Illinois Condo Laws Require Updating, Say Residents

Unit owners in a Chicago condominium are pushing for a change in Illinois condo laws after paying unreasonable fees and assessments. More on this story below.

A Call for Change in Illinois Condo Laws

Teyona James Harris has been a homeowner for 13 years. Harris is a member of the Condo Owners of Woodland Park, a condo building along Chicago’s Lakefront. Recently, Harris demanded help from City Hall to fight a real estate corporation from squeezing them out of their homes.

The unit owners in the condo believe that the new owner of the building, a real estate corporation, is levying significant assessments for its own benefit. The corporation claims that these charges are for “common expenses” in the building. However, the residents believe that the corporation is merely taking advantage of the Illinois Condominium Property Act.

“So, they have things like landscaping, where they spent like 100-and-something-thousand dollars on,” Harris explained. “In the past two budgets where we’ve had special assessments, there were the same items in both budgets that never got taken care of. They’re trying to push us out because they want our properties.”

Condo owners have partnered with the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization to propose amendments to the Condominium Property Act. These amendments aim to promote increased transparency and accountability among condo associations. They also seek to offer more protection and support a fairer system for condo owners in the state.

Other States Ahead

Currently, the Illinois Condominium Property Act only prevents condominiums from levying “unreasonable” special assessments. While this offers some form of protection, there is not enough clarity as to what constitutes an unreasonable assessment.

Other states’ HOA laws provide more specificity. In California, for instance, the Davis-Stirling Act, which governs both condos and HOAs, sheds more light on the matter. Section 5605(b) states:

“Notwithstanding more restrictive limitations placed on the board by the governing documents, the board may not impose a regular assessment that is more than 20 percent greater than the regular assessment for the association’s preceding fiscal year or impose special assessments which in the aggregate exceed 5 percent of the budgeted gross expenses of the association for that fiscal year without the approval of a majority of a quorum of members, pursuant to Section 4070, at a member meeting or election.”

Of course, Illinois does have a Condominium & Common Interest Community Ombudsperson (CCICO). However, the CCICO only educates unit owners and associations. It does not provide legal advice or assistance, enforce any laws or regulations, or perform dispute resolution.