In almost every case, HOA dues are not included in your mortgage payment. Your mortgage covers principal, interest, property taxes, and homeowners insurance, and you pay the homeowners association directly for everything else. A small number of servicers will fold HOA fees into an escrow account, but that is the exception, not the default.
Why HOA Dues Sit Outside Your Mortgage
A mortgage payment settles a debt owed to the bank that financed your purchase. The four pieces inside it — principal, interest, taxes, and insurance, often shortened to PITI — all run through that lender relationship.1Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is PITI? HOA dues are owed to someone else entirely: a private association created by the community’s Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs). Those dues pay for shared amenities like pools, landscaping, private roads, and security.
Because the lender and the HOA are two separate entities, each has its own claim against you and its own collection process. Miss mortgage payments and the bank can foreclose. Miss HOA payments and the association can file its own lien, independent of anything the bank does. The association’s authority to bill you comes from the CC&Rs recorded against the property, not from the loan you signed.
When a Lender Does Collect HOA Fees
Federal rules under RESPA allow a mortgage servicer to escrow HOA or condominium dues when the borrower and servicer agree to it, treating them as “other charges” that can sit alongside taxes and insurance in the escrow account.2eCFR. 12 CFR 1024.17 – Escrow Accounts Most servicers do not do this. The situations where it does happen tend to fall into three buckets:
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One consequence to know about if your dues are escrowed: your servicer runs an annual escrow analysis. When the HOA raises its fees, your monthly mortgage payment goes up to match, and the increase can arrive without much warning.
How to Check Whether Yours Are Included
Two documents required under the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rules will tell you exactly what is and is not inside your monthly payment.5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures
The Loan Estimate
Your lender has to deliver a Loan Estimate within three business days of receiving your application.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure FAQs Find the Projected Payments table and look at the line called “Estimated Taxes, Insurance & Assessments.” Property taxes, homeowners insurance, and HOA or condominium fees each sit on their own row, with an “In Escrow?” column next to them. “Yes” means the lender will collect that charge as part of your monthly payment. “No” means you pay it on your own.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Guide to the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure Forms
The Closing Disclosure
Before closing you receive a Closing Disclosure, the final record of the loan terms, which must reach you at least three business days before the closing date. Page 1 repeats the Projected Payments breakdown. Page 4 holds a dedicated Escrow Account section listing every item the servicer will pay from escrow and confirming whether HOA dues are on that list.8Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Closing Disclosure Sample Form If HOA fees are not marked as escrowed on either page, paying them is on you.
Already own the home? Your monthly mortgage statement itemizes the escrow portion of your payment. If HOA dues are not listed there, they are not being collected on your behalf.
Paying the HOA Directly
Most owners send dues straight to the association or to the property management company that handles its day-to-day operations. Payment methods vary by community: online portals, mailed checks, and automatic bank transfers are the common options. Some associations also take credit or debit cards, though card processing fees typically run from 1.5% to 3.5% per transaction.
Billing schedules are set by the governing documents. Some associations charge monthly, others quarterly, and others annually, and the due date rarely syncs with your mortgage’s first-of-the-month cycle. Autopay through the HOA portal or your bank is the simplest way to avoid missed deadlines. Keep records of every payment, whether confirmation emails, bank statements, or canceled checks, in case the association’s ledger disagrees with yours later.
The national median HOA fee was roughly $135 per month as of 2025, with wide variation by location, community type, and amenities. Condominiums and communities with extensive shared facilities often charge considerably more.
What Happens If You Fall Behind
Paying the HOA separately means it is your job to keep the account current, and the penalties for slipping are steeper than most owners expect. Late fees kick in as soon as a payment is overdue, with amounts set by the governing documents and state law. If you send in a partial payment while carrying a balance, many associations apply the money to accumulated late fees, interest, or legal costs before touching your actual dues, so the principal balance may not drop the way you expect.
Liens and Foreclosure
Once dues go unpaid, the association can record a lien against your home. That lien makes the property collateral for the debt and blocks you from selling with clear title until the balance is paid in full, including penalties, interest, and often attorney fees. If the delinquency continues, the HOA can foreclose on its lien and force a sale.
In roughly half the states, HOA liens carry “super lien” status, meaning a limited slice of unpaid assessments takes priority over even the first mortgage. That priority is one reason lenders pay close attention to delinquency rates in condominium and planned-unit developments before approving loans.
Credit Reporting
HOA debts can also land on your credit report. Most associations do not report to the credit bureaus directly, but they routinely send overdue accounts to collection agencies, and collection accounts do appear on credit files. Some states require the association to give advance notice and offer a payment plan before the account moves to collections. If a delinquency notice arrives, call the association before the balance escalates.
Special Assessments Are Also Separate
A special assessment is a one-time charge the HOA levies on top of regular dues to cover a major expense: a roof replacement, road repaving, an emergency repair. These are almost never run through a mortgage escrow account. The association bills them directly, and the amount can range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands depending on the project. If you are buying into a community with aging infrastructure and low reserves, a large special assessment may be closer than it looks, so ask for recent meeting minutes and financial statements before you commit.