Cites as of 2026-09-20 — re-verify official text before you rely on a number.
Teaching points — not conclusions
Condo vs non-condo HOA first
Letterhead is not the book. If this is a condominium, open TCA § 66-27-415. If this is a single-family / planned-community HOA, Tennessee does not publish a statewide statutory assessment-lien foreclosure book analogous to Arizona or Florida HOA chapters. Hunt the recorded declaration / CC&Rs and how the association is organized (often TCA Title 48, Nonprofit Corporation Act). Title 66, chapter 27, part 7 (homeowners’ associations) exists for certain governance topics — it is not a foreclosure-lien statute. Do not paste Texas Rule 736 or an invented 18-month / $10,000 test into a Tennessee letter.
TCA § 66-27-415 / § 66-27-701 / § 48-51-101 · Cites as of 2026-09-20 — re-verify official text before you rely on a number.
2008 Act vs Horizontal Property Act
Official Public Chapter 766 / TCA § 66-27-202 teaching: parts 2–5 apply to condominiums created after January 1, 2009. Listed sections — including § 66-27-415 — also apply to condominiums created before that date, but only for events and circumstances after January 1, 2009, and (except § 66-27-414(g)) they do not invalidate existing master-deed / bylaw / plat language. Older Horizontal Property Act part 1 remains relevant for pre-2009 instruments. § 66-27-116 teaching: a sale or conveyance of an apartment is subject to unpaid prorated common-expense assessments; if unpaid at conveyance they are a lien against the apartment and are paid by the new owner. That is a conveyance-lien sentence — not a copy of § 66-27-415’s foreclosure / priority / notice book. Hunt both the master deed and current 415.
TCA § 66-27-202 / § 66-27-116 / PC 766 · Cites as of 2026-09-20 — re-verify official text before you rely on a number.
Judicial default — power of sale only if the declaration says so
Unofficial current § 66-27-415(a) teaching (re-verify on official TCA): the association has a lien on a unit for assessments levied against that unit or fines imposed against its unit owner from the time the assessment or fine becomes due, which lien may be foreclosed by judicial action. Notwithstanding that, the declaration may provide that the lien may be foreclosed in like manner as a deed of trust with power of sale under Title 35, chapter 5 — provided the association gives notice of its action to the unit owner and to all lienholders of record prior to the first publication of notice required under Title 35, chapter 5. No declaration language = do not assume a courthouse-steps sale. Photograph the foreclosure article in YOUR declaration.
TCA § 66-27-415(a) · Cites as of 2026-09-20 — re-verify official text before you rely on a number.
No AZ-style foreclosure-eligibility dollar / month threshold
§ 66-27-415 does not copy Arizona’s 18-month or $10,000 assessment test. Do not invent one. The six-month / one-percent figure in subsection (b) is a limited priority in foreclosure-sale proceeds against a first mortgage or deed of trust — not a permission slip to start foreclosure. Association foreclosure of its assessment lien is subject to any prior mortgage or deed of trust and shall not extinguish that mortgage or deed of trust. Split assessments from fees before you treat a claimed payoff balance as the case.
TCA § 66-27-415(b) · Cites as of 2026-09-20 — re-verify official text before you rely on a number.
Fees as assessments — only if the declaration does not say otherwise
Public Chapter 766 teaching, carried into the 2016 rewrite: unless the declaration otherwise provides, fees, charges, late charges, fines, and interest charged pursuant to § 66-27-402(a)(10), (11), and (12) are enforceable as assessments. Those subsections are use fees, late charges and fines after notice and a chance to be heard, and certain document charges — not an attorney-invoice statute. If an assessment is payable in installments, the full amount is a lien from the time the first installment becomes due. Hunt the declaration. Do not treat an attorney balloon as an assessment. Verify with a Tennessee lawyer.
TCA § 66-27-415(a) / § 66-27-402(a)(10)–(12) · Cites as of 2026-09-20 — re-verify official text before you rely on a number.
Six-year enforcement clock + seven-day unpaid-assessment statement
Unofficial current § 66-27-415 teaching: a lien for unpaid assessments is extinguished unless proceedings to enforce the lien are instituted within six years after the date the lien for the assessment becomes effective. Upon written request, the association shall furnish to a unit owner (or a mortgage / deed-of-trust holder, or their authorized agents) a written statement of unpaid assessments against the unit within seven days after receipt of the request; that statement is binding on the association. Ask in writing. Missing a statement is a hunt, not a promised dismissal.
TCA § 66-27-415(e),(h) · Cites as of 2026-09-20 — re-verify official text before you rely on a number.
Title 35, chapter 5 — sale-notice hunt (if declaration authorized a trustee sale)
If — and only if — the declaration actually authorizes a Title 35, chapter 5 sale, open current TCA § 35-5-101. Teaching beats to hunt on the paper: initial newspaper publication at least twenty days before the sale; a copy of the § 35-5-104 notice to the debtor and any co-debtor by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, on or before the first publication date. Public Chapter 515 (SB0727 / HB1127), effective July 1, 2025, rewrote advertisement rules: at least two newspaper publications in the county of sale plus online posting by a third-party internet posting company for at least twenty continuous days. Do not treat 2024 “three newspaper publications” text as today’s rule without opening the current section. A posted sale is not a reason to skip a lawsuit answer if you were also served.
TCA § 35-5-101 / PC 515 (2025) · Cites as of 2026-09-20 — re-verify official text before you rely on a number.
Circuit / chancery answer — YOUR summons is the clock (30 days teaching)
If a judicial foreclosure complaint is served, Tenn. R. Civ. P. 12.01 (tncourts.gov) teaching: a defendant shall serve an answer within thirty (30) days after service of the summons and complaint. That is not Arizona’s or Florida’s 20-day teaching rule. This app does not compute weekends, holidays, or publication dates. Read YOUR summons. Write that date on a calendar you own. Tenn. R. Civ. P. 55.01 teaching: if a party fails to plead or otherwise defend, default judgment may be entered after a written notice of the application at least five days before the hearing (with publication-service exceptions). Open the current rules. We do not file.
Tenn. R. Civ. P. 12.01 / 55.01 · Cites as of 2026-09-20 — re-verify official text before you rely on a number.
Training example · Judicial assessment can reach a sale
A hypothetical Tennessee HOA collection case (not a real filing) A Tennessee county. Hypothetical example. A Tennessee chancery assessment case can go through to a judgment and a court-ordered sale. That is not Texas Rule 736. Answering a 736 application and answering a Tennessee lawsuit are different clocks. Questions homeowners often review with a licensed Tennessee attorney include the date printed on the summons. Hypothetical teaching example. Not a court file and not a promised result. Fight Coach does not file or appear.
Tennessee Court of Appeals · public opinion index · Cites as of 2026-09-20 — re-verify official text before you rely on a number.
