Missouri HOA & Condo Assessment Liens (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 448.3-116)

For condominiums, § 448.3-116 provides that 'the association has a lien on a unit for any assessment levied against that unit or fines imposed against its unit owner.' The lien has 'limited priority over the mortgage or deed of trust... in an amount not to exceed six months of the delinquent common expense assessments' (a partial super-lien) and 'may be foreclosed in like manner as a mortgage on real estate or a power of sale pursuant to chapter 443.' Recording the declaration 'constitutes record notice and perfection of the lien,' and suit must begin within three years. Non-condo HOAs have no such statute — any lien and foreclosure power lives solely in the recorded covenants.

Condominiums: a perfected statutory lien (§ 448.3-116) foreclosable as a mortgage or by power of sale under Chapter 443, with a six-month priority over a first mortgage, plus a personal money judgment. Non-condo HOAs: only the lien and foreclosure remedy written into the recorded declaration; no statutory backstop.