Ringing in the new year with new laws for boards
Happy New Year to all! I hope it was safe and enjoyable for everyone.
Succeeding David Bendoff in authoring this column is a tough task. But, I’ll do my best. Some brief background: I graduated from DePaul Law School. My first job was an Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney — Criminal Division. After several years as an ASA, I joined our firm and have spent almost 30 years concentrating in representing condominium, townhouse and homeowners’ associations — same as Dave.
As Dave has written in the past, “the purpose of the column is to educate homeowner association board members, unit owners, and the professionals that serve associations.”
Like David, I also emphasize that the “column has not been intended to provide legal advice. Rather, it is intended to make readers recognize issues that have legal significance and repercussions. Recognizing issues is the first step in seeking out the appropriate professional guidance.”
That said, I am going to follow Dave’s traditional Q-and-A format. However, with the new year, there are often new laws from Springfield and/or Washington D.C. that affect community associations. This year is no different. Here is a very brief list and description of some more important laws that will affect either condominiums, townhouses or homeowner associations. There are certainly other new laws the affect associations and those will arise in future columns.
Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) update
The CTA filing requirements most certainly impacted community association boards in 2024, especially toward the end of the year. On Dec. 3, 2024, however, a U.S. District Court in Texas allowed a preliminary nationwide injunction against the enforcement of the CTA thereby delaying the filing deadline.
On Dec. 27, the Federal Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) that oversees the program stated on their website: “In light of a recent federal court order, reporting companies are NOT currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN and are not subject to liability if they fail to do so while the order remains in force. However, reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit beneficial ownership information reports.”
Illinois parking accessibility law
This legislation was signed into law on Aug. 9, 2024, and went into effect on Jan. 1. The law created a new section of the Illinois Condominium Act — Section 18.12. The key requirement of this law is that by April 1, 2025, any condominium association with parking facilities must adopt a policy for handling requests for accessible parking for disabled owners. The law only requires that a proper written policy is in place for such requests. The requirements are somewhat complicated, and I would strongly suggest that your board speak with the association’s attorneys regarding this new requirement.
Right of first refusal in condominiums
This law incorporates into the Illinois Condominium Act some long existing state and federal regulations. The law requires that a condominium association cannot exercise a right of first refusal, or option to purchase or right to disapprove a prospective purchaser for any discriminatory or unlawful purposes.
By adding this to the Condominium Act, it gives any aggrieved individual(s) an additional, statutory claim against an association, in addition to other state and federal discrimination violations. Whenever a condominium board is considering purchasing a unit by exercising the association’s right of first refusal (assuming there is such a provision in your declaration or bylaws), they should contact the association’s counsel and go through the process carefully.
Next week, back to the Q-and-A format. So, please submit your questions to CondoTalk@ksnlaw.com.
• Matthew Moodhe 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.