How many condo owners can run for the board?

Q. There are two seats on our board that are up for election at the upcoming annual meeting. Is there a limit on the number of owners that can run for the board?

A. There is no limit as to the absolute number of owners that can run for the board at any one time. However, in a condominium or common interest community association, if there are multiple owners of a unit, only one of the multiple owners may serve on the board at one time. Implicitly, only one of the multiple owners of a single unit could run for the board at any one time as well. You should also look to the association’s governing documents to see if there are any restrictions as to eligibility to run for the board.

Q. We have difficulty in recruiting candidates for the board of our association. What is the minimum number of board members required for an association?

A. A minimum of three board members is required to maintain the association’s corporate status with the Illinois Secretary of State, if the association is incorporated. That said, an association should maintain the number of board members established by its governing documents. If the association has difficulty recruiting candidates for the board, or if the number of board members is high for the size of the association, the association should consider an amendment to its governing documents to reduce the size of the board. But again, that number could not be fewer than three board members.

Q. The board of our association collected proxies over a year ago in connection with a vote on an amendment to the declaration. A meeting was finally called to vote on the amendment, and ballots were cast using the year-old proxies. Was it proper to use proxies that were more than 11 months old?

A. A proxy for a condominium or a common interest community association is valid for 11 months from the date it is signed by the owner, unless the association’s declaration or the written proxy itself provides otherwise. Both the association’s declaration and the proxy need to be reviewed to determine if they provide that the proxy is valid for more than 11 months. If they do not include this language, the proxies would not have been valid after 11 months from the date they were signed by the owner.

Q. Our association adopted an amendment to the declaration to limit the number of units that can be leased at one time. The maximum number of units permitted to be leased at one time is being leased. However, we have other owners who want to lease their units. How does the board address who can lease their unit now that the maximum number of units is being leased?

A. If the issue is not addressed in the amendment, rules should be adopted by the board that provide for the creation of a “wait list.” Unit owners are generally placed on a wait list in the order in which a notice of intention to lease is received by the board from the owner. Sometimes length of ownership is taken into account as well.

When the total number of units being leased falls below the maximum number of units that can be leased, the person at the top of the list would be given an opportunity to lease their unit. The rules should also provide a time limit for the person at the top of the list to find a tenant and sign a lease. If the owner fails to find a tenant and present a signed lease by that time, the next person on the wait list would be given the same opportunity. The rules would have to contain more detail than this, but this should give you a sense of what is involved.

• 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.