Condo Adviser: Statutes differ based on the form of community association
Q. I live in a townhouse association and read your Condo Adviser column regularly. I wonder why you are called the Condo Adviser versus a Townhouse Adviser. Are applicable statutes different for condominiums versus townhouses?
A. There are definitely different applicable statutes, depending on the form of community association. The Condominium Act applies only to real estate submitted to the Condominium Act. The most common type of condominium building structure is a multiunit residential building, but a townhouse community or even a single-family home community could be submitted to the provisions of the Condominium Act, which would then make that association a condominium association.
The most common other statute for community associations is the Common Interest Community Association Act. The statute applies to common interest community associations other than condominium or residential cooperatives that have more than 10 units or an annual budget more than $100,000. This statute applies to most townhouse associations, except those that are deemed a townhome condominium association.
Lastly, master associations are governed by section 18.5 of the Condominium Act, even though the remainder of the Condominium Act does not apply to master associations.
Q. I am a unit owner in a mid-rise condominium building. Our board does conduct regular open board meetings, which is appreciated. However, no minutes are kept of the board meetings and thus, copies of board meeting minutes are not available to unit owners. Is this legal?
A. Under Illinois law, condominium boards are required to keep minutes of board meetings and unit owner meetings. In fact, section 19(a)(4) of the Condominium Act requires the board of directors to make available minutes for unit owner meetings and board meetings for the previous seven years. The board should be reminded of its legal requirement to keep board meeting minutes and do so prospectively.
Q. I am a unit owner in a condominium association. Recently, the unit owners were notified that the association has not paid its water bill for months and has a significant outstanding balance plus a significant amount of interest/penalties. The condominium board has not been forthcoming about this. How can we determine if the water bill has been paid?
A. Unit owners have a few avenues to obtain information about the payment of association common expenses, specifically the water bill.
Per Section 19(a)(9) of the Condominium Act, unit owners are entitled to inspect the books and records of the association for the current and previous 10 fiscal years. A unit owner should request the inspection in writing and may search for water bill payments, or any other payments to vendors for that matter. Alternatively, for a Chicago water bill, a unit owner may obtain a copy of the city of Chicago water bill and full payment certificate from the Chicago Department of Finance, which can be obtained online.
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Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Chicago Tribune
Condo Adviser: Statutes differ based on the form of community association
Q. I live in a townhouse association and read your Condo Adviser column regularly. I wonder why you are called the Condo Adviser versus a Townhouse Adviser. Are applicable statutes different for condominiums versus townhouses? A. There are definitely different applicable statutes, depending on the form of community association. The Condominium Act applies only to real estate submitted to the Condominium Act. The most common type of condominium building structure is a multiunit residential building, but a townhouse community or even a single-family home community could be submitted to the provisions of the Condominium Act, which would then make that association a condominium association. The most common other statute for community associations is the Common Interest Community Association Act. The statute applies to common interest community associations other than condominium or residential cooperatives that have more than 10 units or an annual budget more than $100,000. This statute applies to most townhouse associations, except those that are deemed a townhome condominium association. Lastly, master associations are governed by section 18.5 of the Condominium Act, even though the remainder of the Condominium Act does not apply to master associations. Q. I am a unit owner in a mid-rise condominium building. Our board does conduct regular open board meetings, which is appreciated. However, no minutes are kept of the board meetings and thus, copies of board meeting minutes are not available to unit owners. Is this legal? A. Under Illinois law, condominium boards are required to keep minutes of board meetings and unit owner meetings. In fact, section 19(a)(4) of the Condominium Act requires the board of directors to make available minutes for unit owner meetings and board meetings for the previous seven years. The board should be reminded of its legal requirement to keep board meeting minutes and do so prospectively. Q. I am a unit owner in a condominium association. Recently, the unit owners were notified that the association has not paid its water bill for months and has a significant outstanding balance plus a significant amount of interest/penalties. The condominium board has not been forthcoming about this. How can we determine if the water bill has been paid? A. Unit owners have a few avenues to obtain information about the payment of association common expenses, specifically the water bill. Per Section 19(a)(9) of the Condominium Act, unit owners are entitled to inspect the books and records of the association for the current and previous 10 fiscal years. A unit owner should request the inspection in writing and may search for water bill payments, or any other payments to vendors for that matter. Alternatively, for a Chicago water bill, a unit owner may obtain a copy of the city of Chicago water bill and full payment certificate from the Chicago Department of Finance, which can be obtained online.
Chicago Tribune
13-04-2025
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Condo Adviser: Community associations are not required to comply with the Corporate Transparency Act
Q. I am confused about the current status of whether the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) applies to community associations given recent reported developments. Has the government issued a final ruling to give clarity on the back-and-forth issue of applicable ability to community associations? A. The CTA saga has finally come to a close relating to community associations. It is now clear that community associations are not required to comply with the CTA. On March 21, 2025, the Treasury Department/FinCEN released a final rule that eliminates the beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirement for domestic companies and U.S. persons, which means community associations are exempt from BOI reporting. If a community association has already filed a BOI report with FinCEN, it is still exempt from the requirement to update or correct any future beneficial ownership information. Further, U.S. citizens and residents are also now exempt from BOI reporting requirements even if they would otherwise be deemed to be beneficial owners of foreign reporting companies. Note that based on this latest evolution of FinCEN's regulations implementing the CTA, non-U.S. entities registered to do business in any U.S. jurisdiction remain subject to the CTA BOI reporting requirements. Q. I am a unit owner in a four-unit, self-managed condominium association. I am trying to sell my unit, but the board of directors refuses to provide the required 22.1 disclosure or issue a paid-assessment letter. What recourse do I have? A. Section 22.1 of the Condominium Act requires a condominium board to make available for inspection to a prospective purchaser, upon demand, certain disclosures enumerated in that section, which include a statement of the assessment account and a variety of other financial and non-financial disclosures. If a board refuses to comply with its obligations under the Condominium Act or the governing documents, such board members would be in breach of their fiduciary obligations and subject to a declaratory lawsuit forcing the board to comply with the Condominium Act and governing documents as well as a breach-of-fiduciary-duty lawsuit for damages. Hopefully a stern letter from a lawyer representing the unit owner in the planned sale results in compliance without the need for litigation. Q. I am a unit owner in a large condominium association with a board of directors that has increasingly been not complying with certain provisions in our declaration and bylaws and applicable law. For example, the board is not holding the annual meeting on the date required in the bylaws, not sending out a fiscal report to unit owners as required by the Condominium Act and not properly complying with the notice requirements for board meetings contained in the Condominium Act. What rights do the unit owners have when a condominium board is not complying with its governing documents and applicable law? A. For certain issues, the Condominium Act itself contains rights for unit owners. For example, if a unit owner meeting is not called in the time period required in the bylaws, 20% of the unit owners can submit a petition and call a unit owner meeting, such as an annual election, themselves. Also, if an annual budget increases by more than 15% of the previous year's budget, unit owners may initiate a series of procedures to reject the budget. Lastly, unit owners have the right to inspect certain association documents, which are listed in section 19 of the Condominium Act. For other situations where the board of directors is routinely not complying with formalities required in the Condominium Act or its governing documents, unit owners have the right to sue to obtain a court order to force compliance and/or file a breach-of-fiduciary-duty lawsuit against the board members individually for damages. Arguably more cost-effective, the unit owners can initiate a unit owner meeting to vote to remove a director(s) from the board. The requisite unit owner approval to remove a director is two-thirds of the total unit ownership, which can be a difficult threshold to achieve, but it is possible.
CBS News
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Chicago waiving city vehicle sticker penalties for all drivers in April
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