§1123.115. Privilege on immovables

A.(1) The association shall have a privilege on a condominium parcel for all unpaid or accelerated sums assessed by the association, any fines or late fees in excess of two hundred fifty dollars, and interest thereon at the rate provided in the condominium declaration or, in the absence thereof, at the legal interest rate. This privilege shall also secure reasonable attorney fees incurred by the association incident to the collection of the assessment or enforcement of the privilege. Further, if the unit owner fails to timely pay the assessments for common elements for a period of three months or more during any eight-month period and notice to the delinquent unit owner is provided as set forth in Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, the association may accelerate the assessment on the common elements for a twelve-month period and file a privilege for the accelerated sums. Assessments for common elements are those assessments that are collected on a regular basis by the association for routine expenditures associated with the property.

(2) To be preserved, the privilege shall be evidenced by a claim of privilege, signed and verified by affidavit of an officer or agent of the association, and shall be filed for registry in the mortgage records in the parish in which the condominium is located. The claim of privilege shall include a description of the condominium parcel, the name of its record owner, the amount of delinquent or accelerated assessment, the date on which the assessment became delinquent, and any fines or late fees assessed in excess of two hundred fifty dollars.

(3) The association shall, at least seven days prior to the filing for registry of the privilege, serve upon the delinquent unit owner a sworn detailed statement of its claim for the delinquent or accelerated assessment that includes the date said assessment became delinquent or accelerated, which service shall be effected by personal service, or registered or certified mail.

(4) If the condominium association files a lien pursuant to this Section and the lien is for an amount of the assessment or dues secured by the privilege allowed pursuant hereto that is not owed, in whole or in part, and any owner or interest holder of the condominium unit affected by the privilege files suit to obtain a complete or partial release of such lien or privilege, then in such event the condominium association filing the lien shall be liable to the owner or interest holder in the condominium for the expenses of obtaining the release, in whole or in part, including reasonable attorney fees and all costs associated therewith.

B. A claim of privilege recorded, as set forth in Subsection A of this Section, shall preserve the privilege against the condominium parcel for a period of five years from the date of recordation. The effect of recordation shall cease and the privilege preserved by this recordation shall perempt unless a notice of filing of suit, giving the name of the court, the title and number of the proceedings and date of filing, a description of the condominium parcel and the name of the unit owner, on the claim is recorded within five years from the date of the recordation of the inscription of the claim. Such notice of filing suit shall preserve the privilege until the court in which the suit is filed shall order the cancellation of the inscription of the claim and the notice of filing of suit on the claim or until the claimant authorizes the clerk of court or recorder of mortgages to cancel the inscriptions.

C. A privilege under this Section is superior to all other liens and encumbrances on a unit except (1) privileges, mortgages, and encumbrances recorded before the recordation of the declaration, (2) privileges, mortgages, and encumbrances on the unit recorded before the recordation of the privilege as provided in Subsection B of this Section, (3) immovable property taxes, and (4) governmental assessments in which the unit is specifically described.

Acts 1979, No. 682, §1; Acts 1988, No. 979, §1; Acts 2006, No. 358, §1; Acts 2010, No. 245, §1; Acts 2016, No. 244, §1.