55-472 - Remedies for nonpayment of assessments.
§ 55-472. Remedies for nonpayment of assessments.
A. The association has a lien on a cooperative interest for any assessmentlevied against that cooperative interest or fines imposed against its ownerfrom the time the assessment or fines become due. Unless the declarationotherwise provides, fees, charges, late charges, fines and interest chargedpursuant to subdivisions A 11 and A 12 of § 55-459 are enforceable asassessments under this section. If an assessment is payable in installments,the full amount of the assessment is a lien from the time the firstinstallment thereof becomes due. Upon nonpayment of the assessment, theproprietary lessee may be evicted in the same manner as provided by law inthe case of an unlawful holdover by a commercial tenant, and the lien may beforeclosed as provided by this section. The association's lien may beforeclosed: (i) by judicial sale in like manner as a mortgage on real estate;or (ii) by power of sale as provided in subsection I.
B. A lien under this section is prior to all other liens and encumbrances ona cooperative interest except: (i) liens and encumbrances on the cooperativewhich the association creates, assumes or takes subject to; (ii) any firstsecurity interest encumbering only the cooperative interest of a proprietarylessee and perfected before the date on which the assessment sought to beenforced became delinquent; and (iii) liens for real estate taxes and othergovernmental assessments or charges against the cooperative or thecooperative interest. The lien is also prior to the security interestsdescribed in (ii) above to the extent of the common expense assessments basedon the periodic budget adopted by the association pursuant to subsection A of§ 55-459 which would have become due in the absence of acceleration duringthe six months immediately preceding institution of an action to enforce thelien. This subsection does not affect the priority of mechanics' ormaterialmen's liens or the priority of liens for other assessments made bythe association. The lien under this section is not subject to homestead orother exemptions.
C. Unless the declaration otherwise provides, if two or more associationshave liens for assessments created at any time on the same property, thoseliens have equal priority.
D. Recording of the declaration constitutes record notice and perfection ofthe lien. No further recordation or filing of any claim of lien forassessment under this section is required.
E. A lien for unpaid assessments is extinguished unless proceedings toenforce the lien are instituted within three years after the full amount ofthe assessment becomes due.
F. This section does not prohibit actions to recover sums for whichsubsection A creates a lien or prohibit an association from taking a transferin lieu of foreclosure.
G. A judgment or decree in any action brought under this section shallinclude costs and reasonable attorney's fees for the prevailing party.
H. The association upon written request shall furnish to a proprietary lesseea statement setting forth the amount of unpaid assessments against hiscooperative interest. The statement must be in recordable form. Thestatement must be furnished within ten business days after receipt of therequest and is binding on the association, the executive board and everyproprietary lessee.
I. The association, upon nonpayment of assessments and compliance with thissubsection, may sell the cooperative interest. Sale may be at a public saleor by private negotiation and at any time and place, but every aspect of thesale, including the method, advertising, time, place and terms, must bereasonable. The association shall give to the proprietary lessee and anysublessees of the proprietary lessee reasonable written notice of the timeand place of any public sale or, if a private sale is intended, of theintention of entering into a contract to sell and of the time after which aprivate disposition may be made. The same notice must also be sent to anyother person who has a recorded interest in the cooperative interest whichwould be cut off by the sale, but only if the interest was on record sevenweeks before the date specified in the notice as the date of any public sale,or seven weeks before the date specified in the notice as the date afterwhich a private sale may be made. The notices required by this subsection maybe sent to any address reasonable in the circumstances. Sale may not be helduntil five weeks after the sending of the notice. The association may buy atany public sale, and, if the sale is conducted by a fiduciary or other personnot related to the association, at a private sale.
J. The proceeds of a sale under subsection I shall be applied in thefollowing order:
1. The reasonable expenses of sale;
2. The reasonable expenses of securing possession before sale; holding,maintaining and preparing the cooperative interest for sale, includingpayment of taxes and other governmental charges, premiums on hazard andliability insurance, and to the extent provided for by agreement between theassociation and the proprietary lessee, reasonable attorney's fees and otherlegal expenses incurred by the association;
3. Satisfaction in the order of priority of any prior claims of record;
4. Satisfaction of the association's lien;
5. Satisfaction in the order of priority of any subordinate claim of record;and
6. Remittance of any excess to the proprietary lessee. Unless otherwiseagreed, the proprietary lessee is liable for any deficiency.
K. If a cooperative interest is sold under subsection I, a good faithpurchaser for value acquires the proprietary lessee's interest in thecooperative interest free of the association's debt which gave rise to thelien under which the sale occurred and any subordinate interest, even thoughthe association or other person conducting the sale failed to comply with therequirements of this section. The person conducting the sale under subsectionI shall execute a conveyance to the purchaser sufficient to convey thecooperative interest which states that the conveyance is executed by him,after a foreclosure by power of sale of the association's lien and that hehas power to make the sale. Signature and title or authority of the personsigning the conveyance as grantor and a recital of the facts of nonpayment ofthe assessment and of the giving of the notices required by subsection I aresufficient proof of the facts recited and of his authority to sign. Furtherproof of authority is not required even though the association is named asgrantee in the conveyance.
L. At any time before the association has disposed of the cooperativeinterest or entered into a contract for its disposition under the power ofsale, the proprietary lessee or the holder of any subordinate securityinterest may cure the proprietary lessee's default and prevent sale or otherdisposition by tendering the performance due under the security agreement,including any amounts due because of exercise of a right to accelerate, plusthe reasonable expenses of proceeding to foreclosure incurred to the time oftender, including reasonable attorney's fees of the creditor.
(1982, c. 277; 1990, c. 831.)