HOA glossaryAssessments & accounting

What is a collection policy?

The board-adopted procedure setting out how unpaid assessments are pursued, at what intervals, and with what charges.

A collection policy converts discretion into process: when a reminder goes out, when the account is referred, what late charge or interest applies, when a lien is filed, and what a payment plan looks like. Adopting it by resolution and publishing it to owners is the point — an unpublished policy provides no notice and little protection.

Several states regulate the content directly, requiring a written policy, prescribing notice before referral, or requiring that payment plans be offered. The act named on your state's page governs; the policy has to sit inside it.

Charges added to a delinquent balance need authority in the documents or statute. Interest, late fees and cost recovery are commonly permitted, but the amount and the compounding are not for a board to invent.

Why it matters to a board

One written policy, applied without exception, is the strongest answer to any allegation that a particular owner was singled out.

Where the answer lives

Your recorded declaration and bylaws first, then the act that governs associations in your state. Whichever is stricter is the one that binds you.

Related terms

DelinquencyAn assessment that has gone unpaid past its due date, starting the clock on the association's collection process.LienA recorded claim against a lot securing unpaid assessments, which must generally be satisfied before the property can be sold clear.ForeclosureThe legal process by which an association enforces its assessment lien against a lot, and the most serious remedy available to a board.Board resolutionA formal, recorded-in-the-minutes decision of the board, used to adopt policies that need to be provable later.AssessmentThe recurring charge levied against each lot to fund the association's budget, and the primary obligation of membership.
General information, not legal advice. This entry explains what the term means, not what your association must do about it. Any notice period, cure window, fine cap, vote threshold or deadline comes from your recorded declaration and your state's act — those differ in all fifty states and are amended every session. Updated August 2026. Confirm the current requirements with an attorney licensed in your state before acting.
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