Illinois Condo Owners Have Real Rights Under the Condominium Property Act
Every case is different. The Illinois Condominium Property Act (765 ILCS 605) gives unit owners real protections, but whether you have a viable claim depends entirely on your specific facts. This article covers a few of the claims we see most often in our practice. It is not legal advice, and there are many other provisions of the Act that may apply to your situation. If something here sounds familiar, schedule a consultation and let's talk about it.
One note on terminology before we dig in. This article is about condominiums, which are governed by the Condominium Property Act. People routinely call their condo association an "HOA," and that's fine here. But if you live in a townhome or single-family community that is not a condominium, your association is probably governed by a different statute — the Common Interest Community Association Act (765 ILCS 160) — and the specific section numbers below won't line up. The underlying instinct is usually the same; the citations are not.
Your Board Dropped a Surprise Assessment on You (Section 9)
You come home to a letter in your mailbox: a $5,000 special assessment, due in 30 days, for a lobby renovation you never heard about. No budget was circulated. No breakdown of costs. Just a demand for money.
Here's the thing: Section 9(c) of the Act requires the board to prepare and distribute a detailed proposed annual budget to all unit owners, setting forth anticipated common expenses by category. Budgets adopted on or after July 1, 1990 also generally must include reasonable reserves for capital expenditures and deferred maintenance. When a board skips these steps and just sends you a bill, that process may not hold up under the Act.
Section 9(g) provides that unpaid assessments or fines — together with interest, late charges, reasonable attorney's fees, and costs of collection — can become a lien on your unit. That lien is powerful: it takes priority over most other claims against the property, though certain earlier-recorded interests (like a first mortgage) and tax liens can still come ahead of it. But here's what matters: the board cannot simply take your unit. To enforce the lien, the association has to go to court — either by foreclosing the lien the same way a bank forecloses a mortgage (Section 9(h)), or by filing an eviction action to recover possession of the unit (Section 9.2). Either way, that means a lawsuit, with court oversight, where you have the opportunity to defend yourself.
So if you've been hit with an assessment that came out of nowhere, or the board is threatening to foreclose a lien on charges you believe were never properly levied, you have the right to challenge it. And if the underlying assessment wasn't adopted in compliance with the Act, the lien built on top of it may not survive that scrutiny.
The Board Got Fined and Now They Want You to Pay for It (Section 9.1)
Picture this: the city issues a code violation against the building because the board neglected required fire safety upgrades in the common areas. Instead of the association absorbing the cost of its own failure, the board folds those fines into your monthly assessment, spreading the penalty across every unit owner.
Section 9.1 of the Act speaks directly to this. It provides that a unit owner is not liable for claims, damages, or judgments — including state or local government fees or fines — entered as a result of the board of managers' actions or inactions. The exception is mechanics' liens as specifically addressed in that section.
This protection matters. The board made the decision (or failed to act). The consequences of that decision belong to the association, not to individual unit owners. If your board is passing along government fines or third-party liability that arose from its own conduct, Section 9.1 may provide you with a defense.
The Board Is Running Things Like It's Their Building, Not Yours (Section 18.4)
Maybe the hallway carpet has been falling apart for two years and the board won't touch it. Maybe they hired a property manager who happens to be the board president's cousin. Maybe you woke up one morning to a new rule banning holiday decorations on your front door, and nobody ever told you it was being considered, let alone voted on.
Section 18.4 lays out the board's powers and duties, and there are a lot of them: maintaining common elements, adopting budgets, levying assessments, obtaining insurance, and adopting rules and regulations, among others. But with all that authority comes a critical obligation. The Act requires that officers and members of the board exercise the care required of a fiduciary of the unit owners. That is not a suggestion. That is a legal standard of loyalty and care.
On the rules front, Section 18.4 requires that rules and regulations be adopted only after a meeting of the unit owners called for the specific purpose of discussing those proposed rules, and the notice of that meeting must contain the full text of what's being proposed. A rule that shows up without that process may not be enforceable.
And here's a provision that surprises a lot of boards: Section 18.4 provides that any portion of a condominium instrument containing provisions contrary to its requirements is void as against public policy and ineffective. If your governing documents say the board can do something the Act says it cannot, the Act wins.
If your board is neglecting its maintenance obligations, managing association funds without transparency, or adopting rules without following the required process, these are the kinds of issues Section 18.4 was designed to address.
You Asked for Records and Got Stonewalled (Section 19)
You want to see the association's financials. Maybe the assessments keep going up but the building keeps getting worse. Maybe the board approved a major contract and you want to see the terms. So you send a written request, and… nothing. No response. Or worse, a flat refusal.
Section 19 requires the board to maintain and make available a wide range of records: the declaration, bylaws, meeting minutes, insurance policies, contracts, and current rules and regulations. Financial books and records must be maintained for the current and ten immediately preceding fiscal years. When a unit owner submits a written request stating with particularity the records sought, the board has 10 business days to make them available. If they don't, the Act treats that silence as a denial.
That denial is not without consequence. A unit owner who prevails in an enforcement action to compel production of most association records may be entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs from the association. For member lists and ballots, attorney's fees are recoverable only if the court finds the board acted in bad faith in denying the request.
Transparency is not optional under the Act. If your board is making it difficult or impossible for you to see how your money is being spent, that is a problem the Act specifically anticipated.
Sound Familiar?
If you're reading this and nodding along, you're not alone. These are the kinds of disputes we see regularly, and the Act provides real tools for unit owners who find themselves in these situations. The key is understanding which provisions apply to your facts and what remedies may be available.
Contact our office to schedule a consultation, and let's figure out where you stand. You can reach The Law Office of Krista Krepp at contact@krepplaw.com or schedule a consultation online.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue my condo association or HOA board in Illinois? Often, yes. The Condominium Property Act gives unit owners enforceable rights, and when a board ignores them — by levying assessments without following the budget process, withholding records, or breaching its fiduciary duties — a unit owner can bring a claim. Whether yours is viable depends on the specific facts, which is exactly what an initial consultation sorts out.
How long does my condo board have to respond to a records request? Under Section 19, the board has 10 business days from receipt of a written request that states with particularity the records you want. If the board does not make the records available within that window, the Act treats the silence as a denial — which can open the door to an enforcement action.
Can my condo association take my unit if I don't pay an assessment? Not on its own. To collect an unpaid assessment, the association has to go through the courts — either foreclosing its lien the same way a lender forecloses a mortgage (Section 9(h)) or bringing an eviction action to recover possession (Section 9.2). You have the right to appear and defend, including by challenging whether the assessment was properly levied in the first place.
Can I recover my attorney's fees if I have to sue to get records? For most association records, a unit owner who prevails in an action to compel production may recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs under Section 19(b). For member lists and ballots, fees are available only if the court finds the board acted in bad faith.
Does the Condominium Property Act apply to my townhome HOA? Not necessarily. The Condominium Property Act governs condominiums. Many townhome and single-family-home associations are instead governed by the Common Interest Community Association Act (765 ILCS 160) and their own declarations. The protections are often similar in spirit, but the governing statute — and the section numbers — are different.