Kentucky · CondominiumKentucky condo liens: perfected by the declaration, the five-year limit and the binding statement

Under the Kentucky Condominium Act, the association has a lien on a unit for any assessment levied against it or fine imposed on its owner from the time the assessment or fine falls due; for an assessment payable in installments, the lien is for the full amount once the first installment is due, and unless the declaration says otherwise fees, late charges, reasonable collection costs, attorney fees, fines and interest are secured too. Recording the declaration is record notice and perfection of the lien – no claim of lien has to be recorded – and the lien is foreclosed like a mortgage. It ranks ahead of all other liens and encumbrances on the unit except liens recorded before the declaration, a mortgage on the unit recorded before the date the assessment became delinquent, and real estate taxes and other governmental charges. The lien is extinguished unless proceedings to enforce it start within five years after the full amount of the assessments falls due. On a written request, the association must give the unit owner a recordable statement of the unpaid assessments within ten business days, and the statement binds the association, the executive board and every unit owner (KRS 381.9193). The section applies to condominiums created after January 1, 2011, and to older ones for events after that date (KRS 381.9103(1)–(2)).