Owner comments can be limited to brief period

Q: A debate is brewing in our association as to how long the homeowners' forum portion of our board meetings should last. Our board meets monthly, and the board meetings typically run about two hours. Some board members want the homeowners' forum limited to about 10 or 15 minutes; others say it should be 30 minutes or more. Is there any minimum amount of time that must be set aside for a homeowners' forum?

A: The board of a condominium is not required to include a homeowner forum as part of its board meetings, as the Illinois Condominium Property Act is silent on the issue. However, Section 1-40(b)(6) of the Illinois Common Interest Community Association Act requires the board of a common interest community association to reserve a portion of the board meeting for comments by members of the association. The duration for the member comment period is within the sole discretion of the board.

Many of my clients (condominium and common interest communities) hold a homeowner forum of between 10 and 15 minutes per board meeting, with a three-minute limit for each person speaking at the forum. Frankly, if an owner has something of significance to address with the board, the homeowners' forum is probably not the best vehicle for that. Rather, it would probably be more efficient and practical for the owner to communicate with the board/management in advance, so the board can determine how best to address the issue.

Q: Our association recently held a meeting of the owners to vote on a matter that required approval of two-thirds of the owners. Owners were permitted to vote in person or by proxy. The vote failed, mainly due to the fact that not enough owners participated in the voting. As a result, the board is thinking of calling another meeting to hold another vote; this time it will try and get more owners to participate. The proxies that were distributed for the original meeting indicate they are valid for 11 months from the date of execution, so they will be used if there is another vote. Can the ballots cast at the prior meeting be reused?

A: A ballot is good only for the meeting at which it was cast. Ballots cast at the prior meeting cannot be reused at a later meeting. If the board holds another meeting to vote on the issue, new ballots need to be cast by the owners (or their proxy holders).

Q: The declaration for our condominium association provides various options for the maintenance, repair and replacement of the limited common elements. This includes the association doing the work and charging the cost of the work to the owner of the unit served by the limited common element, or having the owner have the work performed at the owner's expense. If the board opts to have the owner do the work at the owner's expense, can the board adopt standards for the work?

A: Pursuant to the Condominium Property Act, the declaration can provide that the cost of maintenance, repair and replacement of the limited common elements performed by the association can be charged to only those units to which the limited common elements are assigned, such as windows, doors, patios, etc. Many declarations include the alternative language of which you speak, that actually makes the owner responsible for performing the maintenance, repair and replacement of the limited common elements.

Assuming the alternative language is valid under the Act, the board is ultimately responsible for administration of the property. As such, the board can establish guidelines for work performed by an owner on the limited common elements. For example, the board can require that a specific contractor be used for this purpose, or that the work conform to specifications provided by the board. Such standards are commonly adopted regarding limited common element windows and doors.

• 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.