What are assessments?
The one payment every owner in a community association owes, and why it is not optional.
An assessment is the amount you owe the association for your share of its adopted budget. It is not optional, not tied to whether you use the amenities, and in most states it is both a personal debt you owe and a lien against your unit.
Assessment follows the budget, not the other way around
An association cannot invent an assessment on the spot. By statutory definition, an assessment is the sum attributable to each unit under a budget the association has already adopted. The board's job is to adopt the budget first; the assessment is simply each owner's share of it, worked out afterward.
"The sum attributable to each unit and due to the association pursuant to the budget adopted."
Source: Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 27A, State of Vermont
Regular assessments have to be made at least once a year, and each one has to trace back to a budget the board adopted for that period. See Regular assessments for how that cycle works.
You cannot opt out by skipping the amenities
Owners sometimes argue that they should not have to pay for a pool, clubhouse, or landscaping they never use. Legally, that argument fails. Declining to use a shared common area, or even abandoning the unit, does not exempt an owner from the assessment.
"A unit owner is not exempt from liability for payment of common expenses by a waiver of the use or enjoyment of any of the common elements or by abandonment of the unit."
Source: Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 27A, State of Vermont
The obligation comes from the recorded declaration, the CC&Rs, which is a covenant tied to the land itself. An owner is bound by it because they took title subject to it, not because they personally agreed to any one budget.
It is a personal debt, and usually a lien too
An unpaid assessment is not just an accounting entry. In many states it is a personal debt the owner owes and, at the same time, a lien against the unit itself, which means the association can pursue either route, or both.
"An assessment levied by the association against a unit or unit owner is a personal obligation of the unit owner and is secured by a continuing lien on the unit."
Source: Texas Property Code, Texas Legislature
Exactly how and when that lien attaches, how far back its priority reaches, and how long the association has to enforce it before it expires all vary by state, and sometimes by your own declaration. Check your state's statute and your CC&Rs before assuming any of this.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
An owner tells the board, "I never use the pool, so I shouldn't owe the pool portion of my assessment." What actually happens?
A board wants to raise money quickly to repaint the clubhouse, but no budget has been adopted for that cost. What must happen first, legally, before it can issue an assessment for it?
An owner falls behind on assessments, then sells before the association takes any action. In many states, what happens to the unpaid debt?
Sources
- Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 27A (Vermont Common Interest Ownership Act), State of Vermont
- Texas Property Code, Chapters 82 and 209, Texas Legislature
Related elsewhere in the Academy
Assessments
Next, see how the annual budget turns into the regular assessment on your invoice.
Whether an assessment lien attaches automatically, how far back its priority dates, and how long the association has to enforce it before it expires all vary by state and by your declaration.