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How often must an association meet each year?

Q. I am on the board of a homeowner's association. This association is for single-family homes. I read in one of your recent columns that common interest community associations must meet at least four times a year. Do you know if that applies to our association? Our bylaws state we must meet once per year and that is what we have been doing.

A. The board of an Illinois common interest community association must meet at least four times annually. This is described in Section 1-30(a) of the Common Interest Community Association Act. The issue is whether your association is governed by the Common Interest Community Act.

If owners of a house in a single-family homeowners association are obligated to pay for the maintenance, improvement, insurance premiums or real estate taxes of common areas described in a declaration that is administered by an association, the association would meet the definition of a common interest community association. However, to be governed by the Common Interest Community Association Act, the association needs to be organized under the Not-for-Profit Corporation Act and have more than 10 units or annual assessments of more than $100,000. If the association does not meet this criteria, it is exempt from the act. However, the association can affirmatively elect to be covered by the Common Interest Community Association Act by a majority of its directors or members.

Q. Is it common for condominium boards or associations in the suburbs to implement charges for parking spaces to condominium owners?

A. I can't speak to how common this practice is. However, whether or not the association can charge owners for the use of parking spaces is dependent on whether this is authorized by the association's declaration. Some declarations do expressly authorize the association to charge a fee to owners to park, and the use of a parking space in these situations is typically by way of a lease or a license.

Q. Our small condominium association is having little success in dealing with an owner who is repeatedly in arrears to the association. When a lawsuit is filed, or after receiving a demand letter prior to such a filing, the nonresident owner will either visit the attorney's office and pay the amount due or "negotiate" what they are willing to pay. However, the payments are always in cash, never in full, and don't include the attorney's fees. However, the legal action stops there. Consequently, the owner is always in arrears and the association is responsible for the attorney's fees that are not ever collected.

Additionally, copies of leases are never given to the association. The owners do not respond to any of our written communications.

We are being manipulated and are hopeful you can advise of a remedy at law that can address these issues.

A. It appears the association is being too nice to this owner, so the owner here has no incentive to make timely or full payment. The association should stop negotiating with the owner and demand and only accept full payment of all assessments and attorneys' fees. Note, too, that the association cannot forebear the collection of assessments, so, in general, the association can't accept less than all assessments due from an owner.

If the owner fails or refuses to make full payment, keep going forward with the collection action until the owner makes full payment of assessments, attorney's fees and costs. The "sting" of paying attorney's fees should go a long way in persuading this repeat delinquent owner to make full and timely payment to the association.

With respect to the failure of the owner to provide a copy of the lease, the association can file a suit to evict the tenant as the result of the owner's failure to provide the lease. And the association can seek recovery of its attorney's fees from the owner.

• David M. Bendoff is an attorney with Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit in the Chicago suburbs. Send questions for the column to him at CondoTalk@ksnlaw.com. The firm provides legal service to condominium, townhouse, homeowner associations and housing cooperatives. This column is not a substitute for consultation with legal counsel.

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