Maryland Condo Assessment Lien Super-Priority Calculator — Four-Month Window Under Md. RP Sec. 11-110(d)

How this calculator works

This calculator splits a Maryland condominium or HOA assessment lien into its super-priority and sub-priority components under the Maryland Condominium Act (Md. Code, Real Property Article Title 11). Given the monthly assessment, months delinquent, payments to date, first-mortgage balance, attorney fees and costs incurred, optional property value, and any late fees or fines, it returns:

1. The super-priority dollar amount under Md. RP Sec. 11-110(d) — FOUR months of the periodic budgeted assessment, assessments only. Maryland does NOT include attorney fees within super-priority (unlike Connecticut CGS Sec. 47-258(b)).
2. The sub-priority dollar amount — any portion of the lien beyond the four-month window, plus attorney fees, late fees, and fines.
3. The total lien net of payments to date.
4. Recovery probability bands for each priority class, with the sub-priority band sensitive to estimated equity (property value minus first mortgage).

Use the calculator before instituting judicial foreclosure to compute the tender amount you expect the first-mortgage holder to pay, during settlement negotiations to validate the super-priority position, and after collection to memorialize the priority breakdown in the file.

The relevant Md. RP statute

The Maryland Condominium Act lives at Md. Code, Real Property Article Title 11. The lien-priority provisions are concentrated in Md. RP Sec. 11-110:

Md. RP Sec. 11-110(a) — The council of unit owners has a statutory lien on each unit for any sum assessed against the unit pursuant to the declaration, bylaws, or Sec. 11-110. The lien arises automatically when the assessment becomes due. Recording of a statement of lien is required to enforce the lien through foreclosure but not for the lien to attach against the unit owner.

Md. RP Sec. 11-110(d) — The lien for unpaid assessments has priority over all other liens and encumbrances on a unit recorded after the recordation of the declaration, except for (1) liens for real-property taxes and other governmental assessments and (2) the first mortgage of record. HOWEVER, the lien IS PRIOR TO the first mortgage to the extent of the COMMON EXPENSE ASSESSMENTS based on the periodic budget that would have become due in the absence of acceleration during the FOUR MONTHS immediately preceding institution of an action to enforce the lien.

Md. RP Sec. 11-110(e) — STATEMENT OF LIEN. The council must record a statement of lien in the land records of the county where the property is located. The statement must include the name of the unit owner, the description of the unit, and the amount of unpaid assessments. The statement of lien expires two years from recordation unless extended.

Md. RP Sec. 11-110(j) — Foreclosure of the association lien proceeds judicially under Md. Rules Title 14 Chapter 200. Maryland is JUDICIAL-ONLY for HOA and condominium assessment liens; no power-of-sale shortcut is available even when the declaration contains language attempting to authorize it.

For HOA-governed communities (planned communities, not condominium regimes), the parallel provisions live in Md. RP Title 11B, with Sec. 11B-117 establishing the statutory lien and the same judicial-foreclosure framework. The substantive math is identical; substitute Title 11B citations in any HOA-context memo. For cooperative housing corporations, the Maryland Cooperative Housing Corporation Act and Md. RP Title 11 cross-references apply through the proprietary-lease and share-ownership structure rather than direct real-property attachment.

Maryland-specific gotchas (4-month super-priority unique among peer states, judicial-only foreclosure)

FOUR MONTHS, NOT NINE OR SIX. Maryland chose four months under Md. RP Sec. 11-110(d). This is materially shorter than peer states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Washington (WUCIOA) all adopted the UCIOA model nine months; Colorado and Pennsylvania adopted six months; Virginia adopted six months. Maryland's four-month choice is the shortest among Mid-Atlantic peers. Out-of-state practitioners frequently misremember Maryland as a six-month or nine-month state; use four. The four-month window reflects a Maryland General Assembly policy decision to weight first-mortgage protection more heavily than UCIOA states.

ASSESSMENTS ONLY — NO ATTORNEY FEES IN SUPER-PRIORITY. This is the second Maryland-specific feature. Md. RP Sec. 11-110(d) extends super-priority to common-expense assessments based on the periodic budget; it does NOT extend super-priority to reasonable attorney fees and costs of enforcement. Connecticut treats this differently — CGS Sec. 47-258(b) expressly includes attorney fees within super-priority. The practical effect: a Maryland council collecting a $1,600 four-month delinquency on a $400 monthly assessment plus $4,000 in attorney fees has a SUPER-PRIORITY position of $1,600 — the $4,000 attorney fees fall entirely to sub-priority. The first-mortgage holder tenders only the $1,600 to preserve its position. This is the most material difference between Maryland super-priority and the UCIOA states.

JUDICIAL-ONLY FORECLOSURE. Maryland HOA and condominium assessment liens proceed through judicial foreclosure under Md. Rules Title 14 Chapter 200 — there is no power-of-sale shortcut. Maryland residential mortgages with recorded power-of-sale clauses may use non-judicial mechanics, but association liens arise by statute (not by recorded power-of-sale instrument) and must proceed through the court. The judicial-only requirement materially extends Maryland HOA foreclosure timelines compared to power-of-sale states; budget for 9-15 months from default to sale.

STATEMENT OF LIEN EXPIRES IN TWO YEARS. Md. RP Sec. 11-110(e) imposes a two-year expiration on the recorded statement of lien unless extended by recording an extension. A council that records the statement of lien and then waits more than two years to file foreclosure must re-record (or record an extension) before filing — failure to do so risks dismissal of the foreclosure action for lack of an enforceable recorded lien. Calendar the two-year deadline in the collection file.

SDAT REGISTRATION FOR THE ASSOCIATION ENTITY. Maryland associations must register with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) as the entity that holds title to the common elements and conducts the foreclosure. A council whose SDAT registration has lapsed (commonly through missed annual report filings) cannot maintain the foreclosure action until the registration is restored. Confirm SDAT good standing before filing.

LATE FEES AND FINES ARE NEVER SUPER-PRIORITY. Late fees on the assessments, fines for governing-document violations, and one-off special assessments outside the periodic budget process all fall to sub-priority status. The calculator collects late fees and fines in a separate input and assigns them entirely to the sub-priority bucket.

FIRST-MORTGAGE HOLDER USUALLY TENDERS. As in Connecticut, the first-mortgage holder almost always tenders the super-priority amount shortly after receiving notice of the council's foreclosure action. The tender amount in Maryland is materially smaller than in UCIOA states because of the assessments-only / four-month combination — typically $800-$3,000 for a four-month delinquency at typical Mid-Atlantic monthly assessments.

What this calculator does NOT model

This is a priority-breakdown calculator. It does NOT:

• Model the procedural timeline of judicial foreclosure under Md. Rules Title 14 Chapter 200. Use the companion Maryland HOA foreclosure-timeline calculator for that math.
• Compute the resale-package disclosure obligations under Md. RP Sec. 11-135 (condo) or Md. RP Sec. 11B-106 (HOA). Use the resale-package calculator.
• Validate the form of the statement of lien recording (the format requirements differ by county clerk).
• Compute interest, late-fee accrual, or attorney-fee reasonableness — the inputs are taken as the reasonable amounts the council has incurred.
• Model the SDAT registration prerequisites or the entity good-standing requirements for filing foreclosure.
• Address allocation of partial payments between super-priority and sub-priority — Maryland council collection policies vary on this point, and the allocation can materially affect the super-priority tender amount.
• Model the bankruptcy treatment of the association lien (the super-priority operates differently in Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 13; consult bankruptcy counsel).
• Cover the Maryland Cooperative Housing Corporation Act framework for cooperative interests — those proceed through proprietary-lease termination, not real-property foreclosure.

For any consequential collection action, retain Maryland counsel with Title 11 / Title 11B enforcement experience and current knowledge of the Circuit Court trends in your county.

Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-05-16 against:

• Md. Code, Real Property Article Title 11 (Maryland Condominium Act).
• Md. RP Sec. 11-110(a) — statutory association lien arising automatically.
• Md. RP Sec. 11-110(d) — four-month super-priority over first mortgage; assessments only (no attorney fees).
• Md. RP Sec. 11-110(e) — statement of lien recordation and two-year expiration.
• Md. RP Sec. 11-110(j) — judicial foreclosure of the association lien.
• Md. Code, Real Property Article Title 11B (Maryland Homeowners Association Act).
• Md. RP Sec. 11B-117 — parallel HOA statutory lien.
• Md. Rules Title 14 Chapter 200 — judicial foreclosure procedure.
• Maryland Cooperative Housing Corporation Act provisions for cooperative interests.
• Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) entity registration requirements.
• Maryland Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection Division guidance on common interest community enforcement.
• CAI Chesapeake Region Chapter practitioner materials on Maryland enforcement.