Kentucky Condominium Assessment Lien Calculator — Subordinate Lien, 5-Year SOL (KRS § 381.860 / § 413.120)

How this calculator works

This is a lien-balance and priority-position model for a Kentucky condominium assessment lien under the Kentucky Horizontal Property Law. Given the total delinquent assessments, late charges, interest, attorneys' fees, costs, first-mortgage balance, recording sequence, optional property value, payments to date, and the first-delinquent-assessment date, it returns:

1. The total association lien (gross and net of payments).
2. The component breakdown — assessments versus late charges, interest, fees, and costs.
3. The priority position of the lien relative to the first mortgage. Under KRS § 381.860 the lien is SUBORDINATE to any first mortgage recorded before the assessment lien attached. Kentucky did NOT adopt the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act and has no super-priority window of any length.
4. Estimated equity after the first mortgage and a projected recovery band (HIGH, PARTIAL, MINIMAL, NONE) based on equity dynamics.
5. A statute-of-limitations risk flag under KRS § 413.120 — Kentucky's 5-year SOL on unwritten-contract claims governs unpaid assessment recovery.

Use the calculator at the start of every collection file to set the recovery target, again at month four or five to confirm the recoverable amount is on track, and again at the foreclosure decision point before filing the Kentucky judicial-foreclosure complaint and incurring Master Commissioner sale procedural costs under KRS Chapter 426.

The relevant KRS Ch. 381 statute

The Kentucky Horizontal Property Law lives at KRS § 381.805 through § 381.910 and predates the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act by decades. Kentucky did not adopt UCIOA and the Kentucky framework follows a distinct priority model that is materially different from UCIOA peers.

KRS § 381.860 — The council of co-owners (the association) has a statutory lien on each unit for unpaid common-expense assessments levied against the unit under the master deed and bylaws. The lien attaches AUTOMATICALLY when each assessment becomes due; no recording is required to perfect the lien against the unit owner. Recording with the county clerk's office preserves priority against subsequent purchasers and lenders under Kentucky recording statutes including KRS § 382.080. The lien is SUBORDINATE to any first mortgage recorded BEFORE the assessment lien attached.

KRS § 381.870 — Governs amendment of the master deed and declaration content. Kentucky associations must follow the master-deed amendment threshold (commonly 75% by default in Kentucky condominium practice; declaration may specify higher).

KRS § 381.880 — Governs voting and quorum at unit-owner meetings; defaults to per-bylaws specification with a 51% common practice.

KRS § 413.120 — Imposes a 5-year statute of limitations on actions on a contract not in writing. Kentucky case law treats unpaid assessment claims as governed by this 5-year period. The clock runs from the date each individual assessment became due.

KRS Chapter 426 — Governs enforcement of judgments and judicial-sale procedure in Kentucky. Kentucky is an EXCLUSIVELY JUDICIAL foreclosure state for assessment liens. Foreclosure sales are conducted by the Master Commissioner of the circuit court for the county where the property is located.

KRS § 426.520 — Requires the Master Commissioner to obtain an appraisal of the property before the sale.

KRS § 426.530 — Grants the former owner a 1-YEAR right of redemption when the sale brings LESS THAN TWO-THIRDS of the appraised value. The redemption is exercised by paying the sale price plus 10% per annum interest within one year of the sale.

Kentucky-specific gotchas (NO super-priority, judicial-only foreclosure with 2/3-appraisal redemption rule, no statutory resale-package regime)

NO UCIOA SUPER-PRIORITY. Kentucky's Horizontal Property Law at KRS § 381.860 does NOT include a UCIOA-style super-priority over the first mortgage. The association lien is SUBORDINATE to any first mortgage recorded before the assessment lien attached. This is the single biggest difference between Kentucky condominium collection practice and UCIOA peer-state practice. Practitioners moving from Maine (33 M.R.S. § 1603-116(b) six-month super-priority), Delaware, Vermont, Rhode Island, Washington, Colorado, Connecticut, or Minnesota (twelve-month expanded super-priority under Minn. Stat. § 515B.3-116(b)) routinely overestimate Kentucky recovery potential by assuming a super-priority window applies. The realistic Kentucky recovery analysis starts with equity after the first mortgage.

JUDICIAL-ONLY FORECLOSURE WITH MASTER COMMISSIONER SALE PROCEDURE. Kentucky uses EXCLUSIVELY JUDICIAL foreclosure under KRS Chapter 426. After the court enters a judgment of foreclosure and orders a sale, the Master Commissioner of the circuit court conducts the sale according to a multi-step procedure: appraisal under KRS § 426.520, advertising in a newspaper of general circulation, public-auction sale at the courthouse, report of sale to the court for confirmation, and execution of the foreclosure deed after confirmation. The end-to-end timeline typically runs 9 to 15 months. This is materially slower than UCIOA states with nonjudicial pathways (Rhode Island 4-6 months, Washington 8-10 months) but faster than New York (13-30 months) or Vermont judicial pathways.

2/3-APPRAISAL REDEMPTION RULE UNDER KRS § 426.530. Kentucky has a unique post-sale redemption mechanism that depends on the relationship between the sale price and the appraised value. When the sale brings LESS THAN TWO-THIRDS of appraised value, the former owner has a 1-YEAR right of redemption. When the sale brings TWO-THIRDS or more of appraised value, there is NO redemption right and title vests upon confirmation. The practical effect: aggressive bidding at the Master Commissioner sale that exceeds the 2/3 threshold eliminates the redemption risk and accelerates title. Sales that bring less than 2/3 leave the foreclosure-sale purchaser holding a redemption-encumbered deed for a full year before clear title vests. This is structurally different from Maine's flat 90-day post-judgment redemption under 14 M.R.S. § 6322, Minnesota's flat 180-day redemption under Minn. Stat. § 580, and Vermont's 6-month or 1-year owner-occupied redemption under 12 V.S.A. § 4954.

5-YEAR STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS UNDER KRS § 413.120. Kentucky case law applies the 5-year limitations period on unwritten-contract claims to unpaid condominium assessments. The clock runs from the date each individual assessment became due, not from the date the unit owner first became delinquent. The practical effect: in an aged delinquency, only assessments that became due within the past five years remain recoverable; older assessments may be barred even though the lien theoretically continues to attach. Refresh the aging analysis before filing suit and confirm with Kentucky counsel which assessments remain within the limitations period. This is shorter than the 10-year written-contract SOL under KRS § 413.090 but the case-law characterization controls.

KENTUCKY DOES NOT LICENSE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION MANAGERS. Florida (LCAM), Illinois (CAM), Nevada (CAM), and Virginia (CIC manager) all require state licensure of CAMs. Kentucky does not. The Horizontal Property Law compliance work falls to the association attorney and the managing agent under contract, without a state-licensed CAM as an intermediate quality-control layer. Boards in Kentucky condominium projects should expect to engage the association attorney earlier in the delinquency cycle than in states with licensed CAMs. Industry associations (Community Associations Institute Kentucky chapter; Greater Cincinnati CAI chapter for northern Kentucky) offer professional designations (CMCA, AMS, PCAM) on a voluntary basis but they are not state licenses.

RECORDING AT THE COUNTY CLERK PRESERVES PRIORITY AGAINST SUBSEQUENT PURCHASERS. Kentucky records real-estate documents at the county level through the county clerk's office — Jefferson (Louisville), Fayette (Lexington), Kenton (Covington), Boone (Burlington), Hardin (Elizabethtown), Warren (Bowling Green), and so on. Although KRS § 381.860 attaches the lien automatically without recording, recording with the county clerk preserves priority against SUBSEQUENT purchasers and lenders under KRS § 382.080. Most Kentucky condominium collection counsel record the lien within 30 to 60 days of the delinquency aging beyond three months.

MASTER DEED AND BYLAWS CONTROL LATE-CHARGE, INTEREST, AND FEE RECOVERY. KRS § 381.860 does not statutorily authorize specific late charges, interest rates, or attorneys' fees — the master deed and bylaws control. Most Kentucky condominium master deeds authorize late charges (typically $25-$50 per missed assessment), interest at 8-12% per annum, and reasonable attorneys' fees. Confirm the master-deed authority before adding these charges to the lien; uncontroversial fee-shifting in some master deeds has been narrowed by case-law constraints in others.

NO STATUTORY RESALE-CERTIFICATE REGIME. Kentucky does NOT have a UCIOA-style statutory resale certificate. The KRS § 381 framework relies on practical custom (typical 10-14 day delivery) and broker disclosure obligations under Kentucky Real Estate Commission rules. The companion Kentucky resale-disclosure calculator models the practical norms and the broker-disclosure interaction. The absence of a statutory regime creates uncertainty about content scope, fee reasonableness, and buyer-reliance protection.

What this calculator does NOT model

The calculator implements the Kentucky Horizontal Property Law lien MATH. It does NOT:

• Validate master-deed authority for late charges, interest rates, or attorneys' fees — confirm the master-deed authority before adding these charges to the lien.
• Compute statutory interest rates — interest is recoverable but the rate depends on the master deed (commonly 8-12% in Kentucky) or applicable Kentucky judgment-interest rates.
• Compute the exact Master Commissioner sale date — the judicial-foreclosure timeline is handled in the companion Kentucky foreclosure-timeline calculator.
• Model the 2/3-appraisal redemption trigger under KRS § 426.530 — the redemption-eligibility flag is computed in the companion foreclosure-timeline calculator.
• Validate the Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure pleading standards or the Master Commissioner appointment procedures.
• Cover non-condominium common-interest communities (planned communities and HOAs are not governed by the Horizontal Property Law and follow different priority rules).
• Model declaration-driven exceptions where the master deed creates a higher-priority position (rare in Kentucky and unlikely to be enforceable against a prior first mortgagee).

For any consequential collection or foreclosure decision, retain Kentucky counsel with Horizontal Property Law enforcement experience to oversee the procedural compliance review.

Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-05-17 against:

• KRS § 381.805 et seq. — Kentucky Horizontal Property Law (Kentucky's condominium statutory framework, predating UCIOA).
• KRS § 381.860 — statutory association assessment lien attaching automatically; subordinate to prior first mortgage.
• KRS § 381.870 — master deed amendment procedure.
• KRS § 381.880 — voting and quorum.
• KRS § 382.080 — Kentucky recording statutes.
• KRS § 413.120 — 5-year statute of limitations on unwritten-contract claims.
• KRS Chapter 426 — enforcement of judgments and Master Commissioner sale procedure.
• KRS § 426.520 — appraisal requirement at judicial-execution sale.
• KRS § 426.530 — 1-year right of redemption when sale brings less than two-thirds of appraised value.
• Community Associations Institute Kentucky chapter practitioner materials on Kentucky Horizontal Property Law enforcement.