# Washington HOA Late Fees and Interest > Under Washington Revised Code 64.90.485, an HOA or condo association must mail you a notice of delinquency within 30 days after an assessment goes past due. For the next 15 days it cannot take any other collection step, and the only charges it can add are the cost of mailing the notice, an administrative fee of up to $10, and a single late fee of no more than $50 or 5% of the unpaid assessment, whichever is less. Outside that window, Washington law says late charges must be reasonable but does not name a dollar figure. Interest is capped: the association sets a rate that cannot exceed the maximum under RCW 19.52.020, which is the higher of 12% a year or four points over the 26-week Treasury bill rate, and if it sets no rate, that maximum applies by default. _Source: https://hoanotes.com/hoa/washington/late-fees/ | Last reviewed 2026-10-06_ ## The 15-day window and the single late fee The rule took effect January 1, 2026, under a 2025 law (chapter 393) that also brought HOA debts into the state foreclosure mediation program. Once the association mails the notice of delinquency, it has to wait 15 days before doing anything else to collect. During those 15 days it can charge you one late fee, capped at the lesser of $50 or 5% of the assessment that triggered it, plus a fee of up to $10 for the notice and the actual cost of printing and mailing it. Here is how the late fee limit works. On a $400 monthly assessment, 5% is $20, so the single late fee can be no more than $20. On a $1,200 quarterly assessment, 5% is $60, so the $50 figure is lower and the limit is $50. ## After the 15 days: reasonable late charges The $50-or-5% limit covers that single fee in the notice window. It is not a permanent ceiling on every late charge. After the window, the statute lets the association set reasonable late charges and does not give a number, so the amount comes from the declaration and the association's collection policy. A late fee that looks steep in the packet is worth asking about, since reasonable is the legal test. ## The interest ceiling The association picks the interest rate on delinquent assessments, but it cannot go above the maximum rate under RCW 19.52.020. That maximum is the higher of 12% a year or four points over the six-month Treasury bill rate, and the State Treasurer publishes it each month. On a $400 balance, 12% a year is $4 a month. If the association never set a rate, the statute fills the gap: delinquent assessments bear interest at that maximum from the date they went delinquent. ## Which law covers your community Section 64.90.485 is part of the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act. Until January 1, 2028, that act covers communities created on or after July 1, 2018, and older ones that voted to adopt it. An older condominium follows RCW 64.34.364, and an older HOA whose documents give it a lien follows RCW 64.38.100. Both have the same 30-day notice, 15-day pause, and $50-or-5% single late fee rule as of January 1, 2026. The older condo act lets the association set reasonable late charges and an interest rate, with the RCW 19.52.020 maximum as the default. The older HOA act allows late charges but sets no interest rate. ## What to check in the disclosure packet Read these before you make an offer: - The late fee and interest rate in the declaration or collection policy. - Whether the interest rate runs above the RCW 19.52.020 maximum. - Whether the collection policy reflects the 2026 notice and 15-day rules. - Any late fees, interest, or collection charges on the seller's ledger. - Whether the community was created before July 1, 2018, and which act it follows. ## Why this matters to your offer Under RCW 64.90.485, unpaid assessments carry a lien on the home, and a buyer who takes title in a regular sale is jointly liable with the seller for assessments the seller left unpaid. A collection policy written before 2026 may still describe fees the law no longer allows in the notice window. An HOA Notes brief reads the collection policy and the ledger, checks the late fee and interest rate against the statute that applies to your community, and cites the page behind each finding. ## What the statute says **Washington Revised Code 64.90.485** (Delinquency notice, late fees, interest, and foreclosure minimum). Within 30 days after an assessment is past due the association must mail a notice of delinquency with a preforeclosure notice; for 15 days after that it may take no other collection action and may charge only mailing costs, an administrative fee of no more than $10, and a single late fee of no more than $50 or 5% of the unpaid assessment, whichever is less. Interest may not exceed the RCW 19.52.020 maximum. Foreclosure requires the greater of three months or $2,000 of assessments (excluding fines, late charges, interest and fees), 90 days elapsed since that amount accrued, a second notice, and completed mediation if referred. After the 15-day period the association may charge reasonable late charges and interest at a rate it sets up to the RCW 19.52.020 maximum (the default if it sets none), recover collection costs and reasonable attorney fees, and foreclose once the threshold and notices are met. Pre-July 2018 communities that have not elected into chapter 64.90 follow the parallel RCW 64.34.364 or 64.38.100 until January 1, 2028. ## Washington HOA late fees: common questions ### Is there a cap on HOA late fees in Washington? Only in the 15 days after the association mails its notice of delinquency. In that window it may charge one late fee of no more than $50 or 5% of the unpaid assessment, whichever is less. Otherwise the law requires late charges to be reasonable and sets no dollar figure. ### How much interest can a Washington HOA charge on unpaid dues? Under RCW 64.90.485, no more than the maximum rate under RCW 19.52.020, which is the higher of 12% a year or four points over the 26-week Treasury bill rate. If the association set no rate, that maximum applies. ### When does a Washington HOA have to send a delinquency notice? No later than 30 days after an assessment becomes past due, by first-class mail, and by email if the association has your address. ## Sources (verified 2026-10-06) 1. Washington Revised Code 64.90.485 (liens; notice of delinquency; late charges; interest), Washington State Legislature. Verified 2026-10-06. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.90.485 2. Washington Revised Code 64.34.364 (condominium liens; late charges), Washington State Legislature. Verified 2026-10-06. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.34.364 3. Washington Revised Code 19.52.020 (highest permissible interest rate), Washington State Legislature. Verified 2026-10-06. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.52.020 4. Final Bill Report, E2SSB 5686 (chapter 393, Laws of 2025), Washington State Senate. Verified 2026-10-06. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Htm/Bill%20Reports/Senate/5686-S2.E%20SBR%20FBR%2025.htm 5. Interest rates for September 2026 (RCW 19.52.020 maximum), Washington State Register, Office of the State Treasurer. Verified 2026-10-06. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/Law/WSR/2026/18/InterestRates.pdf 6. Foreclosure mediation in transition: key changes for attorneys and community mediators, Washington State Bar News. Verified 2026-10-06. https://wabarnews.org/?p=18551 HOA Notes is not a law firm and this is not legal advice.