Colorado collection rules are procedural and fact-specific. Boards should have Colorado counsel review any collection policy before adoption, especially before referring an account to collections, recording a lien, or starting foreclosure.
Colorado HOA Collections Policy Sample — assessment due dates, grace periods, notice procedures, payment plans, and board-vote referral in one document.
What Is a Collections Policy?
A Colorado HOA collections policy is a written procedure that explains how the association handles unpaid assessments, fines, fees, interest, late charges, payment plans, owner notices, legal referrals, and account records.
For the board, the policy creates a consistent decision path. For owners, it explains what happens when an account becomes delinquent and what opportunities exist to communicate, dispute a balance, or arrange payment.
A practical collections policy usually covers:
- Assessment due dates
- Grace periods, if any
- Late fees and interest
- Required owner contacts
- Notices of delinquency
- Monthly account statements
- Payment-plan options
- Board approval before collection referral
- Lien and legal-enforcement procedures
- Recordkeeping
The policy should not be a pressure tool. It should be a fairness tool: same process, same documentation, same owner expectations.
Why Every Colorado HOA Should Have One
Colorado's Common Interest Ownership Act, or CCIOA, requires responsible governance policies. For collections, C.R.S. 38-33.3-316.3 requires an association to adopt a written collection policy, record it in the county real property records, and follow it before using a collection agency or taking legal action to collect unpaid assessments.
HB22-1137 made Colorado collection procedures more detailed. The signed act added procedural requirements for delinquency contact, account statements, repayment plans, board votes, interest caps, foreclosure limits, and small-claims enforcement. HB24-1233 later changed the delinquency-contact delivery procedure by eliminating physical posting and requiring two additional contact methods.
That means a board should not treat collections as a loose manager workflow. The policy should protect:
- Consistency: every delinquent account follows the same path
- Fairness: owners understand deadlines, balances, and options
- Board protection: decisions are documented before referral
- Transparency: notices explain what the association may do next
- Owner expectations: payment plans, disputes, and communication channels are clear
Colorado compliance trap: A management company should not refer a delinquent account to an attorney or collection agency on its own. HB22-1137 requires a majority of the executive board to vote to refer the matter in a recorded vote at the required meeting.
Common Sections in a Colorado Collections Policy
Assessment due dates
The policy should state when regular assessments are due. Common structures include:
- Monthly assessments
- Quarterly assessments
- Annual assessments
- Special assessments due on a board-approved schedule
The association's declaration, bylaws, budget, and assessment notices control the actual due dates. The policy should match those documents.
Grace period
Some associations allow a grace period before late fees or collection steps begin. Colorado law does not create one universal grace period for every association, so the policy should identify whether a grace period exists and where it comes from.
If the governing documents do not authorize a grace period, the board should avoid inventing one casually. If the board wants one, it should adopt it clearly and apply it consistently.
Late fees
A collections policy can explain when late fees are charged, how they are authorized, and where the amount appears.
Do not use the guide to pick a fee amount out of thin air. The association should confirm the declaration, bylaws, rules, budget documents, and responsible-governance policies. Any late fee should be reasonable, documented, and consistently applied.
Interest
HB22-1137 provides that an association may not charge interest on unpaid assessments, fines, or fees at a rate greater than 8% per year.
The governing documents may set a lower rate or a specific method for calculating interest. A collections policy should identify the applicable rate and explain when interest begins.
Payment plans
Payment plans are central to Colorado assessment collection.
Before starting a legal action to initiate foreclosure based on unpaid assessments, the association must provide the owner a written offer to enter into a repayment plan that permits repayment in monthly installments over 18 months. Under the HB22-1137 process, the owner may choose the monthly payment amount, so long as each payment is at least $25 until the remaining balance is less than $25.
The policy should explain:
- Who sends the payment-plan offer
- What balance is included
- How the owner accepts
- How payments are applied
- What counts as default
- What happens if the owner pays the balance early
If an owner owes both assessments and fines, fees, or other charges, Colorado law requires the association to apply a payment first to assessments and then to fines, fees, or other charges.
Legal referrals
Before referring a delinquent account to a collection agency or attorney, the association must first contact the owner to alert the owner of the delinquency and maintain a record of the contact.
The association must also have a majority of the executive board vote to refer the matter in a recorded vote at a meeting. A community association manager or property management company acting for the association may not bypass that board vote.
Colorado Collection Timeline
Every association's governing documents differ. This timeline is an implementation example, not a universal deadline schedule.
Notice of delinquency
A Colorado notice of delinquency for unpaid assessments, fines, fees, or charges should identify the type of delinquency and explain the required next steps.
Under HB22-1137, as amended by HB 24-1233 (effective August 7, 2024), the notice must be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested — the association may charge the owner the cost of certified mail — and the same notice must also be delivered by two of the following methods: telephone call, text message to a number the owner provided, or email to an address the owner provided. Physical posting at the owner's unit is no longer a permitted or required delivery method as of August 2024.
If the owner has identified a designated contact, the designated contact must receive the same correspondence and notices. If the owner has indicated a preferred language for correspondence and notices, the association must account for that preference as required by law.
Monthly itemized statements
On a monthly basis, the association must send each owner with an outstanding balance an itemized list of all assessments, fines, fees, and charges owed. The list must be sent by first-class mail and, if the association has the relevant email address, by email.
The association may not charge a fee or other amount to recover the cost of providing the owner a statement of the total amount owed.
Owner Rights in the Collection Process
A collections policy should make owner rights easy to understand.
Owners should know how to:
- Ask questions about the account balance
- Identify a designated contact
- Provide a preferred language for correspondence and notices
- Dispute a charge
- Request account records
- Propose payment arrangements
- Accept or decline a repayment plan
- Keep regular assessments current while resolving an old balance
The policy should also explain that unpaid assessments may lead to foreclosure if every legal requirement is satisfied, but that fine-only balances do not support foreclosure under Colorado law.
Board Responsibilities
The board's role is not just to collect money. It is to run a fair, documented process.
Colorado boards should:
- Adopt and follow a written collection policy
- Apply the policy consistently
- Keep accurate ledgers
- Track contacts, notices, dates, and delivery methods
- Send monthly itemized statements for outstanding balances
- Record the required board vote before collection referral
- Confirm payment-plan rights before foreclosure
- Keep fines and assessments distinct in the ledger
- Review attorney and collection-agency activity
- Avoid collection shortcuts that conflict with CCIOA
HB22-1137 compliance on autopilot
Zorex tracks payment status, sends the required dual-delivery notices, and manages the 18-month payment plan workflow — without board intervention.
Sample Policy Outline
A Colorado HOA collections policy often uses this structure:
- Purpose and legal authority
- Assessment due dates
- Grace period, if any
- Late fees and interest
- Owner contact information and designated contacts
- Notice of delinquency
- Monthly itemized balance statements
- Owner disputes and communication
- Payment plans
- Board vote before collection referral
- Attorney or collection-agency referral
- Lien procedures
- Foreclosure limitations
- Payment application
- Records and reporting
- Board adoption and amendment
Frequently Asked Questions
When can a Colorado HOA send accounts to collections?
Before referral, the association must follow its written collection policy, contact the owner about the delinquency, keep a record of the contact, and obtain a recorded majority vote of the executive board to refer the matter.
Can a Colorado HOA charge late fees?
Often yes, if late fees are authorized by the governing documents and policy. The amount and timing should be documented and consistently applied.
Can a Colorado HOA charge interest?
Yes, but HB22-1137 limits interest on unpaid assessments, fines, or fees to no more than 8% per year. The governing documents may require a lower rate.
Can a Colorado HOA file a lien?
Colorado law gives qualifying associations lien rights for assessments and certain other amounts, but lien and foreclosure rights are limited by CCIOA and the association’s governing documents.
Can a Colorado HOA foreclose for unpaid fines?
Not when the debt securing the lien consists only of fines or collection costs or attorney fees associated only with fines.
Can payment plans be offered?
Yes. Before starting foreclosure based on unpaid assessments, Colorado law requires a written repayment-plan offer allowing monthly installments over 18 months, with owner-selected monthly payments of at least $25 until the balance is below $25.
Does every Colorado HOA need a collections policy?
An association should have one. Colorado law requires an association to adopt and follow a written collection policy before using a collection agency or taking legal action to collect unpaid assessments.
Does the board have to vote before legal referral?
Yes. HB22-1137 requires a majority of the executive board to vote to refer the delinquent account in a recorded vote at the required meeting.
What should a notice of delinquency include?
It should identify whether the delinquency involves unpaid assessments, fines, fees, or charges, explain required steps before legal action, describe possible legal action, and warn if unpaid assessments may lead to foreclosure.
Can a Colorado HOA charge for a statement of the amount owed?
No. HB22-1137 says an association may not assess a fee or other charge to recover costs incurred for providing the owner a statement of the total amount owed.