Texas statute reference · Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0092
§ 209.0092 - Judicial Foreclosure Required
Section 209.0092 is the procedural centerpiece of Texas HOA collections. With limited exceptions, an association may not foreclose its assessment lien until a court grants an expedited foreclosure order. The owner can waive the expedited process, and an association can choose the ordinary judgment route instead.
Statute text reproduced from the Texas Property Code; editorial summaries by the Common Elements editorial team. Not legal advice; not a substitute for Texas counsel.
Current as of 2026-05-29.
What boards need to know
The default is court supervision. Section 209.0092(a) bars an association from foreclosing its assessment lien unless it first obtains a court order in an application for expedited foreclosure under the Supreme Court's rules. The provision is expressly “subject to Section 209.009,” the fines-only foreclosure bar, and is subject to the exceptions in subsections (c) and (d). An association whose documents grant a foreclosure right is deemed to have the power of sale needed to use the procedure.
The expedited process borrows the home-equity model. Section 209.0092(b) directs the Texas Supreme Court to adopt expedited-foreclosure rules substantially similar to its rules under Section 50(r), Article XVI of the Texas Constitution. That is the source of the application-and-order mechanics associations follow.
There are two off-ramps. Under § 209.0092(c), the owner may waive expedited foreclosure in writing at the time foreclosure is sought, but a waiver cannot be required as a condition of a title transfer. Under § 209.0092(d), an association may instead pursue an ordinary foreclosure judgment under Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 309 and 646a, and § 209.0092(e) preserves the judicial-foreclosure option for associations not authorized to use the expedited route.
Before any § 209.0092 filing, the lienholder notice-and-cure step in § 209.0091 must be satisfied. The two sections are cross-referenced and operate in sequence.
Key requirements
The core requirement
Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0092(a)- Court order in an expedited-foreclosure application before foreclosing
- Subject to § 209.009 (no foreclosure for fines-only debt)
- Subject to the waiver and judgment exceptions in (c) and (d)
- Documents granting foreclosure supply the power of sale
Source of the procedure
Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0092(b)- Texas Supreme Court adopts the expedited-foreclosure rules
- Rules substantially similar to Const. Art. XVI § 50(r) home-equity rules
The exceptions
Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0092(c)-(e)- Owner may waive expedited foreclosure in writing when sought
- Waiver may not be required to transfer title
- Association may elect ordinary judgment under TRCP 309 and 646a
- Judicial-foreclosure right preserved for non-authorized associations
Key statutory text
Selected subsections, reproduced verbatim from the Texas Property Code. Full text at statutes.capitol.texas.gov.
§ 209.0092(a) - court order required
Except as provided by Subsection (c) or (d) and subject to Section 209.009, a property owners’ association may not foreclose a property owners’ association assessment lien unless the association first obtains a court order in an application for expedited foreclosure under the rules adopted by the supreme court under Subsection (b). A property owners’ association may use the procedure described by this subsection to foreclose any lien described by the association’s dedicatory instruments. A property owners’ association whose dedicatory instruments grant a right of foreclosure is considered to have any power of sale required by law as a condition of using the procedure described by this subsection.
§ 209.0092(c) - owner waiver
Expedited foreclosure is not required under this section if the owner of the property that is subject to foreclosure agrees in writing at the time the foreclosure is sought to waive expedited foreclosure under this section. A waiver under this subsection may not be required as a condition of the transfer of title to real property.
Common questions about § 209.0092
- Does a Texas HOA need a court order before foreclosing?
- Generally, yes. Section 209.0092(a) provides that, except as provided by subsection (c) or (d) and subject to § 209.009, an association may not foreclose its assessment lien unless it first obtains a court order in an application for expedited foreclosure under rules adopted by the Texas Supreme Court. An association whose dedicatory instruments grant a right of foreclosure is considered to have any power of sale required to use this procedure.
- What rules govern the expedited foreclosure process?
- Section 209.0092(b) directs the Texas Supreme Court, under its authority in § 74.024 of the Government Code, to adopt rules establishing expedited foreclosure proceedings for associations foreclosing an assessment lien, and requires those rules to be substantially similar to the rules the court adopts under Section 50(r), Article XVI of the Texas Constitution (the home-equity expedited-foreclosure rules).
- Can an owner waive expedited foreclosure under § 209.0092?
- Yes, at the time foreclosure is sought. Section 209.0092(c) provides that expedited foreclosure is not required if the owner agrees in writing, at the time the foreclosure is sought, to waive it. The same subsection prohibits requiring such a waiver as a condition of transferring title to real property.
- Is the expedited court order the only foreclosure route?
- No. Section 209.0092(d) lets an association that may use the expedited procedure instead elect to foreclose under a court judgment foreclosing the lien and ordering the sale, pursuant to Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 309 and 646a. Section 209.0092(e) preserves any right to judicially foreclose under subsection (d) for an association not authorized to use the expedited procedure.
- Does § 209.0092 apply only to homestead property?
- As written, the requirement in § 209.0092(a) applies to foreclosure of a property owners' association assessment lien and is not limited on its face to homestead property. It is expressly made subject to § 209.009 (which bars foreclosure for fines-only debt) and subject to the exceptions in subsections (c) and (d). Whether and how the requirement applies to a particular property is a legal question for Texas counsel.
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