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Can a property owners' association put a lien on my lot in Fremont County?
The lien power, and where it comes from
The short answer is yes, and the reason is unusual enough to be worth understanding: the lien is not an association's idea — the county required it to be there before the subdivision was platted. Where common property is to be deeded to a property owners' association, the Development Code requires that "the covenants and by-laws which govern the association must, at a minimum, provide for" nine things, lettered (a) through (i) — and letter (d) is the lien power: placement of liens on the property of lot owners delinquent in association fees and assessments.
— Fremont County Development Code, 2011 Edition (Ordinance 2011-04), section 5.56.020(3). Consolidated through Ordinance 2026-03. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
The nine minimums, in the code's own order
| Letter | The covenant must provide for |
|---|---|
| (a) | Formation of the association concurrently with the filing of the final plat, with Articles of Incorporation filed with the Secretary of State's office |
| (b) | Mandatory membership for each property owner — purchasers may also be required to sign a waiver of the right to protest forming a maintenance district |
| (c) | Payment of liability insurance premiums, local taxes, and the cost of maintaining recreational or other facilities |
| (d) | Placement of liens on the property of lot owners delinquent in association fees and assessments |
| (e) | Adjustment of assessments to meet changing needs |
| (f) | Means of enforcing the covenants, and of receiving and processing complaints |
| (g) | Transition of control of the association from the Declarant to the homeowners |
| (h) | Dissolution of the association and modification of the covenants, after obtaining the governing body's approval |
| (i) | Regular maintenance of roads, parks, buildings, drainage facilities, and other facilities the association controls |
Two rows deserve a buyer's attention before the rest. (d) is a power against the title you are buying, required by the county to keep common obligations collectable. (g) is the handoff — the covenants must move control from the Declarant (the developer, in the ordinary case) to the homeowners, and where that transition stands today is a different question from what the documents eventually provide.
What membership actually means
Row (b) makes membership mandatory for each property owner; it also allows something buyers rarely expect — purchasers may be required to sign a waiver of the right to protest forming a maintenance district. Read row (c) beside your budget: insurance premiums, local taxes and facility maintenance are the costs the assessments exist to cover. And row (i) is where the money goes — roads, parks, buildings and drainage facilities the association controls are the county-required maintenance list. That owner-side bill has a developer-side promise behind it, and what a phased subdivision guarantees is the other half of the ledger.
The two sentences that make the county a party
The county does not stop at requiring the covenants to exist. For covenants it required or approved at plat approval, section 5.56.020(3) lets it require two sentences to appear in the recorded documents — and when they appear, the character of the document changes:
"These covenant(s) may not be repealed or amended without prior written consent of the Fremont County Board of Commissioners." — language the county may require in plat approval covenants, Development Code 5.56.020(3)(1). Retrieved 7 September 2026
"The Fremont County Board of Commissioners is a party to this restrictive covenant and may enforce its terms." — language the county may require in its required covenants, Development Code 5.56.020(3)(2). Retrieved 7 September 2026
Not every subdivision carries these sentences — the Commission may recommend and the Board may require at its discretion — so you cannot assume either way. But when your covenants contain one, those rules are conditions of the plat's approval, not neighbor preferences, and a homeowners' vote does not repeal them. Only the Board's prior written consent does. The wider rule they hang from — the master plan the county reads over the developer's entire contiguous holdings — is the pillar page for this line.
Reading your own subdivision's file
- Get the recorded covenants and the association by-laws with your title documents — not a summary from a brochure. If the land is in a subdivision, the recorded plat carries its own map of easements and corridors worth reading in the same sitting.
- Search the covenants for the two quoted sentences. Either one marks plat-approval conditions: changes run through the Board of County Commissioners.
- Walk the (a)–(i) list against the by-laws and confirm each minimum exists — the county required them before the plat was signed.
- Ask, in writing, who controls the association today — the Declarant or the homeowners — and what the by-laws say triggers the transition.
- Find item (i) in practice: which roads, parks and drainage facilities the association maintains, and at what assessment. Read the assessment schedule before you buy — the lien power in (d) is what makes that schedule collectable.
- Ask Planning what the master plan for the entire contiguous holding showed — the field behind phase one was in the county's file, and it is fair to ask what was drawn there.
Then call or text (208) 656-1516 with the documents in hand.
Common questions
Can a property owners' association put a lien on my lot in Fremont County?
Yes, where common property is deeded to an association. The covenants must provide for placement of liens on the property of lot owners delinquent in association fees and assessments — a county-required minimum under Development Code section 5.56.020(3)(d), so assume the power exists and read the assessment schedule before you buy.
Does every subdivision have a property owners' association?
No. The nine covenant minimums apply where common property is to be deeded to a property owners' association. A subdivision without common property can exist without one, though its covenants may still bind — and if either county sentence appears in them, the Board of County Commissioners holds a say over changes.
Can the association's covenants be changed by a homeowners' vote?
Only if they are ordinary covenants. Where the county required plat-approval covenants, they may not be repealed or amended without the prior written consent of the Fremont County Board of Commissioners — and for county-required covenants the county may require language naming itself a party with power to enforce its terms.
Can the county enforce covenants against my lot?
For covenants the county required as a condition of plat approval, yes — the county may require them to state that "The Fremont County Board of Commissioners is a party to this restrictive covenant and may enforce its terms." Whether yours carry that sentence is answered by the recorded covenants themselves.
Who controls the association — the developer or the owners?
The covenants must provide for transition of control from the Declarant to the homeowners, but where that transition stands at any moment depends on the subdivision. Ask in writing who holds voting control today and what triggers the handoff.
What are the nine things the covenants must provide for?
Association formation concurrent with the final plat, with Articles of Incorporation filed with the Secretary of State; mandatory membership for each owner; payment of insurance, taxes and facility maintenance; liens against delinquent owners; assessment adjustment; covenant enforcement and complaint processing; transition of control from the Declarant to the homeowners; dissolution and modification with governing-body approval; and regular maintenance of roads, parks, buildings and drainage facilities.
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