Oregon HOA Assessment Lien Super-Priority Calculator — Six-Month Window (ORS 94.709 / ORS 100.450)

How this calculator works

This calculator computes the super-priority and sub-priority breakdown of an Oregon HOA or condominium assessment lien under the Oregon Planned Community Act (ORS 94.709) or the Oregon Condominium Act (ORS 100.450). Given the monthly common-expense assessment, the number of months delinquent, payments to date, the first-mortgage balance, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of enforcement, it returns:

1. The super-priority portion: the lesser of months delinquent or six months of periodic common-expense assessments, plus statutorily-included reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.
2. The sub-priority portion: assessments beyond the six-month window plus late fees, fines, and other non-assessment charges.
3. The total lien net of any payments the unit owner has made on the delinquency.
4. Recovery probability bands for each priority class. Super-priority recovery is typically HIGH because the first-mortgage holder tenders to preserve its lien position. Sub-priority recovery depends on equity in the property after the first mortgage.

The math is straightforward: super-priority assessments equal monthly assessment times min(months delinquent, 6); the super-priority position adds reasonable attorneys' fees and costs because the statute includes them in the priority position; the sub-priority position covers everything else. The calculator surfaces the late-fees-and-fines bucket separately to make the priority distinction visible to the secretary or attorney preparing the collection file.

Use the calculator early in the collection cycle to confirm the financial stakes at each priority level, when drafting the demand letter or notice of default, and during settlement negotiation to allocate any partial payment by priority class. The output drives the demand-letter dollar figure, the lien-recording timing decision, and the foreclosure or settlement strategy.

The relevant ORS Chapter 94 / 100 statute

Oregon's HOA assessment-lien framework lives in two parallel statutory schemes. The substantive math is identical; citations and some procedural mechanics differ.

ORS Chapter 94 — Oregon Planned Community Act (PCA). Originally enacted in 1981 and substantially revised in 1999 to adopt the Uniform Planned Community Act (UPCA) framework. Covers planned communities — non-condominium HOAs, typically detached single-family or townhome developments with common areas.

• ORS 94.709(1) — the association has a STATUTORY LIEN on a unit for any unpaid assessment levied against the unit. The lien arises automatically when each assessment becomes due; no recording is required to perfect the lien against the unit owner.
• ORS 94.709(7) — the SIX-MONTH SUPER-PRIORITY. The association lien is prior to a first mortgage to the extent of the common-expense assessments based on the periodic budget which would have become due in the absence of acceleration during the six months immediately preceding institution of an enforcement action. Reasonable attorneys' fees and costs are included within the priority position.
• ORS 94.709(8) — the association may foreclose its lien through the same procedures as a mortgage on real property under ORS Chapter 88 (judicial) or, when the declaration so authorizes, nonjudicially under the Oregon Trust Deed Act (ORS 86.705-86.815).

ORS Chapter 100 — Oregon Condominium Act. Dating to 1963 with many subsequent amendments. Covers condominiums — unit ownership with shared common elements under a declaration of condominium.

• ORS 100.450(1) — parallel statutory lien arising automatically on each unpaid assessment.
• ORS 100.450(7) — parallel six-month super-priority over the recorded first mortgage with reasonable attorneys' fees included.
• ORS 100.450(8) — parallel judicial / nonjudicial foreclosure path.

ORS 86.705-86.815 — Oregon Trust Deed Act. The nonjudicial-foreclosure statute that supplies the trustee-sale mechanism when the HOA declaration authorizes trust-deed foreclosure. Key sections include ORS 86.752 (recording of notice of default), ORS 86.764 (180-day notice of sale period), and ORS 86.778 (conduct of the sale).

ORS Chapter 88 — judicial foreclosure of mortgage liens. The alternative path when the declaration does not authorize nonjudicial foreclosure or when the association elects judicial proceedings.

Oregon-specific gotchas (nonjudicial trust-deed foreclosure permitted, no CAM licensure)

OREGON PERMITS NONJUDICIAL HOA FORECLOSURE WHEN THE DECLARATION AUTHORIZES TRUST-DEED FORECLOSURE. ORS 94.709(8) and ORS 100.450(8) permit the association to foreclose through the same procedures as a mortgage on real property. Under Oregon law that includes the nonjudicial trust-deed path under the Oregon Trust Deed Act when the declaration so provides. Many modern Oregon HOA declarations include trust-deed authorization specifically to access the nonjudicial path; older declarations may not. The first task in every Oregon HOA foreclosure file is to read the declaration's foreclosure-method clause.

OREGON ADOPTED THE SIX-MONTH WINDOW — SHORTER THAN UCIOA NINE MONTHS. Both the PCA and the Condo Act use the six-month super-priority window common across UPCA-aligned states. Practitioners moving from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, or other nine-month UCIOA states must adjust the math by one third. A nine-month super-priority of $3,375 on a $375 monthly assessment becomes a six-month super-priority of $2,250 in Oregon.

ATTORNEYS' FEES AND COSTS ARE STATUTORILY INCLUDED IN THE PRIORITY POSITION. Oregon follows the UPCA pattern of including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of enforcement within the super-priority position. A common error is to calculate the super-priority as assessments only and miss the meaningful additional dollars from fees. On a typical $375 monthly assessment with $3,500 attorneys' fees, the assessments-only super-priority is $2,250 but the full super-priority position is $5,750.

OREGON DOES NOT LICENSE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION MANAGERS AT THE STATE LEVEL. There is no CAM credential comparable to Florida's LCAM, Nevada's CAM, or California's CCAM. Property managers handling trust funds may need an Oregon Real Estate Agency property-manager license under ORS Chapter 696, but no specific community-association management credential exists. The Community Associations Institute (CAI) offers voluntary professional designations (PCAM, AMS, CMCA) that many Oregon managers hold, but these are professional certifications, not state licenses. This affects who may sign collection communications and reserve-study materials in Oregon and how associations evaluate manager qualifications.

PCA VS CONDO ACT — DUAL-REGIME STRUCTURE. Planned communities run under ORS Chapter 94; condominiums run under ORS Chapter 100. The substantive super-priority math is identical, but the citations differ and some procedural mechanics differ. Some Oregon master associations include both townhouses (governed by the PCA) and condominium units (governed by the Condo Act) within a single master structure; that scenario requires careful regime analysis at the collection-policy level.

SUB-PRIORITY RECOVERY DEPENDS ON EQUITY. When the property is underwater, the sub-priority portion is typically minimally recoverable because the first mortgage absorbs any sale proceeds above the super-priority. The calculator's sub-priority recovery band makes this risk visible early in the file.

THE SUPER-PRIORITY OPERATES AGAINST THE EXISTING FIRST MORTGAGE — RECORDING IS NOT REQUIRED. ORS 94.709(1) and ORS 100.450(1) provide that the association lien arises automatically without recording. Recording is recommended for collection-file completeness and to defeat subsequent-purchaser defenses, but the super-priority operates by statute alone. Practitioners sometimes assume recording is a prerequisite for priority; it is not.

What this calculator does NOT model

The calculator implements the Oregon HOA / condominium assessment-lien SUPER-PRIORITY AND SUB-PRIORITY MATH. It does NOT:

• Model the procedural timeline from default through trustee or judicial sale. Use the companion Oregon HOA foreclosure-timeline calculator for the procedural ladder under the Oregon Trust Deed Act and ORS Chapter 88.
• Compute the first-mortgagee tender amount in negotiation scenarios where the parties dispute the calculation.
• Model the bankruptcy-court treatment of HOA assessments — pre-petition assessments are typically treated as pre-petition unsecured claims (subject to the super-priority carve-out under 11 USC 547 if perfected), while post-petition assessments are administrative claims under 11 USC 523(a)(16). Bankruptcy treatment is a specialized analysis not covered here.
• Allocate payments between super-priority and sub-priority under the association's collection policy — Oregon law does not prescribe an allocation rule, so each association's policy controls.
• Validate the declaration's foreclosure-method authorization (judicial vs nonjudicial).
• Model the FHA / VA / Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac investor-overlay rules that some first-mortgage holders apply when evaluating super-priority tender.
• Cover the PCA and Condo Act fiduciary-duty and reserve-study requirements that interact with collection-policy enforcement.

For any consequential collection or foreclosure action, retain Oregon counsel with HOA enforcement experience to oversee the procedural-compliance review.

Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-05-16 against:

• ORS Chapter 94 (Oregon Planned Community Act, UPCA-aligned framework).
• ORS 94.709 — PCA statutory lien, six-month super-priority, and foreclosure path.
• ORS Chapter 100 (Oregon Condominium Act).
• ORS 100.450 — Condo Act statutory lien, six-month super-priority, and foreclosure path.
• ORS 86.705-86.815 (Oregon Trust Deed Act) — nonjudicial foreclosure machinery.
• ORS Chapter 88 — judicial foreclosure of mortgage liens.
• ORS Chapter 696 — Oregon Real Estate Agency property-manager licensure (note: Oregon does not license community association managers).
• Oregon State Bar Real Estate and Land Use Section practitioner materials on HOA collection and foreclosure.
• Community Associations Institute (CAI) Oregon Chapter practitioner materials.