Q. I live in a large, professionally managed condominium association and believe there are irregularities regarding the board’s administration of the association. Examples include disbursements of association funds and the approval of contracts without a board vote at a board meeting, and unit owners do not receive financial reports. What information is a unit owner entitled to, to determine if there are irregularities?
A. Under Illinois condominium law, which includes the Condominium Act as well as Illinois case law applying to condominium associations, condominium boards must comply with corporate formalities to take board action. Per the Palm II v. 2800 Lake Shore Drive case, board action must occur at a properly noticed board meeting, which would include approval of contracts.
When a property is professionally managed, the property management agreement usually delegates the payment of association expenses to the managing agent for budgeted and approved items, so a board vote is not needed for every disbursement of funds. As far as information to which unit owners are entitled, unit owners are entitled to attend and observe the open portion of all board meetings pursuant to Section 18(a)(9) of the Condominium Act and the right to inspect the books and records of the association for the current and immediately preceding 10 fiscal years per Section 19 of Condominium Act.
Further, the board is required to provide annually to all unit owners an itemized accounting of the common expenses for the preceding year actually incurred or paid, which accounting must also show the net excess or deficit of income over expenditures plus reserves pursuant to sSection 18(a)(7) of the Condominium Act.
Q. I am on the board of a self-managed condominium association. Our association declaration prohibits dogs. Recently, a couple purchased a unit and then purchased an emotional support dog. Must we allow this dog to be kept in the unit?
A. The rights of unit owners in community associations to keep an emotional support animal (dog or other reasonable animal) in a condominium unit, even when the governing documents prohibit dogs or pets, is protected under federal law pursuant to the Federal Fair Housing Act. Condominium boards must allow a reasonable accommodation for emotional support animals assuming a unit owner makes a proper request with required documentation, as applicable. Additionally, in 2019, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into Illinois law the Assistance Animal Integrity Act that supplements existingfederal law regarding reasonable accommodation requests for assistance animals. In addition to the requirements contained in federal law, the Assistance Animal Integrity Act requires the author of the professional opinion in support of a reasonable accommodation request to have a “therapeutic relationship” with the requesting resident, a specifically defined term in the statute.
Q. I am a unit owner in a small, poorly managed condominium association where the governing documents prohibit short-term rentals. I want to rent out my unit on Airbnb and have requested an exemption from the board of the leasing restriction, but there’s been no response to me. What am I subjecting myself to if I rent out a unit on Airbnb in violation of our governing documents?
A. It is never a good idea to intentionally violate the express terms or restrictions in the association’s governing documents.
Violating unit owners may subject themselves to significant fines and legal fees for violations as well as be subject to an eviction lawsuit, with the tenants/occupants also named, pursuant to Sections 9.2, 18(n) and 18.4(l) of the Condominium Act. The board of directors could also file an injunction lawsuit against a unit owner seeking a court order to prohibit continuing violations of the governing documents as well as possibly a forced judicial foreclosure of the unit (if allowed in the remedies provision of the declaration) to terminate the unit owner’s right to own, lease or occupy the unit.
Got a question for the Condo Adviser? Email ctc-realestate@chicagotribune.com.
Join our Chicago Dream Homes Facebook group for more luxury listings and real estate news.
