The February 2016 decision of the First District Illinois Appellate Court in Stobe v 842-848 West Bradley Place Condominium Association has cast some doubt on the ability of an Illinois condominium board to limit leasing of units through its rule making authority. Article VII of the declaration in Stobe covered the “sale, leasing or other alienation” of units. It contained a statement that if a proposed unit tenant agreed to abide by the declaration, the board’s rules and the Condominium Property Act, the board would have no right of first refusal.

The leasing article of the Stobe declaration did impose specific restrictions on leasing for hotel or transient purposes or for terms of less than six months and imposed limitations on leases of parking spaces. The article did not expressly refer to the right of the condominium board to regulate leasing by rule. The court then stated: “With that said, article VII did not expressly state that owners had the right to lease their units either.”

The appellate court in Stobe affirmed the trial judge’s grant of summary judgment striking down the attempt of the condominium board to restrict leasing by rule, interpreting the declaration’s intent to be that owners had the right to lease their units without restrictions other than those specifically enumerated in the declaration. The Stobe court said: “As stated, the declaration expressed certain limitations on leasing. If owners had no right to lease their units, the enumerated limitations would be meaningless.”

The court went on to point out: “The article on leasing did not specify that it was subject to further regulation by the Board, unlike other provisions in the declaration that did. While this omission would not alone require a determination that owners possess leasing rights, the declaration’s intent is clear when considered in its entirety: Unit owners have the right to lease their units subject to the declaration’s limitations.”

Feel free to contact a Logan Law, LLC condominium attorney, if you have any questions regarding the ability of your condominium board to impose rules restricting leasing or if you need assistance or advice regarding other areas of condominium law.

A quirk of Illinois Condominium law has long prevented sending notice of the meeting at which an Association’s annual budget would be considered at the same time as the proposed annual budget was sent to unit owners. This is because one section of the law provided that the annual budget had to be sent out at least 30 days in advance of the meeting while another section required that the notice of meeting could not be sent out more than 30 days in advance. Effective June 1, 2016, this will no longer be the case, as the Illinois Condominium Property Act has been amended to provide that the proposed budget can now be distributed to unit owners at least 25 days in advance.

Logan Law, LLC condominium attorneys have represented Illinois condominium associations for forty five years and have a depth of experience and knowledge of Illinois condominium law. Feel free to contact a Logan Law, LLC attorney whenever you need an attorney experienced in condominium or community association law.

The 2014 Appellate Court decision in Palm v 2800 Lake Shore Drive Condominium Association held that discussions of condominium business and taking action on matters at meetings closed to unit owners by a quorum of association Board members was improper except under very limited circumstances. Closed sessions could only be held to discuss (i) pending, imminent or threatened litigation involving the association, (ii) employment issues, (iii) rule violations and (iv) delinquent unit owner assessments.

Effective June 1, 2016, the Illinois Condominium Property Act has been amended to clarify how the closed sessions should be conducted. The amendment provides that closed sessions can only be held as part of a properly called open board meeting.

After the open board meeting is called to order, the directors may then move into a closed session to discuss the topics properly part of a closed session. The amendment also clarifies that any vote on matters considered in a closed session must take place in an open board meeting.

Logan Law, LLC condominium attorneys have represented Illinois condominium associations for forty five years and have a depth of experience and knowledge of Illinois condominium law. Feel free to contact a Logan Law, LLC attorney whenever you need an attorney experienced in condominium or community association law.

The Illinois Supreme Court has affirmed the Appellate Court’s 2014 decision in 1010 Lake Shore Drive Condominium Association v Deutsche Bank, which had held that an Illinois Condominium Association’s right to collect pre-foreclosure assessments is not necessarily wiped out by the confirmation of the foreclosure sale. The Supreme Court held that the assessment lien for pre-foreclosure assessments is only extinguished if two things occur, (i) the foreclosing lender names the condominium association as a party to the foreclosure suit and (ii) the purchaser at the foreclosure sale pays the assessments as they accrue beginning the month following the foreclosure sale.

The Supreme Court held that the payment of assessments after the foreclosure sale is essential “to confirm the extinguishment of the lien created by the prior owner’s failure to pay assessments.” The Supreme Court emphasized that the Illinois Condominium Act protects mortgage lenders by allowing the lender “from time to time (to) request in writing a written statement *** setting forth the unpaid common expenses with respect to the unit covered …” by the loan. Associations are cautioned to respond promptly to any such request to avoid giving a lender a possible defense to an action for pre-foreclosure assessments.

Associations with units delinquent in assessments which are being foreclosed are advised to consult legal counsel in order to make sure they recover the maximum amount of delinquent assessments available in this change area of the law. Feel free to contact a Logan Law, LLC condominium attorney, if you have any questions regarding collection of delinquent condominium assessments or if you need assistance or advice regarding other areas of condominium law.

Illinois condominium associations have an extremely effective tool for collecting assessments from delinquent condominium unit owners. In Illinois, a condominium association can actually evict a unit owner from his or her unit and then lease the unit out and collect the rents from the unit to pay for past due assessments, the legal expenses of pursuing the eviction as well as currently accruing assessments. The association does not have to pay the mortgage payments or real estate taxes which accrue while the rents are being applied against assessments and expenses of collection.

The condominium eviction process takes four months or more, so associations need to be diligent in asserting their rights. This is especially true in that unit owners who are delinquent in paying their assessments often are also delinquent in making their mortgage payments, eventually resulting in mortgage foreclosure.

To move forward with a condominium eviction, the association must first prepare and serve a 30 day notice and demand for possession. This notice must be mailed to the unit owner by certified mail. When thirty days have passed without the assessments having been paid, the eviction suit may then be filed. The suit is filed as what is called a “joint action”, which seeks a personal judgment against the unit owner as well as an order of possession (eviction order). When the matter reaches trial, the eviction statute requires the court to stay the enforcement of the eviction order for at least sixty days. Only then may the association employ the Sheriff to secure possession of the unit.

Feel free to contact a Logan Law, LLC condominium attorney, if you have any questions regarding the rights and responsibilities of delinquent Illinois condominium association unit owners, regarding collection of delinquent condominium assessments or if you need assistance or advice regarding other areas of condominium law.

The Illinois Condominium Property Act provides for only a single qualification for running for or serving on the Board of an Illinois condominium association. That qualification is that the board member or candidate have an ownership interest in a unit. While a delinquent unit owner may be evicted from possession of his or her unit for non-payment of assessments, he or she may still technically remain on the Board of the Association.

In fact, the only disqualification associated with assessment delinquency is found at section 18(b)(1) of the Condominium Act, where a delinquent unit owner may not be counted for purposes of determining if a quorum is present in connection with voting for an amendment to the association’s by laws. However, even in that situation, the delinquent unit owner may still have his or her vote counted in the vote regarding the amendment.

Feel free to contact a Logan Law, LLC condominium attorney, if you have any questions regarding the rights and responsibilities of delinquent Illinois condominium association unit owners, regarding collection of delinquent condominium assessments or if you need assistance or advice regarding other areas of condominium law.

Several legislative changes have been made in the Illinois Condominium Property Act, effective with the beginning of 2015.

In one important change, an Illinois condominium association’s rights with respect to a unit obtained in an eviction proceeding have been both improved as well as clarified.  Under the new rules, an association which obtains possession of a unit in an assessment eviction proceeding has eight months after the month in which the end of the stay of enforcement of the eviction order occurs to lease the unit.  The lease of the unit may be as long as 13 months.  If the association fails to enter into a lease commencing within the eight month period or if the rents received within the lease period are not sufficient to make the association whole, the association must obtain approval from the eviction court to enter into a new lease or extend an old lease.

The association may, with interim court approvals as noted above, continue to lease the unit until it has collected 100% of past due assessments, statutory interest (at 9% per annum) under the unpaid judgment amount, attorney’s fees and court costs incurred in the eviction action, reasonable expenses necessary to make the unit rentable and finally all new assessments and other proper charges which accrue during the period after the eviction judgment was obtained.  The eviction court retains jurisdiction to determine the reasonableness of expenses of re-renting the unit.

If you have any questions about condominium association assessment collection or other aspects of Illinois condominium law, Logan Law, LLC can give you the answer.  Feel free to contact Logan Law, LLC at any time.

Effective January 1, 2015, the Illinois legislature has made effective an amendment to the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure requiring that licensed special process servers be given access to the common areas and common elements of residential communities in order to serve legal process (e.g. a summons) on someone who resides in or is known to be located within the community.  The new rule applies to Illinois condominium associations, housing cooperatives and other private communities and buildings.

Logan Law, LLC condominium attorneys have represented Illinois condominium associations for forty five years and have a depth of experience and knowledge of Illinois condominium law.  Feel free to contact a Logan Law, LLC attorney whenever you need an attorney experienced in condominium or community association law.

The 2014 Appellate Court decision in the long running dispute  Of Gary Palm v 2800 Lake Shore Drive Condominium Association will have long lasting and deep effects on the conduct of the Board of Managers of Illinois condominium associations.  The decision will change the way most Boards conduct their business.  Until Palm, most condominium associations and condominium law attorneys believed that a Board could meet in “closed session” telephonic or in person meetings or e-mail exchanges to discuss association business, so long as no final decisions were made or votes taken.

The Palm decision has turned that belief on its head, by holding that any meeting of a quorum of board members to discuss association business, including by telephone or e-mail, had to be held as an open meeting of the board, with proper advance notice to unit owners.  The only exceptions to this rule were the three specific exceptions to the open meeting rule set forth in the Illinois Condominium Property Act, which are meetings:

•  To discuss pending or threatened litigation involving the association;
• To consider information regarding the hiring and firing of employees; or
• To discuss rule violations or unpaid assessments.

Association Boards should be sure to consult their legal counsel regarding the rules of the post Palm II “brave new world” and to set up procedures to make sure that they do not run afoul of the law.  Feel free to contact an experienced Illinois condominium law attorney at Logan Law, LLC, if you have questions about the Palm II decision or any other area of condominium association law.