Ohio HOA Assessment Lien Calculator — ORC § 5311.18 (Condo) & § 5312.14 (Planned Community) Lien Amount & Priority

No. Ohio does NOT provide a uniformly confirmed statutory super-priority for HOA or condominium assessment liens over a recorded first mortgage. Illinois (765 ILCS 605/9(g)) and Massachusetts (MGL c.183A § 6) both provide a six-month super-priority window under which six months of common-area assessments rank ahead of the first mortgage. Ohio's ORC § 5311.18 (condominium) and § 5312.14 (planned community) create a statutory assessment lien that attaches from the date of nonpayment, but under general Ohio recording-act and lien-priority principles, this lien is generally SUBORDINATE to a previously recorded first mortgage. Ohio courts have not uniformly adopted the UCIOA-style six-month super-priority. This distinction is critical for associations evaluating collection risk: in Ohio, the assessment lien may yield little or no recovery in a foreclosure where the property is underwater relative to the first mortgage.

No. Unlike North Carolina (where the declaration can include a power-of-sale authorization enabling nonjudicial foreclosure under N.C.G.S. Chapter 45, Article 2A), Ohio requires JUDICIAL foreclosure to enforce HOA and condominium assessment liens under ORC § 5311.18(D) and § 5312.14(C). Ohio judicial foreclosure proceeds in the Common Pleas Court of the county where the property is located. The process typically takes 12 to 24 months from filing the complaint to sheriff's sale, and attorney fees accrue throughout the process. Ohio associations considering foreclosure should evaluate whether the anticipated recovery (given limited-priority status relative to any first mortgage) justifies the cost and time of judicial foreclosure.

Under ORC § 5311.18 (condominium) and § 5312.14 (planned community), the assessment lien attaches from the DATE OF NONPAYMENT — the day an assessment was due and not paid. No recording is required for the lien to come into existence. However, recording a notice of lien with the county recorder is advisable to protect the association's lien priority against subsequent judgment creditors, subsequent purchasers, and other lien creditors who might otherwise take priority under Ohio's recording act. The association should consult Ohio counsel on the timing and form of lien recording.

Ohio and Florida both provide statutory assessment liens for HOA and condo associations, but with significant differences. Florida (Fla. Stat. § 718.116 for condominiums, § 720.3085 for HOAs) provides a partial-priority mechanism for the first 12 months of condo assessments (subject to specific notice requirements) and allows nonjudicial foreclosure for HOAs under certain conditions. Ohio requires judicial foreclosure for all assessment-lien enforcement and lacks a confirmed super-priority window. Florida also requires a specific estoppel letter/certificate process for resale transactions; Ohio uses a different resale-certificate structure under ORC § 5311.091. Practitioners moving between Florida and Ohio must not assume that Florida's partial-priority or nonjudicial-foreclosure options are available in Ohio.

Yes. ORC § 5311.18 and § 5312.14 authorize the association to recover reasonable attorney fees and costs as part of the assessment lien. The declaration typically specifies the conditions under which attorney fees are collectible. Attorney fees are a valid component of the total lien amount and can be enforced through the judicial foreclosure process. However, like the underlying assessments, attorney fees are generally subordinate to a recorded first mortgage and may not be recovered if the property is underwater.

ORC Chapter 5312 is the Ohio Planned Community Act, enacted in 2004. It governs "planned communities" — residential developments with a mandatory owners association that are NOT condominiums (i.e., where owners own their lot in fee, rather than a unit interest in a condominium). ORC § 5312.14 provides the assessment-lien authority for planned communities and parallels ORC § 5311.18 for condominiums. Before 2004, Ohio had limited statutory authority for planned-community associations; Chapter 5312 filled this gap. Associations formed before 2004 may be governed by their declaration alone for lien purposes, depending on whether Chapter 5312 applies retroactively under their specific circumstances — consult Ohio counsel.

Ohio judicial foreclosure of an assessment lien typically takes 12 to 24 months from filing the complaint to sheriff's sale. This timeline reflects the general Common Pleas Court process: filing the complaint, service of process, obtaining a default judgment or litigating defenses, ordering the sheriff's sale, conducting the sale, and confirming the sale by court order. Contested cases, cases in high-volume counties (such as Cuyahoga, Franklin, or Hamilton), and cases involving federal tax liens or bankruptcy can take longer. Ohio associations should budget for significant attorney fee accrual during the foreclosure process when evaluating whether collection through foreclosure is cost-effective given the limited-priority position of the assessment lien.