Wisconsin Statewide Rule
Wisconsin Condominium & HOA Assessment Collection Rules
Key Facts
- Condo lien statute
- Wis. Stat. § 703.165
- Filing deadline
- Statement of lien within 2 years of due date
- Foreclosure method
- Same manner as a mortgage on real property
- Action time limit
- Foreclosure within 3 years of recording lien
- Comprehensive HOA act
- None: non-condo HOAs use declaration + ch. 181
Summary
Wisconsin has no comprehensive non-condo HOA act. Condominium associations get a statutory assessment lien under Wis. Stat. § 703.165 that is foreclosed like a mortgage. Non-condo HOAs have no such statute and collect through their recorded declaration plus the Nonstock Corporation Act, Wis. Stat. ch. 181.
703.165 703.165 Lien for unpaid common expenses, unpaid damages, and unpaid penalties. 703.165(1) (1) Definition. In this section, “assessments” means regular and special assessments for common expenses and charges, fines, or assessments against specific units or unit owners for damages to the condominium or for penalties for violations of the declaration, bylaws, or association rules. 703.165(2) (2) Liability for assessments. A unit owner shall be liable for all assessments, or installments thereof, coming due while owning a unit, including any assessments coming due during the pendency of any claim by the unit owner against the association or during any period in which the unit is not occupied by the unit owner or is leased or rented to any other person. In a voluntary grant, the grantee shall be jointly and severally liable with the grantor for all unpaid assessments against the grantor for his or her share of the common expenses up to the time of the voluntary grant for which a statement of condominium lien is recorded, without prejudice to the rights of the grantee to recover from the grantor the amounts paid by the grantee for such assessments. Liability for assessments may not be avoided by waiver of the use or enjoyment of any common element or by abandonment of the unit for which the assessments are made. 703.165(3) (3) Assessments constitute lien.
Full Breakdown
For condominiums, Wis. Stat. § 703.165 provides that "all assessments, until paid, together with interest on them and actual costs of collection, constitute a lien on the units on which they are assessed, if a statement of lien is filed within 2 years after the date the assessment becomes due." The lien is recorded with the clerk of circuit court and "may be enforced and foreclosed by an association ... in the same manner, and subject to the same requirements, as a foreclosure of mortgages on real property in this state," after 10 days' written notice. Common expenses are assessed by percentage interest under § 703.16. Non-condominium HOAs get no statutory lien: collection rests entirely on the recorded declaration and ch. 181.
Violations & Penalties
Unpaid condo assessments become a lien recorded with the clerk of circuit court and foreclosed like a mortgage under § 703.165, after 10 days' written notice; the action must begin within 3 years of recording. Non-condo HOA remedies come only from the recorded declaration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Wisconsin condo association foreclose on my unit for unpaid dues?
Does a non-condo Wisconsin HOA have an automatic assessment lien?
How long does a Wisconsin condo association have to record an assessment lien?
Sources
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