Condo Adviser: Statutes differ based on the form of community association
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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