How to Stop an HOA Foreclosure in Texas

Most Houston-area homeowners are shocked to learn their homeowners association can take their house over unpaid dues. Not the mortgage company — the HOA.

It is true, and it happens. What is also true is that the process is slower than a mortgage foreclosure, it requires a judge, and Texas gives you protections you almost certainly do not know about — including a payment plan you may be entitled to demand and a 180-day window to buy the house back afterward.

There is also a filing you can make before 5 p.m. on the Monday before a sale that makes the sale void. Almost nobody writes about it.

We buy houses across Harris, Montgomery, and Fort Bend counties, and this area is dense with master-planned communities — The Woodlands, Katy, Cypress, Sugar Land, Kingwood. HOA liens come up constantly. This is what the law actually says.

The short version

A Texas HOA can foreclose on unpaid assessments if its governing documents grant that power. It has to get a court order first through an expedited proceeding, which makes it slower than a mortgage foreclosure.

Your main protections: an association of more than 14 lots must offer a payment plan of at least three months; attorney’s fees included in a nonjudicial sale are capped at the greater of one-third of the actual costs or $2,500; the association cannot foreclose if the debt is SOLELY fines; and you get 180 days to redeem after the sale.

Request a payment plan in writing, in certified mail, inside the cure window in your notice. That single step stops most of these.

Yes, a Texas HOA Can Foreclose Over Unpaid Dues

It surprises people because the amounts are small relative to the house. Associations have foreclosed over a few thousand dollars in assessments, late fees, and attorney’s fees on houses worth many times that.

One thing to understand up front, because it determines everything else: Chapter 209 of the Texas Property Code — the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act — does not create the lien. The power to assess and to foreclose comes from your subdivision’s dedicatory instruments, meaning the declaration of covenants you took title subject to. Chapter 209 regulates how an association may use a power it already has.

So the first question is whether your declaration grants a right of foreclosure. Many do. Some do not. And owners can strip that authority — Chapter 209 lets 67 percent of the total votes remove foreclosure authority, on a petition by owners holding 10 percent of the voting interests. Rarely used, but it exists.

If you live in a condominium, different chapter. Chapter 82 governs condos, and unlike Chapter 209 it does create the assessment lien and the power of sale by statute. Your deadlines are different too, and we flag them below.

How an HOA Assessment Lien Attaches

Assessments are usually a lien from the moment they come due under the declaration. What Chapter 209 controls is the filing, and Section 209.0094 sets out a notice sequence before that can happen.

The association must send two delinquency notices:

1. First notice, by first class mail — or by email to an address you provided.
2. Second notice, by certified mail with return receipt requested, sent no earlier than the 30th day after the first.

Then it must wait. No assessment lien may be filed before the 90th day after that second notice.

Once filed, the lien is a legal instrument affecting title to your property. Practically, that means it shows up in the title search and has to be dealt with before anyone can buy or refinance.

A provision worth knowing about that runs the other way: Section 209.0091 requires the association to notify holders of subordinate liens evidenced by a deed of trust, giving them until the 61st day to cure. That notice goes to lienholders, not to you — but it can help you, because a mortgage servicer that receives it will often pay the HOA to protect its own position and then add the amount to your loan balance. Not free, but better than losing the house.

The Texas HOA Foreclosure Process, Step by Step

Notice of Delinquency

The two notices described above, and then a third that matters more than either.

Before an association can charge you the fees of a collection agent, Section 209.0064(b) requires certified-mail notice specifying each delinquent amount, describing the options available to you — including the availability of a payment plan — and giving you at least 45 days to cure.

That 45-day window is the most important date on this page. It is when you request a payment plan. If it expires, the association is no longer obligated to give you one.

You may also see a notice under Section 209.006 offering a hearing before the board within 30 days. Read it carefully — Section 209.006 expressly excludes suits to collect regular or special assessments and lien foreclosure. So a hearing notice is not the assessment-foreclosure notice, and its 30 days is a hearing-request deadline, not a cure period. This is the source of a widespread myth that you get 30 days to cure before attorney’s fees. You do not; see below.

The Required Payment-Plan Offer

Covered in full in the next section, because it is your best tool.

Expedited Foreclosure Under Rule 736

This is where HOA foreclosure differs most from a mortgage foreclosure, and in your favor.

Section 209.0092 requires the association to obtain a court order through an application for expedited foreclosure before it can foreclose. There are only two ways around it: you waive expedited foreclosure in writing at the time foreclosure is sought — and the waiver cannot be required as a condition of transferring title — or the association brings a full judicial foreclosure suit, which is more court, not less.

There is no exception for foreclosing on something other than assessments. A court order is required.

The proceeding runs under Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 735 and 736, and the details matter:

• The application cannot be filed until your opportunity to cure has expired, and it must state the cure amount as of a date no more than 60 days before filing.
• You get served by both first class and certified mail, along with any occupant.
• Your response is due the first Monday after 38 days from the date the citation was mailed.
• If you respond, there is a hearing held not earlier than 20 and not later than 30 days after it is requested. If you do not respond, the court can grant a default order.
• No discovery is permitted, and no counterclaims, cross-claims, or third-party claims.
• The order cannot be appealed and is not subject to a motion for new trial. It also has no res judicata effect, which is why the next paragraph exists.

And here is the provision to write down. Under Rule 736.11, if you file a separate original lawsuit putting the origination, servicing, or enforcement of the obligation at issue before 5:00 p.m. on the Monday before the scheduled sale, the Rule 736 proceeding is automatically stayed — and any foreclosure sale held while that stay is in effect is void. That is a real emergency brake, and it is the single most useful thing on this page. It requires filing an actual lawsuit, so it is an attorney conversation, but the deadline is precise and knowable.

Your Rights Under Chapter 209

The Payment Plan Right (Three Months Minimum, Not 180 Days)

You will see this described online as a 180-day payment plan right. That is not what the statute says, and the real version is better in one way and worse in another.

Section 209.0062 requires an association composed of more than 14 lots to adopt reasonable guidelines for partial payment plans, and the minimum term is three months. The association is not required to offer a plan longer than 18 months from your request.

So: three months minimum, and 18 months is a ceiling on what the association must accommodate — not a plan length you are entitled to.

Four limits that catch people:

• The mandate applies only to associations of more than 14 lots. Small associations are not covered.
• You get one plan per 12-month period, and none if you defaulted on a previous plan within the preceding two years.
• The obligation ends when the 45-day cure period expires. Request the plan inside that window.
• “Without additional monetary penalties” does not mean free. The statute excludes reasonable administration costs and interest from the definition of monetary penalties, so both can still be charged.

Request it in writing, by certified mail, and keep the receipt. Guidelines are supposed to be filed in the county real property records, and if the association failed to file them, that does not remove your right to a plan without additional penalties.

The 180-Day Right of Redemption

If the sale happens, you get to buy the house back. This is a real advantage over a mortgage foreclosure, where Texas gives you nothing.

Section 209.011 gives you 180 days to redeem — but the clock does not start at the sale. It runs 180 days from the date the association mails its post-sale notice, and the association has until the 30th day after the sale to send it. So in practice your outside window is roughly 210 days from the sale.

Two more things:

• A deadline-saver in Section 209.011(m): if you send a written redemption request by certified mail, return receipt requested, on or before the last day, your right extends to the 10th day after the association and any third-party purchaser tell you in writing what amounts are required.
• Redeemed property stays subject to every lien that existed before the foreclosure. Redeeming does not clean up your mortgage.

If you live in a condominium the numbers are different and shorter: Section 82.113(g) gives 90 days, and it runs from the sale date itself. Interest on the purchaser’s bid runs at 6 percent if a third party bought it, and you must record the deed or an affidavit of redemption or the redemption may not hold up against a later buyer or lender.

Limits on Attorney Fees

Attorney’s fees are what turn a $1,800 problem into a $9,000 problem, so this section is worth reading closely.

What the statute actually provides:

• Fees are recoverable only after notice. Section 209.008(a) requires written notice that fees and costs will be charged if the delinquency continues after a date certain. Note what is missing — there is no statutory minimum number of days. The widely repeated “30 days before attorney’s fees” rule does not exist.
• There is a hard cap on nonjudicial sales. Where the dedicatory instrument allows nonjudicial foreclosure, Section 209.008(f) limits attorney’s fees included in the sale to the greater of one-third of all actual costs and assessments excluding fees, plus interest and court costs — or $2,500.
• Collection-agent fees require 45 days’ notice under Section 209.0064(b)(3), and you are not liable where the collection company’s fee is contingent on recovery.
• Payments must be applied in a set order. Section 209.0063 requires payments to go first to delinquent assessments, then current assessments, then attorney’s fees tied solely to assessments, then other attorney’s fees, then fines, then everything else.

That last one is worth checking on your own ledger. If an association applied your payments to fines and attorney’s fees first, it can manufacture an assessment balance that looks foreclosable when it should not be. Ask for a full itemized ledger and read the order of application.

How to Stop It: Five Options

1. Pay the assessments — just the assessments. Because of Section 209.009, an association cannot foreclose if the debt consists solely of fines or attorney’s fees tied solely to fines. If you clear the actual assessment balance, you may remove the basis for foreclosure even with fines outstanding. Get written confirmation of what the assessment portion is.
2. Request a payment plan, in writing, inside the cure window. Certified mail. Three-month minimum for associations over 14 lots.
3. Challenge the amount. Ask for an itemized ledger and check the Section 209.0063 order of application, the Section 209.008(f) fee cap, and whether the two Section 209.0094 notices actually went out in the right sequence with the 90-day wait.
4. Tell your mortgage servicer. A servicer with a first lien has a strong interest in preventing an HOA sale and will often pay the HOA and add it to your balance. Expensive, but far cheaper than losing the house.
5. Sell the house. The lien gets paid from the proceeds at closing. If you have equity, this protects it — and an HOA sale can wipe it out.

And the emergency option: the Rule 736.11 filing described above, before 5 p.m. on the Monday before the sale, which voids a sale held while the stay is in effect. That needs a lawyer and a genuine claim, not a delay tactic.

Why HOA Liens Kill Normal Home Sales

A filed assessment lien is an instrument affecting title, so it appears in the title commitment and has to be resolved before a title company will insure a sale.

What that means in practice:

• A financed buyer’s lender will not close over an unresolved HOA lien.
• The payoff figure can be a moving target, because fees and interest keep accruing while you negotiate.
• You will need a resale certificate from the association, and a delinquent account slows that down. Texas caps the condominium resale certificate fee at $375.
• An association in the middle of foreclosure is sometimes slow to give a payoff at all.

Two liens interact here. The HOA lien is usually subordinate to your first mortgage — which means an HOA foreclosure buyer takes the property subject to your mortgage. That is why HOA foreclosure buyers are usually investors who know what they are getting, and why associations sometimes foreclose anyway on properties with mortgages.

If your house has other problems on title too, selling a house with liens covers how they clear at closing.

Selling With an HOA Lien Attached

You can sell. The lien does not affect your ownership, and it gets paid from the proceeds like any other lien.

What makes it work:

1. Get a written payoff from the association or its attorney, good through a specific date. Insist on an itemization — assessments, late fees, interest, attorney’s fees, collection costs — so you can check it against the Section 209.008(f) cap and the Section 209.0063 order of application.
2. Tell the title company early. They deal with associations and their attorneys routinely, and they can often get a payoff faster than you can.
3. Order the resale certificate immediately. It is a common cause of delay.
4. If a Rule 736 order already exists, move quickly. Once a sale is scheduled you are working against a date.

If you have equity and time, list the house — a normal sale will net you more than any cash offer, ours included, and the HOA lien is not an obstacle to a traditional sale as long as the payoff is under the sale price.

Where a cash sale makes sense: the sale is close, the house also needs work, the amounts owed are large relative to the value, or you are out of state and cannot manage the back-and-forth with an association’s law firm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an HOA foreclose on your home in Texas?

Yes, if the subdivision’s dedicatory instruments grant a right of foreclosure — Chapter 209 regulates the process but does not create the lien. The association must first obtain a court order through an expedited foreclosure application under Section 209.0092 and Rule 736. Condominium associations operate under Chapter 82, which does create the lien by statute.

Can an HOA foreclose over fines in Texas?

No, if the debt is solely fines, or attorney’s fees solely associated with fines. That is Section 209.009, and the word “solely” is everything — a single dollar of unpaid regular or special assessment removes the protection entirely. The association can still sue you for a money judgment on fines; it just cannot foreclose the lien.

How much do I have to owe before an HOA can foreclose?

Texas sets no minimum dollar amount. Associations have foreclosed over a few thousand dollars in assessments and fees. What Texas does regulate is the process — two delinquency notices, a 90-day wait before filing the lien, at least 45 days to cure before collection fees, a payment plan obligation, and a court order.

Do I get a payment plan from my HOA?

If the association is composed of more than 14 lots, it must adopt guidelines for partial payment plans with a minimum term of three months. It is not required to offer more than 18 months, to give you more than one plan in a 12-month period, or to offer one after the 45-day cure period expires. Request it in writing by certified mail.

How long do I have to redeem after an HOA foreclosure in Texas?

180 days under Section 209.011 — but the clock runs from the date the association mails its post-sale notice, and it has 30 days after the sale to send it, so the practical window is about 210 days. Condominiums get only 90 days, running from the sale date. Redeemed property remains subject to all pre-existing liens.

Does an HOA foreclosure wipe out my mortgage?

No. An HOA assessment lien is usually subordinate to a first mortgage, so a buyer at an HOA foreclosure sale takes the property subject to your mortgage — the mortgage debt survives. That is why these buyers tend to be investors who understand the position, and it is why your mortgage servicer may step in and pay the HOA.

Can I stop an HOA foreclosure sale at the last minute?

There is a specific mechanism. Under Rule 736.11, filing a separate original lawsuit that puts the origination, servicing, or enforcement of the obligation at issue before 5:00 p.m. on the Monday before the sale automatically stays the proceeding — and a sale held while the stay is in effect is void. That requires an attorney and a real claim.

Should I just pay the attorney’s fees the HOA is demanding?

Ask for an itemized ledger first. Attorney’s fees included in a nonjudicial sale are capped by Section 209.008(f) at the greater of one-third of actual costs and assessments or $2,500, fees are recoverable only after proper notice, and Section 209.0063 requires payments to be applied to assessments before fines and fees. Misapplied payments can manufacture a foreclosable balance.

We Buy Houses With HOA Liens – Get an Offer

If an HOA lien or a scheduled sale is the reason you cannot sell normally, that is a routine situation for us. We buy across Harris, Montgomery, and Fort Bend counties, the lien gets paid from the proceeds at closing, and we can close in as little as seven days when the association cooperates on a payoff.

We will also tell you when not to sell. If you can request a payment plan inside the cure window, or if your mortgage servicer will pay the HOA and add it to your loan, those keep you in your home and cost you far less than selling. And if you have equity and 45 days, list it — you will net more than we can pay.

Statutes and rules verified July 2026 against Texas Property Code Chapters 209 and 82 and Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 735-736. Note that Chapter 209 governs subdivision associations and Chapter 82 governs condominiums, and their deadlines differ. This article is general information, not legal advice. HOA foreclosure defense turns on your declaration and the notices you received — take those documents to a licensed Texas attorney. LEAP Properties is a Texas home buyer, not a law firm and not a real estate brokerage.