VCIOA Assessment Lien Super-Priority Calculator — Six-Month Vermont Window (27A V.S.A. § 3-116)

How this calculator works

This is a priority-bucket model for a Vermont common interest community assessment lien under the Vermont Common Interest Ownership Act. Given the monthly assessment, months delinquent, payments to date, first-mortgage balance, attorneys' fees and costs, optional property value, and late fees and fines, it returns:

1. The applicable super-priority window in months (six months under VCIOA — Vermont adopted the UCIOA framework verbatim with no expansion option).
2. The super-priority dollar amount (assessments only — Vermont does not include attorneys' fees in the super-priority position by statute).
3. The sub-priority dollar amount (assessments beyond the super-priority window, late fees, fines, and attorneys' fees and costs).
4. The total lien net of payments made to date.
5. Recovery-probability bands for the super-priority position (typically HIGH because the first mortgagee tenders to preserve priority) and the sub-priority position (depends on estimated equity after the first mortgage).

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 within the six-month window; and again at the foreclosure-filing decision point to confirm the recoverable amount before instituting a judicial action under 12 V.S.A. § 4528 et seq.

The relevant 27A V.S.A. statute

The Vermont Common Interest Ownership Act (VCIOA) lives at 27A V.S.A. § 1-101 et seq. Vermont adopted UCIOA verbatim, including the section numbering — 27A tracks the UCIOA sections 1-101 through 4-120. VCIOA applies in full to common interest communities created on or after January 1, 1999. Portions of VCIOA — including the assessment-lien and super-priority provisions in § 3-116 — apply to older condominiums governed by the Vermont Condominium Ownership Act (27 V.S.A. Ch. 15) and older planned communities. This calculator implements the VCIOA super-priority math which generally controls regardless of formation date for Vermont CIC projects.

27A V.S.A. § 3-116(a) — The association has a statutory lien on each unit for any assessment levied against the unit and for fines or other charges imposed under the declaration or bylaws. The lien arises automatically when each assessment becomes due; no recording is required to perfect the lien against the unit owner. Recording with the town clerk is required to preserve priority against subsequent purchasers and lenders under Vermont's recording statutes.

27A V.S.A. § 3-116(b) — six-month super-priority — The association lien is prior to a recorded first mortgage to the extent of 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 the enforcement action. The six-month default matches the UCIOA model and the peer states Washington, Colorado, Connecticut, and Illinois. Unlike Minnesota — which has a unique twelve-month expanded super-priority under Minn. Stat. Sec. 515B.3-116(b) when the association pre-notices the first mortgagee — Vermont offers NO expansion beyond six months.

27A V.S.A. § 3-116(c) — Reasonable costs and attorneys' fees incurred in collecting the assessments or foreclosing the lien are recoverable as part of the lien. These costs sit OUTSIDE the super-priority dollar window by default (they are sub-priority) unless the declaration provides otherwise. Vermont follows the UCIOA baseline; the declaration may extend super-priority to fees but the statute itself does not.

27A V.S.A. § 3-116(j) — VCIOA channels Vermont CIC assessment-lien foreclosure into the JUDICIAL foreclosure procedure under 12 V.S.A. § 4528 et seq. Vermont strongly favors judicial foreclosure across all lien types; there is no general nonjudicial power-of-sale pathway for assessment liens. The judicial action proceeds in the Civil Division of the Superior Court with a mandatory 90-day cure period and either a 180-day or 1-year redemption period under 12 V.S.A. § 4530.

Vermont-specific gotchas (judicial-only foreclosure with mandatory 90-day cure, 180-day or 1-year residential redemption)

JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE IS THE ONLY PATHWAY. Unlike Minnesota (which permits nonjudicial foreclosure by advertisement under Minn. Stat. Ch. 580 if the declaration grants power of sale), Washington (which permits nonjudicial foreclosure of CIC liens under WUCIOA), and Texas (which broadly permits nonjudicial foreclosure), Vermont channels VCIOA assessment-lien foreclosure into JUDICIAL foreclosure under 12 V.S.A. § 4528. The Civil Division of the Superior Court handles every step, which makes Vermont CIC foreclosure SLOWER and MORE EXPENSIVE than nonjudicial states but provides materially stronger consumer-protection process. Practitioners moving from Minnesota or Washington routinely underestimate the timeline and cost of Vermont judicial foreclosure.

THE MANDATORY 90-DAY CURE PERIOD IS UNFORGIVING. Vermont judicial foreclosure under 12 V.S.A. § 4528 includes a mandatory 90-day cure period during which the unit owner may redeem by paying the arrearage in full plus reasonable fees and costs. The cure period runs from the date the complaint is filed and cannot be shortened by the declaration or by stipulation. The cure period is materially different from a contractual cure period in the declaration — it is statutory and applies regardless of whether the declaration includes a cure mechanism. Plan the file timeline to account for the full 90 days before the foreclosure judgment becomes available.

OWNER-OCCUPIED RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY GETS A 1-YEAR REDEMPTION. Under 12 V.S.A. § 4530, the default owner redemption period is 180 days from the date of the foreclosure judgment. For OWNER-OCCUPIED RESIDENTIAL property, the redemption period extends to 1 YEAR. Most Vermont CIC units are owner-occupied residential property — the 1-year redemption applies in the typical Vermont condo or townhome collection file. The extended redemption period creates a long tail on the collection file; the property does not deliver to the foreclosure-sale purchaser until redemption expires. Plan the carrying-cost exposure accordingly.

VERMONT DOES NOT LICENSE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION MANAGERS. Florida (LCAM), Illinois (CAM), Nevada (CAM), and Virginia (CIC manager) all require state licensure of CAMs. Vermont does not. The compliance work falls to the association attorney and the managing agent under contract. Practical effect: boards in Vermont CIC projects should expect to engage the association attorney earlier in the delinquency cycle than in states with licensed CAMs because there is no state-licensed manager handling procedural compliance independently. The judicial-only foreclosure pathway under § 3-116(j) reinforces the need for early attorney engagement — the foreclosure complaint must comply with Vermont Civil Rules and the specific pleading standards of 12 V.S.A. § 4528.

ATTORNEYS' FEES ARE NOT IN SUPER-PRIORITY BY DEFAULT. 27A V.S.A. § 3-116(c) makes reasonable costs and attorneys' fees recoverable as part of the lien but does not extend super-priority over the first mortgage to the fees. This follows the UCIOA baseline. The declaration may provide otherwise — some Vermont CIC declarations bring attorneys' fees into the super-priority bucket — but the statutory baseline is sub-priority. Because Vermont judicial-foreclosure attorneys' fees are typically higher than nonjudicial fees in states like Minnesota, the sub-priority exposure is materially larger in Vermont for the same collection facts.

NO EXPANSION BEYOND SIX MONTHS. Minnesota offers a twelve-month expanded super-priority under Minn. Stat. Sec. 515B.3-116(b) when the association pre-notices the first mortgagee at least 90 days before enforcement. Vermont 27A V.S.A. § 3-116(b) has NO such expansion mechanism — the super-priority is hard-capped at six months by statute. Declaration provisions purporting to expand the super-priority beyond six months are unenforceable against the first mortgagee under VCIOA. Practitioners moving from Minnesota to Vermont routinely overestimate the recoverable super-priority by assuming a twelve-month window applies.

SUB-PRIORITY RECOVERY DEPENDS ON EQUITY. Because attorneys' fees fall to sub-priority by default in Vermont AND because Vermont judicial-foreclosure fees are typically higher than nonjudicial-state fees, the sub-priority position is often larger than in peer UCIOA states for the same collection facts. The practical effect: Vermont associations must look harder at equity in the unit before deciding whether to pursue sub-priority recovery aggressively. When the property is underwater on the first mortgage, the sub-priority recovery is typically minimal regardless of attorneys'-fee exposure, and the association should consider negotiated payoff or deed-in-lieu alternatives rather than pursuing a full judicial foreclosure to deficiency judgment.

What this calculator does NOT model

The calculator implements the VCIOA super-priority MATH. It does NOT:

• Model the declaration-driven exception under 27A V.S.A. § 3-116(c) where the declaration brings attorneys' fees into the super-priority position. If your declaration includes such a provision, the super-priority dollar amount understates the recoverable amount.
• Validate the foreclosure-complaint pleading standards under 12 V.S.A. § 4528 et seq. or the Vermont Civil Rules.
• Model the mandatory 90-day cure period mechanics under 12 V.S.A. § 4528 or compute exact cure deadlines from the complaint-filing date.
• Validate eligibility for or compliance with the owner-occupied residential 1-year redemption period under 12 V.S.A. § 4530.
• Model the recoverable interest under VCIOA — interest is recoverable but the rate and accrual method depend on the declaration and the collection policy.
• Model payment-allocation rules in detail — the collection policy and § 3-116 govern allocation between principal, super-priority, sub-priority, fees, and interest.
• Cover collection under the older Vermont Condominium Ownership Act (27 V.S.A. Ch. 15) provisions that are not displaced by 27A V.S.A. § 1-201. For pre-1999 condominiums, confirm which provisions govern before relying on the calculator output.

For any consequential collection or foreclosure decision, retain Vermont counsel with VCIOA enforcement experience to oversee the procedural compliance review.

Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-05-17 against:

• 27A V.S.A. (Vermont Common Interest Ownership Act — adopted UCIOA verbatim).
• 27A V.S.A. § 1-201 — applicability of VCIOA to pre-1999 condominiums and planned communities.
• 27A V.S.A. § 3-116(a) — statutory association lien arising automatically on each assessment.
• 27A V.S.A. § 3-116(b) — six-month super-priority over recorded first mortgage (UCIOA verbatim, no Vermont expansion).
• 27A V.S.A. § 3-116(c) — reasonable costs and attorneys' fees recoverable as part of the lien (sub-priority by default).
• 27A V.S.A. § 3-116(j) — judicial foreclosure under 12 V.S.A. § 4528 et seq.
• 27 V.S.A. Ch. 15 — Vermont Condominium Ownership Act (pre-1999 condominium framework partially preserved).
• 12 V.S.A. § 4528 — Vermont judicial foreclosure procedure with mandatory 90-day cure period.
• 12 V.S.A. § 4530 — owner redemption period (180-day default; 1-year for owner-occupied residential).
• Community Associations Institute New England chapter practitioner materials on VCIOA enforcement.