Q–Shortly after we bought our suburban townhouse, we were shocked to get a letter in the mail from our managing agent announcing a special assessment of $600 per unit next year for a roof project.
Management advised the owners that the project will cost about $1 million, and will be done over three years. Approximately 50 percent of the project will be financed by reserves.
Upon receiving this letter, we called our attorney and asked him to call the previous owner’s counsel to tell them that we expect the seller to pay this assessment. We felt we were lied to and wondered what else may be amiss.
We also asked our neighbors about this assessment. All of them said they knew nothing about this.
Our declaration calls for a special meeting to approve any special assessment, but none was held.
Now we fell that we have made a mistake in buying here. Do you have any advice?
A– Check the terms of your sales contract. Did you or your lawyer ask the right questions that may have disclosed this special assessment?
Under Section 22.1 of the Illinois Condominium Property Act, a prospective purchaser may obtain information regarding the association and its finances, but only upon request. Such information includes anticipated capital expenditures in the current and succeeding two years.
If your counsel requested the information and it was not given by the board of directors and the seller, you may have a claim against the other party and a basis for refusing to pay the assessment.
However, if you did not request the information, you cannot look to your seller for relief.
Section 18(a)(8) and Section 18(b)(6) of the Illinois Condominium Property Act requires the board to give owners 10 to 30 days’ notice of a meeting to adopt a special assessment or the annual budget. If the ownership did not receive notice of this board meeting, the directors cannot levy the special assessment until it holds the meeting on proper notice.
The only alternative to reducing the amount of the special assessment is to borrow the funds and pay off the resulting loan over a period of years. However, your board is giving the owners the generous option of paying the assessment over a 12-month period.
Q–Last September, my wife and I purchased a condominium after selling our home of 34 years.
We know very little about condominium operations. We notice that the minutes produced after a board meeting only contain very short comments about any subjects, and there is no reference to comments by individual condominium owners.
Is this the norm for condo board meeting minutes?
Our condominium complex has four buildings, a swimming pool and a clubhouse. Because each owner pays for the clubhouse with the purchase price and a monthly assessment, it appears to me that each owner should have a key so every owner can make use of this facility. However, the board has allowed the owners access to the clubhouse only two afternoons per week. Is this usual and normal for a condominium clubhouse?
Owners in good standing are allowed to rent the clubhouse for a $200 charge and a $300 security deposit in case of damage. Is this a standard condominium policy?
A– Owner comments are not part of the board meeting or its minutes. The board meeting consists of the actions of the directors.
Minutes of the board meeting should be a record of what was done by the board, not what was said. Owner comments allowed by the board are not made during the official board meeting and, thus, should not be part of the board meeting minutes.
Regarding the clubhouse, check your facts with the manager. The board can justify a policy of restraining access to the clubhouse by a key.
Most master associations allow owners to use recreational facilities, such as a clubhouse, by a reservation system, unless the facility is open for association sponsored events.
Access to the clubhouse by a key is generally handled by an association employee. If every owner had a key, the board would not have any control over the use and care of the facility.
User charges and security deposits are standard practices. The user charge is justified by costs to set up the clubhouse for an event, clean the facility and pay for additional time of an employee to be present during an owner function. The security deposit is justified to cover the cost of any damage to the facility.
Q–The Illinois Condominium Property Act states that interior walls, floors and ceilings are part of the unit, while all other portions of walls, floors or ceilings and all perimeter doors and windows in the outside walls are part of the common elements.
Does this imply that the condominium association is accountable for the repair of boundary walls, floors and ceilings unless damage is caused by a unit owner?
If the association must repair these areas in a timely manner, how do you define the term “timely manner”?
A–Associations are responsible for repairs to common elements which include the walls and ceilings up through the drywall, and floors through the subflooring beneath the hardwood floor.
Doors and windows may be limited common elements. Under a condominium declaration, responsibility for these areas may be assigned to the unit owners.
Association repairs and payment for the common elements may depend on the scope of the project and, in the event of a loss, payment by the association’s insurance carrier.
As a rule of thumb, a 30- to 60-day period is reasonable for isolated repairs adjacent to or outside of individual units. Building-wide repairs to roofs, exterior walls and windows will take several months.
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Mark Pearlstein is a Chicago lawyer who specializes in condominium law. Write to him c/o Condominiums, Real Estate Section, Chicago Tribune, 4th floor, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill., 60611. Sorry, he can’t make personal replies.
