees and costs.

§ 42-1903.13(a)(2) — The centerpiece super-priority provision. The association lien is prior to a first mortgage of record up to an amount equal to six months of common-expense assessments based on the periodic assessment rate in effect at the time the association initiates enforcement. The super-priority survives senior mortgage foreclosure and must be paid to deliver clear title.

§ 42-1903.13(c) — Enforcement procedures, including the 60-day right-to-cure notice required before initiating nonjudicial foreclosure.

§ 42-1903.13(c)(4) — The nonjudicial power-of-sale foreclosure procedure available to DC condominium associations. Modeled on the UCIOA framework. Requires strict compliance with the right-to-cure notice and the publication and sale-conduct procedures specified in the declaration.

The DC Court of Appeals decision in Chase Plaza Condominium Association v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, 98 A.3d 166 (D.C. 2014) confirmed the structural validity of the super-priority and clarified that a properly conducted association nonjudicial foreclosure can extinguish the junior portion of the first mortgagee interest in the unit. Chase Plaza substantially strengthened the collection leverage of DC condominium associations.

Key thresholds and DC-specific gotchas

Super-priority is measured at the CURRENT periodic assessment rate, not the historical rate. When assessments have increased over a long delinquency, the most recent six months at the current rate are what count toward the super-priority bucket. This favors the association when budgets have grown.

The 60-day right-to-cure notice is a strict prerequisite. Skipping the notice or failing to allow the full 60 days under § 42-1903.13(c) invalidates the nonjudicial foreclosure and exposes the association to a wrongful-foreclosure claim. The notice must identify the amount in default, the components of the delinquency, the right to cure within 60 days, and the procedures for the foreclosure sale if the default is not cured.

Chase Plaza extinguishment is enforcement-specific. The extinguishment doctrine applies when the ASSOCIATION conducts the nonjudicial foreclosure under § 42-1903.13(c)(4). When the SENIOR LENDER forecloses first, the senior takes title subject to the super-priority lien (which must be paid to clear title), and the sub-priority is wiped out. The two paths produce different collection outcomes.

Payments-to-date are applied to super-priority first. This is the owner-favorable accounting most DC practitioners use, on the rationale that the senior mortgagee and any bona-fide purchaser rely on a known super-priority cap when funding payoff demands. Some practitioners apply payments to the sub-priority first; the calculator uses the more common convention.

Recording a notice of lien is permissive, not mandatory. § 42-1903.13(a) provides that the lien attaches automatically when the assessment is unpaid. Recording with the DC Recorder of Deeds perfects priority against subsequent encumbrancers and bona fide purchasers — best practice is to record once a delinquency exceeds approximately three months.

Attorney fees are part of the lien. § 42-1903.13 includes reasonable attorney fees and costs as recoverable elements of the lien. The calculator attributes attorney fees proportionally between the super-priority and sub-priority buckets; some DC practitioners attribute fees entirely to super-priority on the rationale that the fees were incurred to enforce the priority.

What this calculator does NOT model

The calculator implements the BIFURCATION math for the super-priority and sub-priority portions. It does NOT:

• Validate the form or content of the § 42-1903.13(c) right-to-cure notice.
• Model the publication and sale-conduct procedures specified in the declaration for the nonjudicial foreclosure under § 42-1903.13(c)(4).
• Determine whether the declaration's amendment procedure satisfies the DC statute for any changes to the lien procedures.
• Model the parallel timeline math for the foreclosure sale itself (use the companion DC condo foreclosure timeline calculator for that).
• Validate the chain of board action required to authorize the lien recording or the foreclosure filing.
• Model the deficiency-judgment availability against the prior owner.
• Account for any DC-specific exemptions for owner-occupied units, senior owners, or hardship circumstances that the association may have adopted by resolution.

For any DC condominium collection action, retain DC counsel with Condominium Act experience. The Chase Plaza framework and its successor decisions are technical; counsel should confirm the current state of the law before recording a lien or initiating foreclosure.

Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-05-16 against:

• DC Official Code § 42-1903.13 (statutory lien; six-month super-priority).
• DC Official Code § 42-1903.13(c) (enforcement procedures; 60-day right-to-cure notice).
• DC Official Code § 42-1903.13(c)(4) (nonjudicial power-of-sale foreclosure procedure).
• DC Official Code Title 42, Chapter 19 (DC Condominium Act).
• Chase Plaza Condominium Association v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, 98 A.3d 166 (D.C. 2014).
• DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) — Common Interest Community Manager licensure resources.
• Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (UCIOA) — the model statute on which DC Official Code § 42-1903.13 is structurally based.