448.080. Common element costs to be paid by unit owners--unpaid amount to constitute lien--foreclosure.
Common element costs to be paid by unit owners--unpaid amount toconstitute lien--foreclosure.
448.080. 1. Every unit owner shall pay his proportionateshare of the expenses of administration, maintenance and repairof the common elements and of any other expense lawfully agreedupon. Such proportionate share shall be in the same ratio as hispercentage of ownership in the common elements as set forth inthe declaration. Payment thereof shall be in the amounts and atthe times as determined by the unit owners or the board ofmanagers, as hereinafter provided.
2. If any unit owner fails or refuses to make any payment ofthe common expenses when due, the amount thereof shall constitutea lien on the interest of such unit owner in the property, andupon the recording of notice thereof by the manager or board ofmanagers shall be a lien upon such unit owner's interest in theproperty prior to all other liens and encumbrances, recorded orunrecorded; except only taxes, special assessments and specialtaxes theretofore or thereafter levied by any politicalsubdivision or municipal corporation of this state and otherstate or federal taxes which by law are a lien on the interest ofsuch unit owner prior to preexisting recorded encumbrancesthereon, and encumbrances on the interest of such unit ownerrecorded prior to the date such notice is recorded which by lawwould be a lien thereon prior to subsequently recordedencumbrances, but only if such prior recorded encumbrancecontains a statement of a mailing address in the state ofMissouri where notice may be mailed to the encumbrancerthereunder. Any encumbrancer whose lien is junior to the lien ofthe common expenses herein provided may from time to time requestin writing a written statement from the manager or board ofmanagers setting forth the unpaid common expenses with respect tothe unit covered by his encumbrance and unless the request iscomplied with within twenty days, all unpaid common expenseswhich became due prior to the date of the making of such requestshall be subordinate to the lien of such encumbrance. Anyencumbrancer holding a lien on a unit may pay any unpaid commonexpenses payable with respect to such unit and upon such paymentsuch encumbrancer shall have a lien on such unit for the amountspaid at the same rank as the lien of his encumbrance.
3. The lien to secure payment of common expenses shall be infavor of the members of the board of managers and theirsuccessors in office and shall be for the benefit of all otherunit owners, and may be foreclosed by an action brought in thename of the board of managers in like manner as a mortgage ofreal property, as provided in sections 443.190 to 443.310, RSMo.Unless otherwise provided in the declaration, the members of theboard of managers and their successors in office, acting onbehalf of the other unit owners, shall have the power to bid inthe interest so foreclosed at foreclosure sale, and to acquireand hold, lease, mortgage and convey the same.
4. In the event any person acquires or is entitled to theissuance of a sheriff's or other official deed in foreclosure ofthe lien for common expenses above provided, the deed conveyingthe interest of any unit owner and the interest so acquired shallbe subject to all of the provisions of sections 448.005 to448.210 and to the terms, provisions, covenants, conditions andlimitations contained in the declaration, the plat, the bylaws orany deed affecting such interest then in force.
(L. 1963 p. 648 § 9, A.L. 1983 H.B. 177)(1976) Held, prior recorded deeds of trust were prior in right to common expense liens. Brask v. Bank of St. Louis (A.), 533 S.W.2d 223.