This law explains that homeowners are responsible for paying any regular or special fees, late charges, collection costs, and attorney fees related to their property. If these fees aren't paid on time, they become overdue 15 days after their due date, unless otherwise specified by a declaration. Once overdue, the homeowners' association can charge reasonable collection costs, a late fee, and interest on the unpaid amounts. The late fee can't be more than 10% of the unpaid amount, and the interest rate can't be more than 12% per year, unless the declaration states a lower rate. Associations are exempt from certain constitutional interest rate limits but must adhere to the stipulations in this section.

This law describes how payments made by property owners towards certain debts should be handled. First, the payments must go towards any outstanding assessments, which are like membership fees or charges for shared property expenses. Only after these assessments are fully paid can the money be used for other costs like collection fees, attorney fees, late charges, or interest. When an owner makes a payment, they can ask for a receipt, which the association must provide, showing the payment date and collector. Also, the association has to provide an address for overnight payment in the annual policy statement.

If there's a disagreement between a property owner and a homeowner's association over fees like assessments or fines, and the disputed amount is small enough for small claims court, the owner can pay the disputed amount under protest. Then, they can take the issue to small claims court to resolve it. This section doesn't stop the association from collecting overdue assessments through other means.

If a homeowner owes money and hasn't paid, the association must give them a 30-day warning by certified mail before placing a lien on their property. This notice must include details like how the debt was calculated, the collection process, and a warning that their property can be sold without going to court if they keep missing payments. It should list the charges owed and confirm the homeowner's right to see the association's records. The homeowner also has rights to meet with the board, dispute the debt, and seek alternative dispute resolution.

If you own property and are struggling with debt related to your homeowner's association (HOA), you can request to discuss a payment plan with the board, except in certain cases specified by other codes. If you send a request soon after getting notified of your debt, the board has to meet with you within 45 days. While following the payment plan, you won't get extra late fees, but the HOA can still file a lien to ensure payment. If you miss payments, the HOA can continue collecting the debt as if the plan never existed.

Before an association can record a lien because an owner hasn't paid assessments, it must give the owner a chance to resolve the dispute through a face-to-face meeting if the owner requests it. This is part of a required program for resolving issues called "meet and confer."

This section states that if a lien is recorded for overdue assessments on or after January 1, 2006, it must be approved by the board members themselves, rather than someone on their behalf. A majority of the board members must vote on this in an open meeting, and the decision must be documented in the meeting minutes.

If you're part of a homeowners' association and don't pay your assessment fees, the unpaid amount becomes a lien on your property. This means that the homeowners' association can legally claim part of your property to recover the debt. To start this process, they must file a notice with the county recorder detailing the debt. This notice also has to include an itemized list of charges and the trustee's information if they plan to sell the property to settle the debt. Additionally, the notice must be signed by an authorized person from the association and mailed to the property owner within 10 days.

This law section says that once there's a lien for unpaid assessments, it usually takes priority over any other liens recorded after it. However, the rules might allow the lien to be ranked lower than other liens depending on specific terms in the declaration.

If you've paid off a delinquent assessment on your property, the association must record a lien release within 21 days and give you a copy. If they wrongly recorded a lien on your property by mistake, they have the same 21 days to fix it and tell you about the error. Plus, if the association messed up and recorded the lien in error, they need to refund any extra charges and fees they made you pay and cover costs related to the mistake.

If a homeowners association does not follow the correct procedures before recording a lien, they must start the notice process over from the beginning. The association has to pay for any costs related to restarting this process, not the property owner.