Arrears: what happens when owners do not pay in Arizona
The association has a common expense lien on a unit for any assessment from the time the assessment becomes due. The lien may be foreclosed only if the owner has been delinquent for 18 months or in the amount of $10,000 or more, whichever occurs first (for a special assessment of $10,000 or more, only the 18-month threshold applies), and the board must first make reasonable efforts to communicate with the owner and offer a reasonable payment plan.
What the law says
The association has a common expense lien on a unit for any assessment levied against that unit from the time the assessment becomes due. The association's common expense lien may be foreclosed in the same manner as a mortgage on real estate but may be foreclosed only if the unit owner has been and remains delinquent in the payment of any assessment or portion of the assessment for a period of eighteen months or in the amount of $10,000 or more, whichever occurs first, as determined on the date the action is filed. For any special assessment with an initial value of $10,000 or more, only the eighteen-month delinquency threshold applies. The association board of directors shall exercise reasonable efforts to communicate with the unit owner and offer a reasonable payment plan before filing a foreclosure action.Last verified:
Also relevant
unit owner expenses are not enforceable as common expense liens under this section.What this means in practice
Recording the declaration is itself notice and perfection of the lien, so no separate claim of lien has to be recorded, and the lien is extinguished if enforcement is not started within six years after the assessment fell due. Fines and other unit owner expenses are not part of the common expense lien; they can become only a judgment lien, which cannot be foreclosed. The condominium and planned-community statutes are near-identical; this page quotes the condominium one.
Where Unitify fits
Unitify records the debt per unit, records payments and sends reminders. Interest, voting limits, liens and enforcement come from the law above and your own rules and are applied by people; Unitify records the debt and the payments.
How this works in UnitifyQuestions and answers
- What are the consequences of unpaid contributions in Arizona?
- The association has a common expense lien on a unit for any assessment from the time the assessment becomes due. The lien may be foreclosed only if the owner has been delinquent for 18 months or in the amount of $10,000 or more, whichever occurs first (for a special assessment of $10,000 or more, only the 18-month threshold applies), and the board must first make reasonable efforts to communicate with the owner and offer a reasonable payment plan.
- Where does this come from, and when was it checked?
- The quotation is from A.R.S. § 33-1256(A), at the official source linked on this page. It was last checked against that source on September 16, 2026.