Q-Please explain the procedure to count votes in a condominium election. In our association, the election ballots are open to anyone to see how their neighbors voted. This has caused bad feelings between the unit owners.
I don’t believe this is right. I thought a vote was a private matter and the owners should only be concerned about the result of the election.
A-Until a recent amendment to the Illinois Condominium Property Act, condominium elections were not conducted by secret ballot. Your concerns are very legitimate because an open election by a not-for-profit corporation, such as a condominium association, is not consistent with standard corporate election procedures.
Public Act 88-135, which became effective Jan. 1, was enacted to permit associations to conduct elections by secret ballot. The new law provides that an association may adopt election rules in which the voting ballot is marked only with the percentage interest for the unit and the specific vote.
Secret ballot election rules must also include a procedure to verify the status of the unit owner issuing a proxy or casting a ballot. To ensure privacy of the owner’s vote, only the ballot without the unit number is subject to inspection and copying by owners or their representatives.
The secret ballot legislation should minimize harassment of unit owners regarding their votes and make the election process consistent with the method prescribed for corporate elections by Robert’s Rules of Order.
Q-We live in a large north suburban complex which consists of individual condominium associations and a master or umbrella association that administers certain common areas on the property.
The following question has come up several times with regard to the board of directors of the umbrella organization and the individual associations. Can a husband and wife serve on the same board of directors?
Would it make a difference if the couple owned two condominiums, perhaps one in each name?
A-The only specific provision relating to the service of spouses on a board of directors is contained in Section 18(a)(1) of the Illinois Condominium Property Act.
This statute provides that if there are multiple owners of a single condominium unit, only one of the multiple owners shall be eligible to serve as a member of the board at any one time. Thus, a husband and wife, who are joint owners of a unit, would not be able to serve on the board of the individual condominium associations.
There is no comparable statutory provision for spousal service on a master association board. Section 18.5 of the Condominium Act, which applies to master associations, does not contain a specific provision relating to board service by multiple owners.
You would have to reference the declaration of your umbrella association to determine whether co-owners of a unit can serve on the board.
If a husband and wife owned two condominiums, they could be elected to the board as a representative of each unit. However, to preserve marital harmony, both spouses should carefully consider whether the compensation is worth serving on association boards at the same time.
Q-I would like to obtain some information on the liability of a condominium board for not preserving the market value of the buildings and the individual units.
In our building, approximately 50 percent of the units have experienced water damage on several different occasions over the last four years. Every time there is a leakage problem, the visible signs of damage are repaired. Walls and ceilings are replastered and repainted, floors and carpeting are replaced, but the ultimate source of the leaks has never been determined.
What are the alternatives available to the concerned unit owners?
A-The board of directors does not have a direct responsibility to preserve the market value of the units. Market value is measured by unit sales prices and it would be difficult to prove in court the extent of price reductions specifically caused by the water infiltration problem.
However, the board does have a fiduciary obligation to maintain the property which primarily includes the obligation to preserve the structural integrity of the major components of the building.
Having been made aware of a continuing leakage problem, the board must exercise prudent business judgment. The board should hire an outside professional to determine the source of continuing problems and investigate possible structural weaknesses in the building.
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Mark Pearlstein, is a Chicago attorney who specializes in condominium law. Write to him c/o Condo Log, Real Estate Section, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611. Sorry, he can’t make personal replies.
