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Virginia · HOAVirginia HOA liens: the 12-month memorandum, priority and the 120-month foreclosure limit

Under Virginia's Property Owners' Association Act, the association has a lien on a lot for unpaid assessments once the lien is perfected. To perfect it, the association files a verified memorandum in the circuit court clerk's office before 12 months have passed since the first unpaid assessment fell due, giving the development, the lot, the owners, each unpaid amount and its due date, and a contact for payment or release; at least 10 days before filing, it must send the owner written notice by certified mail. The clerk records the memorandum in the deed books. Once perfected, the lien comes ahead of later liens and encumbrances but behind real estate taxes, liens recorded before the declaration and amounts owed on a mortgage or deed of trust recorded before the lien was perfected. It can be foreclosed judicially or nonjudicially, but no foreclosure may begin more than 120 months after the memorandum was recorded; when the debt is paid, the lien is released under §55.1-339 (Code §55.1-1833).

What the statute sets

  1. Perfection (§55.1-1833(B))

    Verified memorandum in the circuit court clerk's office within 12 months of the first unpaid assessment.

  2. Notice (§55.1-1833(C))

    Certified mail to the owner at least 10 days before filing.

  3. Priority (§55.1-1833(A))

    Behind real estate taxes, pre-declaration liens and mortgages recorded before perfection.

  4. Foreclosure (§55.1-1833(E))

    Judicial or nonjudicial; not started more than 120 months after recording.

  5. Release (§55.1-1833(G))

    On payment, released under §55.1-339.

What the TC does on a Virginia sale in an HOA community

  • Search the deed books for a recorded memorandum of lien and get its payoff from the contact it names.
  • Put the payoff on the settlement statement and request the release at closing.
  • Check the resale certificate for unpaid assessments that haven't been recorded yet.

Questions about Virginia HOA liens

How does a Virginia HOA lien become effective?

Only once perfected: the association must file a verified memorandum in the circuit court clerk's office within 12 months after the first unpaid assessment fell due, after sending the owner 10 days' certified-mail notice (Code §55.1-1833(B)–(C)).

Does a Virginia HOA lien come ahead of the mortgage?

Not ahead of a mortgage or deed of trust recorded before the lien was perfected, real estate taxes or liens recorded before the declaration; it is ahead of later liens (Code §55.1-1833(A)).

Related guides

Track the HOA lien payoff and release as tasks on the deal in ClosingCode.

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Source: Code of Virginia §55.1-1833 (law.lis.virginia.gov), read October 30, 2026.

General information, not legal advice. ClosingCode is software; it is not a law firm or brokerage. This guide is not a substitute for the advice or services of an attorney.