Condo talk: There are different types of owner groups

Editor’s note: Local attorney and Daily Herald columnist Jordan Shifrin is retiring. His Condo Talk column is being taken over by David M. Bendoff, who is also a principal in the Buffalo Grove-based law firm of Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit. Bendoff has practiced law since 1984. In addition to his work for a number of professional organizations, he has served on the Long Grove Zoning Board of Appeals, the Buffalo Grove Board of Fire and Police Commissioners and the fund-allocation panels for the United Way of Lake County.

This is the first of what I trust will be many columns that educate homeowner association board members and unit owners, and the professionals who serve them. Although the column is called “Condo Talk,” it will address legal matters concerning the full variety of homeowner associations in Illinois — condominium, master and common-interest community associations.

I will discuss the issues of the day and answer reader questions, bringing to the table both my professional expertise as an attorney and my practical experience as president of my own homeowners association.

I receive frequent inquiries from people who are not really sure what kind of homeowners association they live in. “I live in a townhouse association,” they say. “A townhouse is really more an architectural style, and not a type of association,” I reply, and thus the journey to determine what we are dealing with begins.

Let me begin here, then, with a primer on the different types of homeowner associations in Illinois and the documents and laws that control them.

One quick sidebar about the laws governing homeowners associations — unlike most other states that have a uniform set of laws that regulate all types of homeowners associations, Illinois has various statutes that regulate the different types of homeowner associations. This patchwork quilt of laws needs constant mending.

All homeowners associations share certain traits; each is a hybrid between a real estate entity and a business entity, and each is governed by a board of directors. Nonetheless, each type of homeowners association is legally distinct and typically governed by a statute directed at the particular type of association. Each of these associations is governed by a declaration of condominium or covenants and bylaws, and may be governed by the Illinois Not for Profit Corporation Act.

A condominium association is the most well-known type of association, and refers to any property that includes language in the declaration that expressly submits the property to the provisions of the Condominium Property Act. A condominium is typically a residential or commercial property, and the picture that often comes to mind is that of a square-shaped living space in a mid-rise or high-rise building. However, a single family home, a multilevel townhouse-style property, a parking space, a boat dock, and a campsite are examples of properties that can be a condominium unit.

A master association controls one or more condominium associations. A master association typically has its own covenants and bylaws as well. A classic example is a master association that handles exterior maintenance of the condominium building and property. Master associations are governed by their declaration and bylaws and Section 18.5 of the Illinois Condominium Property Act.

Why is a master association governed by a single section of the Condominium Property Act, you ask? Because the legislature, unable to create a stand-alone statute for master associations, decided to create a statute within a statute and “dumped” whatever it could muster into Section 18.5.

The latest entry into the homeowner association arena that has its own statute is the common interest community association. A common interest community association is essentially an association other than a condominium or cooperative, with more than 10 units or annual budgeted assessments of more than $100,000. Common interest communities may include attached or detached townhouses, villas or single-family homes. Common interest community associations are governed by the Common Interest Community Association Act. Certain small associations can chose to be governed by the Common Interest Community Association Act by a vote of its board of directors or members.

There is a lot of good information in an association’s governing documents and laws, so they’re a good place to start if you want to become familiar with your association’s legal structure. Copies of the statutes I have discussed are available at ksnlaw.com.

There is no “one size fits all” answer to legal issues; that’s why lawyers include useful qualifiers in their opinions. The law is seldom black or white, but I will try to shade the gray as close to black and white as I can. But lawyers make their living in the shades of gray and, well, many of us have kids in college.

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