52Editions

Colorado HOA Notice of Delinquency

Fill in the highlighted fields to create a Colorado HOA notice of delinquency before an account goes to collections or an attorney. The statute requires it to be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested. Type your details into the highlighted fields, then copy the letter or download it as a Word file at no cost.

[Date]

SENT BY CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

[Owner Name]
[Owner Address]

Re: Notice of delinquency, [Property Address]

Dear [Owner Name],

This is a notice of delinquency concerning [Delinquency Type, for example "unpaid assessments", "unpaid fines, fees or charges", or "unpaid assessments and unpaid fines, fees or charges"].

Total amount due: $[Total Amount Due]. This is how the total was determined: [Accounting Of Total, for example "assessments $X, late fees $X, interest $X, fees $X"].

You may be able to enter a payment plan under section 38-33.3-316.3. To ask about one, contact [Payment Plan Contact] at [Payment Plan Phone or Email].

To receive a copy of your ledger so you can verify the debt, contact [Ledger Contact Name] at [Ledger Contact Details]. The ledger will be provided no later than seven business days after we receive your request.

Action is required to cure this delinquency. If it is not cured within thirty days, your account may be turned over to a collection agency, a lawsuit may be filed against you, a lien may be filed and foreclosed on your property, or your unit may be sold at auction to pay the delinquent assessments, which could result in the loss of some or all of your equity. Other remedies available under Colorado law may also apply. [Unpaid Assessments Foreclosure Statement, include this sentence only if the notice concerns unpaid assessments: "Unpaid assessments may lead to foreclosure."]

Free online information about the collection of assessments, including the association's ability to foreclose a lien, is available through the HOA information and resource center at [HOA Information Center Instructions]. Information from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development about credit counseling before foreclosure is available through a link on the Colorado Department of Local Affairs website: [DOLA Link].

Before legal action, the association must also follow its cure process and make a written repayment offer. Legal action the association may take includes [Legal Remedies Description].

Sincerely,

[Sender Name]
[Sender Title]
[Association Name]

What this letter does

A Colorado notice of delinquency tells an owner what they owe and what happens next, before the association hands the account to a collection agency or attorney. C.R.S. section 38-33.3-209.5 says an association (or holder of its debt) may not use a collection agency or take legal action to collect unpaid assessments unless it has adopted and follows a written collection policy and sends the notice below.

What the statute requires in the notice

Section 209.5(5)(a)(V) requires the notice to be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, and to specify:

  1. The total amount due, with an accounting of how it was determined.
  2. Whether the opportunity to enter a payment plan exists under section 316.3, and how to contact the association to do so.
  3. The name and contact information of the person who can provide a ledger copy, which must be provided no later than seven business days after the request.
  4. That action is required to cure the delinquency, and that failure to cure within thirty days may result in referral to collections, a lawsuit, filing and foreclosure of a lien, a sale at auction that could cost the owner some or all of their equity, or other Colorado remedies.
  5. How to access free online information from the HOA information and resource center about assessment collection and foreclosure, and HUD credit counseling information available through a link on the Department of Local Affairs website.

Section 209.5(6) adds that the notice must be in English and any language the owner has chosen, must say whether it concerns assessments, fines, fees or charges (and warn that unpaid assessments may lead to foreclosure), and must describe the steps the association must take before legal action and the legal actions it may take, including small claims matters.

Steps that come before the notice

  • Contact first. Before taking action on a delinquency, the association must contact the owner and keep a record of the contact. The contact includes the notice by certified mail plus two of these means: phone call, text, email, or regular mail if no other contact details were provided.
  • Board vote to refer. An account may be referred to a collection agency or attorney only if a majority of the executive board votes to refer it in a recorded vote at a meeting held under section 38-33.3-308(4)(e). A management company may not refer it without that vote.
  • Itemized monthly statements. Each month the association must send each owner with a balance an itemized list of assessments, fines, fees and charges.

Limits that protect the owner

  • Interest on unpaid assessments, fines or fees may not exceed eight percent a year.
  • The association may not charge a fee to provide a statement of the total the owner owes.
  • The association may charge no more than the actual cost of certified mail for notices it sends that way.
  • Before judicial foreclosure on assessments, the association must have offered a written repayment plan allowing monthly installments over eighteen months, with each payment at least $25 until the balance is below $25. The owner can fail to accept the plan within thirty days of the offer, or accept it and then fail to pay at least three installments within fifteen days of their due dates, before the association may proceed. The owner may pay off the remaining balance at any time.

Related letters

Escalation continues with the Colorado notice of intent to foreclose. Owners can respond with a Colorado payment plan request or a hardship letter, and can ask for the statement of assessments.

Statutes change, so confirm the current text of section 38-33.3-209.5 on the Colorado General Assembly's website. The earlier late fee letter and delinquent dues letter come first in practice, and the pre-lien letter sample shows the wording used in other states.

Common questions

Does a Colorado HOA have to send a notice before using a collection agency?

Yes. Under section 209.5(5), it must send a notice of delinquency by certified mail, return receipt requested, with the required content, and follow its written collection policy.

How fast must the HOA give me my ledger?

No later than seven business days after receiving the owner's request.

What interest rate can a Colorado HOA charge?

No more than eight percent a year on unpaid assessments, fines or fees, under section 209.5(8)(a).

This page gives general information and sample wording. It is not legal advice, and requirements differ by state and by association.