Rules can be amended to allow sheds
Q. I recently moved into an association made up of both single-family homes and townhouses. I live in one of the single-family homes. The covenants prohibit storage sheds in the yards of both the single-family homes and the townhouses.
The association provides lawn care and snow removal for the townhouses, so those owners do not need lawn mowers and snowblowers. However, these services are not provided to the single-family homeowners. As a result, my lawn mower and snowblower, like those of many of my single-family homeowner neighbors, are stored in the garage. This leaves little room for my vehicles, which I park in the driveway. The village we are located in permits storage sheds, so do I have any recourse?
A. As I have commented on many occasions, prospective buyers of property in an association governed by covenants need to review covenants in the declaration and rules of the association before they purchase. Many purchase contracts provide for a right to review the governing documents and to terminate the contract within some period of time after delivery of the documents. This can avoid difficult situations like this, if the restrictions conflict with personal needs.
However, to address the issue at hand, a covenant that prohibits storage sheds, in general, will be enforceable. Moreover, private covenants can generally be more restrictive than local ordinances. So the fact that storage sheds are permitted by local ordinance does not help you.
That said, if enough owners are of a similar mindset as you, a discussion may be in order with the board about a potential amendment to the declaration to permit sheds for the single-family homes.
Q. The board of our condominium association adopted an annual budget in an amount that permitted the owners to file a petition to request a meeting of the owners to vote on the budget. The owners did in fact file a petition, and the board issued a notice of the meeting of the owners to vote on the annual budget. I understand that owners can vote in person or by proxy at the meeting. Is the board required to supply owners with a proxy?
A. No, the board is not required by law to provide unit owners with a proxy. Under Section 18(a)(8) of the Illinois Condominium Property Act, in this situation, the board of managers must call a meeting of the unit owners within 30 days of the date of delivery of the petition to consider the budget.
Pursuant to Section 18(b)(6) of the Act, written notice of the membership meeting must be mailed or delivered giving members no less than 10 and no more than 30 days' notice of the time, place and purpose of such meeting. Note that notice may be sent by email, provided the condominium instruments or rules adopted by the association allow for electronic transmission of notices to unit owners who opt to receive them.
While owners may vote on this issue by proxy, the Act does not require the Association to supply it.
Q. When should the new members of the board meet to decide who will serve in each officer position?
A. The owners elect the board members at the annual meeting of the owners, and the board members elect the officers. The election of the officers - the president, secretary and treasurer - must be conducted by the board at a duly called and held board meeting or portion thereof open to all of the owners of the association.
Some associations will schedule a board meeting for this purpose to begin immediately upon the conclusion of the annual meeting of the unit owners. Other associations will let some time pass before scheduling that meeting. But in any event, the election of the officers should take place as soon as practical soon after the annual meeting of the owners.
• 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.