Q–The association of our cooperative apartment on the Far North Side exerts its right to enter our apartments when necessary. I must concede to this entry according to our association rules.
My peeve is that the president of the board of directors feels it is her privilege to lead the parade through my unit. Recently, I was given two days’ notice of an inspection by letter. I did not have time to change a very important appointment to be at home for the inspection.
I was incensed to learn that an employee of the management company, the building engineer and the president of the board made the inspection.
They left no card or note as to when they entered the apartment. I was informed by the president that she was in the apartment for security purposes.
I would think that our long-time engineer would have been enough security to enter the apartment alone if work had to be done or an inspection had to be made.
Because I must allow people to enter my personal domain, do I have a right to ask that these people be bonded?
Do I have a right to change the lock on the door and not give them a key? That way, I could make sure I was home and allow them entrance.
A–Representatives of the cooperative have a right to enter your apartment upon reasonable notice. However, you are entitled to some consideration and representatives of the corporation should not abuse the privilege.
In a cooperative you don’t own the real estate, but only have a lease to occupy the apartment. For this reason, representatives of the cooperative may enter “their” property for repairs or inspection.
You are, however, entitled to reasonable notice for non-emergencies.
The presence of more than one representative is necessary. Incidents of damaged furniture or broken furnishings, as well as allegations of theft, occur and without eyewitnesses there is no basis for the cooperative to refute charges of misconduct.
Individuals who enter your apartment do not have to be bonded.
You don’t have the right to change the lock on the door and withhold the key. Remember, you do not own the property. As in any landlord/tenant situation, the lessor has a right of access.
Q–I live in a large condominium town home community in the northwest suburbs. My next door neighbor is a single mother with two adult children. Unfortunately, both kids live at home and their house has become a hangout for friends of the son.
At any one time, 10 to 15 young men will congregate in their garage or driveway from noon until the early evening. Police have been called several times.
The older son has been charged with criminal damage to my property.
Our condominium board is sympathetic, but has only levied fines and declined to take any further action. Police will not take any action until the kids violate a law.
The mother has accused the police of persecuting her son when they have arrested him in a drunken condition. This individual even made racial remarks to one of the officers.
Unfortunately, the only assistance to me from the board is their advice to call the police.
What can I do to stop this behavior?
A–A lawsuit by the board is the only solution to the situation.
The actions of the young men are, generally, a nuisance. The police will not prosecute a nuisance action. The board or you must take legal action to stop actions of misconduct in the form of an injunction action.
The purpose of the lawsuit is to obtain a court order to prevent these residents and their guests from engaging in conduct which is a nuisance or an annoyance to others.
With the mother in the state of denial, fines are a meaningless gesture. The board must have the intestinal fortitude to proceed with litigation or you must pursue this remedy directly. You are entitled to board action to enforce condominium regulations.
Injunction cases are significant expenditures. The legal cost of these efforts may be charged to the offending unit owner. When the mother and the sons face significant legal expenses in the four to five figure range, they should change their attitude and behavior relatively quickly.
Q–The board of our town home association has a minimum of four meetings per year as required by our declaration, but the members conduct most of their business by e-mail or phone polls. Isn’t it illegal to conduct business in this way?
I thought any business had to be transacted at an open meeting where motions are made by the board, voted upon and entered into the minutes.
If the board continues to operate in this manner, what recourse do the owners have?
A–Both townhouses and condominium associations are subject to the same “open meetings” provisions of the Illinois Condominium Property Act. The term “open meetings” is not a misnomer. It means that owners should be present to hear deliberations of the board which affect their community.
Directors cannot regularly make decisions by telephone or by e-mail.
Your legal recourse ranges from the removal of individual board members in mid-term by a vote of at least two-thirds of the owners; election of new directors at the next annual meeting who are committed to following the open meetings requirement; or a lawsuit to enjoin the board from meeting and making decisions in a closed manner.
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Mark Pearlstein is a Chicago lawyer who specializes in condominium law. Write to him c/o Condominiums, Real Estate News Section, 4th floor, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611. Sorry, he can’t make personal replies.
