Getting Your Illinois HOA's Records

The Illinois Common Interest Community Association Act gives members a right to see the association's books — and it does something most state statutes do not: it converts a board's silence into a denial. For your specific situation, a licensed Illinois attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.

What records can I get from my HOA in Illinois?

Generally, the association's records, including financial records, contracts, and minutes. Under 765 ILCS 160/1-30, a member or authorized representative may inspect them, and the board may charge a reasonable fee for retrieving and copying. Ballots and proxies from member votes, and other nonprofit-act records, require a written statement of proper purpose (§ 1-30(i)(1)).

Under § 1-30 — the "Board duties and obligations; records" section — members of a common interest community association may inspect the association's records, including financial records, contracts, and minutes. The right runs to the member or an authorized representative. Under § 1-30(i)(3), "A reasonable fee may be charged by the board for the cost of retrieving and copying records properly requested."

For ballots and proxies from board elections and other member votes, and for the other records a nonprofit's members could inspect under the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 (805 ILCS 105/107.75), § 1-30(i)(1) requires a written statement of a proper purpose with the request. The governing documents, the receipts-and-expenditures records and contracts, board minutes, and any reserve study carry no such requirement.

What happens if an Illinois HOA ignores a records request?

After 30 days, it counts as a denial. Under 765 ILCS 160/1-30, where a records request is made in writing, the board's failure to provide the record or to respond within 30 days is deemed a denial by the board. A deemed denial is a board action the member may then challenge, including in court.

What makes § 1-30 work for members is a clock: where a request for records is made in writing, "failure to provide the requested record or to respond within 30 days shall be deemed a denial by the board." A deemed denial is not a friendly fiction — it is a board action the member may then challenge, including in court. That converts board silence from delay into a discrete decision a member can act on.

What records can an Illinois HOA withhold?

The HOA statute lists none. 765 ILCS 160/1-30 does not list categories of records a CICAA board may withhold. Condominiums differ: under 765 ILCS 605/19(g), unless a court orders otherwise, a condominium association need not make certain records available, including documents about employees, pending or threatened litigation, and other owners' unpaid charges.

Section 1-30 does not list categories of records a CICAA board may withhold. The topics in § 1-40 — litigation, third-party contracts and employee matters, rule violations, and a member's unpaid common expenses — govern when a board may close part of a meeting, not which records it must produce. Condominiums are different: under 765 ILCS 605/19(g), unless a court orders otherwise, a condominium association "need not make" certain records available, including documents about employees, pending or threatened litigation, and other owners' unpaid charges.

Will my Illinois HOA have to post minutes online?

Yes, by January 1, 2028. Under Public Act 104-0797, the board will have to provide a website owners can access that includes information about board and membership meetings and approved board minutes (§ 1-30(l)). From January 1, 2027, the § 1-45(b) year-end summary and accounting will also go electronically to members who authorized that.

Public Act 104-797 (HB 5449), approved August 7, 2026 and effective January 1, 2027, adds two related duties. The board "must provide a website no later than January 1, 2028 that unit owners can access on the Internet that includes information about board and membership meetings and the approved minutes from a meeting of the board" (§ 1-30(l); for condominiums, 765 ILCS 605/18.4(t) as added by P.A. 104-797). And from January 1, 2027, the year-end summary and itemized accounting (or audit report) under § 1-45(b) "must be supplied through electronic transmission to all members who have provided their information to the association and authorized the association to transmit such information by electronic transmission"; from the same date, the condominium annual itemized accounting under 765 ILCS 605/18(a)(7) also covers "receipts and expenses" and goes out the same way. Neither change alters the § 1-30 written-request process.

What owners commonly request

People reviewing the association's books often look at:

• Annual budgets, reserve studies, and financial statements
• Bank statements, vendor contracts, and bids
• The declaration, bylaws, adopted rules, and any fine schedule
• Board and member meeting minutes and notices
• Assessment ledgers and any collection or lien notices for the unit

Records frequently feed other disputes — questioning a fine or the assessment lien claim usually starts with the underlying documents.

For the recorded documents themselves

The recorded declaration and amendments are also available from the county recorder of deeds. Because in Illinois the declaration controls HOA lien and foreclosure rights — CICAA does not — the declaration is often the first document an HOA member obtains.

What people generally do

Owners seeking Illinois records often put the request in writing, cite § 1-30, include a written statement of proper purpose where required, identify the records specifically, and calendar the 30-day window. If no response arrives by day 30, the request is treated as denied — at which point a licensed Illinois attorney can explain the available remedies, including suit and recovery of attorney's fees in some cases.

Sources

• 765 ILCS 160/1-30 — Board duties and obligations; records
• 765 ILCS 160/1-40 — Meetings
• 805 ILCS 105/107.75 — General Not For Profit Corporation Act, inspection of records
• 765 ILCS 605/19 — Condominium Property Act, records
• Public Act 104-0797 — association website and electronic accounting, effective Jan. 1, 2027