Which Illinois Laws Govern Your HOA or Condo?

Illinois runs community associations on two parallel statutes, and the difference between them matters most where the money is at stake. For your specific situation, a licensed Illinois attorney is the right resource. This is general information, not legal advice.

Does Illinois have an HOA law?

Yes. Non-condominium HOAs are governed primarily by the Common Interest Community Association Act (765 ILCS 160), which does not reach master associations. Under § 1-75, an association organized under the General Not for Profit Corporation Act with 10 units or less or annual budgeted assessments of $100,000 or less is exempt unless a majority of its directors or members elect coverage.

The Common Interest Community Association Act (CICAA), enacted in 2010 and amended several times since, is the main statute for non-condominium HOAs in Illinois. Its reach starts with two definitions in § 1-5:

• A common interest community is "real estate other than a condominium or cooperative" whose owners are "obligated to pay for the maintenance, improvement, insurance premiums or real estate taxes of common areas described in a declaration which is administered by an association." It "may include, but not be limited to, an attached or detached townhome, villa, or single-family home."
• The definition has one express exclusion: "A 'common interest community' does not include a master association."

Section 1-10 then makes the Act broad: "Unless expressly provided otherwise herein, the provisions of this Act are applicable to all common interest community associations in this State." There is no formation-date cutoff in that section. CICAA covers, among other things:

• Board duties, records, and fines — the members' records-inspection right with a 30-day deemed denial for unanswered written requests, and the board's power, "after notice and an opportunity to be heard, to levy and collect reasonable fines" (§ 1-30)
• Meetings — open board meetings with 48-hour notice and a member-comment period (§ 1-40)
• Finances — budget delivery, the itemized year-end accounting, and the member-petition right when assessments jump more than 15% (§ 1-45)

Small-community exemption and opt-in (§ 1-75)

Not every association is fully covered. Under § 1-75(a), "[a] common interest community association organized under the General Not for Profit Corporation Act of 1986 and having either (i) 10 units or less or (ii) annual budgeted assessments of $100,000 or less shall be exempt from this Act unless the association affirmatively elects to be covered by this Act by a majority of its directors or members."

Section 1-75(b) adds a narrower, partial exemption. It reaches associations whose documents say the association "may not use the courts or an arbitration process to collect or enforce assessments, fines, or similar levies," and associations "(i) of 10 units or less or (ii) having annual budgeted assessments of $50,000 or less." Those associations are exempt from § 1-30(a), § 1-40(a) and (b), and § 1-55, "but shall be required to provide notice of meetings to members in a manner and at a time that will allow members to participate in those meetings." Whether the Act applies, and how fully, can turn on a community's size, budget, entity form and documents.

No statutory lien in CICAA

CICAA contains no section creating a lien for unpaid assessments; its only reference to liens is a carve-out in the technology section (§ 1-85(g)) for notices "in connection with foreclosure proceedings in enforcement of any lien rights under this Act." For a CICAA association, any lien right has to come from the recorded declaration or other law. Starting January 1, 2027, P.A. 104-734 adds a collection step: the association or a holder or assignee of its debt "shall not take legal action to collect common expenses unless" it "has adopted, and follows, a written policy governing the collection of unpaid assessments" (CICAA § 1-45(j)).

Documents that don't match the Act

CICAA has no general ranking clause, but § 1-60(a) assumes the Act controls. If a provision of the community instruments "does not conform to this Act or to another applicable law because of an error, omission, or inconsistency," the association "may correct" it "by an amendment adopted by vote of two-thirds of the board of directors, without a membership vote."

Do Illinois condos follow a different law than HOAs?

Yes. Condominiums follow the Condominium Property Act (765 ILCS 605), which § 2.1 applies to all Illinois condominiums, voiding inconsistent instrument provisions. Unlike CICAA, it creates a statutory lien: unpaid common expenses or fines, with interest, charges and fees, are a lien ahead of all other liens except taxes and encumbrances recorded before the default (§ 9(g)(1)).

If you live in a condominium, the older and more detailed Condominium Property Act governs instead. Its scope and its conflict rule are both in § 2.1: "the provisions of this Act are applicable to all condominiums in this State," and any condominium-instrument provision "inconsistent with the provisions of this Act" is "void as against public policy and ineffective."

It has parallel records and meeting provisions — under § 19, failure "to make available all records so requested within 10 business days of receipt of the member's written request shall be deemed a denial" — and, critically, a statutory lien:

• The lien. Under § 9(g)(1), unpaid common expenses or "the amount of any unpaid fine," with interest, late charges, reasonable attorney fees and collection costs, "shall constitute a lien on the interest of the unit owner in the property prior to all other liens and encumbrances, recorded or unrecorded," except taxes and encumbrances recorded before the default.
• The six-month rule after a foreclosure sale. A mortgagee that takes title owes common expenses only from the first day of the month after the sale or deed (§ 9(g)(3)). But a purchaser at the sale "other than a mortgagee," or "a purchaser who acquires title from a mortgagee," must pay the common expenses that came due "during the 6 months immediately preceding institution of an action to enforce the collection of assessments" (§ 9(g)(4)).

The same written-collection-policy requirement reaches condos from January 1, 2027 (§ 18.4(t), added by P.A. 104-734).

Does Illinois have an HOA ombudsperson?

Yes, though its Act (765 ILCS 615) is set to be repealed January 1, 2029. The office offers training and educational materials and, subject to appropriation, help with condo-act or CICAA violation disputes once an owner has used the association's complaint process and met other conditions (§ 40). Its advice has no binding legal effect (§ 20(d)).

The Condominium and Common Interest Community Ombudsperson Act (765 ILCS 615) "applies to all condominium associations governed by the Condominium Property Act and all common interest community associations governed by the Common Interest Community Association Act" (§ 5). Public Act 104-377, effective August 15, 2025, moved the Act's repeal date to January 1, 2029.

The office, in the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, offers training and educational materials (§ 25). Under § 40, "subject to appropriation," unit owners may also ask it "for assistance in resolving a dispute between a unit owner and an association that involves a violation of the Condominium Property Act or the Common Interest Community Association Act" — but only after using the association's own written complaint process (§ 35) and meeting other conditions in § 40(d). "Information and advice provided by the Ombudsperson has no binding legal effect" (§ 20(d)). Associations exempt from CICAA under § 1-75 "are not required to have a written policy for resolving complaints" (§ 35(b)).

The General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 (805 ILCS 105)

A CICAA association may be a not-for-profit corporation, an unincorporated association, or an LLC — § 1-5 defines a board of managers for a community that "is an unincorporated association or organized as a limited liability company." For one incorporated under the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986, § 103.05 lists among permitted purposes the "[a]dministration and operation of property owned on a condominium basis or by a homeowner association." CICAA also borrows from that Act: § 1-30 gives members, "[w]ith a written statement of a proper purpose," access to other board records "as are available for inspection by members of a not-for-profit corporation pursuant to Section 107.75 of the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986."

How the layers fit

1. The statute — CICAA (765 ILCS 160) for covered non-condominium HOAs, or the Condominium Property Act (765 ILCS 605) for condos. Inconsistent condo instruments are void (§ 2.1); CICAA lets the board conform nonconforming instruments (§ 1-60).
2. The recorded governing documents — declaration, bylaws, and rules. For a CICAA association, the declaration also has to supply any lien right.
3. The General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 for an incorporated association.
4. Federal law — the Fair Housing Act, ADA, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, OTARD, and the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act.

From records to fines to the assessment lien, the CICAA-vs-Condominium-Act distinction is the starting point for most Illinois homeowner questions.

Sources

• 765 ILCS 160 — Common Interest Community Association Act (full text)
• 765 ILCS 160/1-75 — Exemptions for small common interest communities
• 765 ILCS 605 — Condominium Property Act (full text)
• 765 ILCS 605/9 — Sharing of expenses; lien for nonpayment
• 765 ILCS 605/19 — Condominium records
• 765 ILCS 615 — Condominium and Common Interest Community Ombudsperson Act (full text)
• Public Act 104-0377 — extends the Ombudsperson Act to Jan. 1, 2029
• Public Act 104-0734 — collection-policy requirement, effective Jan. 1, 2027
• 805 ILCS 105/103.05 — Purposes (General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986)