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.

Non-condominium HOAs: CICAA (765 ILCS 160)

The Common Interest Community Association Act is the main statute for single-family-home, townhome, and master-planned HOAs in Illinois. Enacted in 2010 and amended several times since, it covers:

• Board duties, records, and fines — board duties, the members' records-inspection right with a 30-day deemed denial for unanswered written requests, and reasonable fines after notice and a hearing (§ 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)

CICAA contains a structural feature most modern community-association statutes do not: no statutory lien for assessments. For HOAs in Illinois, lien rights have to come from the recorded declaration, not the act.

A small-association exemption (§ 1-75)

Not every association is fully covered. Under 765 ILCS 160/1-75, an association organized under the General Not For Profit Corporation Act with 10 units or fewer, or annual budgeted assessments of $100,000 or less, is exempt from CICAA — unless a majority of its directors or members affirmatively elects to be covered by the act. A separate, lower threshold ($50,000 or less in budgeted assessments) frees some very small associations from certain specific sections while still requiring meeting notice to members. Whether the act applies at all can therefore turn on a community's size and budget, which is worth confirming for a smaller HOA.

Condominiums: the Condominium Property Act (765 ILCS 605)

If you live in a condominium, the older and more detailed Condominium Property Act governs instead. It has parallel records and meeting provisions and — critically — a statutory lien for unpaid assessments under § 9, with a six-month priority over a foreclosing mortgagee. The contrast between the two acts is the single biggest reason knowing which statute applies to your home matters.

Condominium and common-interest community ombudsperson

Illinois has a Condominium and Common Interest Community Ombudsperson Act (765 ILCS 615), housed in the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). The office remains active: Public Act 104-0377, effective August 15, 2025, extended the Act's repeal date to January 1, 2029. The Ombudsperson is a state resource that provides information and education to unit owners, associations, and boards, though it does not adjudicate or resolve individual disputes for owners.

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

Most Illinois associations are incorporated nonprofits under the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986. CICAA expressly cross-references its records-inspection provisions, and it supplies director duties and member-meeting procedures that supplement the community-association act.

How the layers fit

1. The recorded governing documents — declaration, bylaws, and rules. CICAA sets the governance floor; for HOAs the declaration also controls lien and foreclosure rights.
2. CICAA (765 ILCS 160) for non-condominium HOAs — or the Condominium Property Act (765 ILCS 605) for condos.
3. The General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 for the incorporated entity.
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
• 765 ILCS 160/1-75 — Applicability; small-association exemption
• 765 ILCS 605 — Condominium Property Act
• 765 ILCS 605/9 — Condominium statutory lien
• 765 ILCS 615 — Condominium and Common Interest Community Ombudsperson Act
• Public Act 104-0377 — extends Ombudsperson Act to Jan. 1, 2029