Public Act 098-1135
 
HB4204 EnrolledLRB098 15146 HEP 50122 b

    AN ACT concerning condominium property.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Condominium and Common Interest Community Ombudsperson Act.
 
    Section 5. Applicability. This Act 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.
 
    Section 10. Findings. The General Assembly finds as
follows:
        (1) Managing condominium property or common interest
    community property is a complex responsibility. Unit
    owners and persons charged with managing condominium
    property or common interest community property may have
    little or no prior experience in managing real property,
    operating a not-for-profit association or corporation,
    complying with the laws governing condominium property or
    common interest community property, and interpreting and
    enforcing restrictions and rules imposed by applicable
    instruments or covenants. Unit owners may not fully
    understand their rights and obligations under the law or
    applicable instruments or covenants. Mistakes and
    misunderstandings are inevitable and may lead to serious,
    costly, and divisive problems. This Act seeks to educate
    unit owners, condominium associations, common interest
    community associations, boards of managers, and boards of
    directors about the Condominium Property Act and the Common
    Interest Community Association Act. Effective education
    can prevent or reduce the severity of problems within a
    condominium or common interest community.
        (2) Anecdotal accounts of abuses within condominiums
    and common interest communities create continuing public
    demand for reform of condominium and common interest
    community property law. This results in frequent changes to
    the law, making it difficult to understand and apply, and
    imposes significant transitional costs on these
    communities statewide. By collecting empirical data on the
    nature and incidence of problems within these communities,
    this Act will provide a sound basis for prioritizing reform
    efforts, thereby increasing the stability of condominium
    and common interest community property law.
 
    Section 15. Definitions. As used in this Act:
    "Association" means a condominium association or common
interest community association as defined in this Act.
    "Board of managers" or "board of directors" means:
        (1) a common interest community association's board of
    managers or board of directors, whichever is applicable; or
        (2) a condominium association's board of managers or
    board or directors, whichever is applicable.
    "Common interest community" means a property governed by
the Common Interest Community Association Act.
    "Common interest community association" has the meaning
ascribed to it in Section 1-5 of the Common Interest Community
Association Act.
    "Condominium" means a property governed by the Condominium
Property Act.
    "Condominium association" means an association in which
membership is a condition of ownership or shareholder interest
of a unit in a condominium, cooperative, townhouse, villa, or
other residential unit which is part of a residential
development plan and that is authorized to impose an
assessment, rents, or other costs that may become a lien on the
unit or lot, and includes a unit owners' association as defined
in subsection (o) of Section 2 of the Condominium Property Act
and a master association as defined in subsection (u) of
Section 2 of the Condominium Property Act.
    "Declaration" has the meaning ascribed to it in:
        (1) Section 1-5 of the Common Interest Community
    Association Act; or
        (2) Section 2 of the Condominium Property Act.
    "Department" means the Department of Financial and
Professional Regulation.
    "Director" means the Director of the Division of
Professional Regulation.
    "Division" means the Division of Professional Regulation
within the Department of Financial and Professional
Regulation.
    "Office" means the Office of the Condominium and Common
Interest Community Ombudsperson established under Section 20
of this Act.
    "Ombudsperson" means the Condominium and Common Interest
Community Ombudsperson employed under Section 20 of this Act.
    "Person" includes a natural person, firm, association,
organization, partnership, business trust, corporation,
limited liability company, or public entity.
    "Secretary" means the Secretary of Financial and
Professional Regulation.
    "Unit" means a part of the condominium property or common
interest community property designed and intended for any type
of independent use.
    "Unit owner" has the meaning ascribed to it in:
        (1) subsection (g) of Section 2 of the Condominium
    Property Act; or
        (2) Section 1-5 of the Common Interest Community
    Association Act.
 
    Section 20. Office of the Condominium and Common Interest
Community Ombudsperson.
    (a) There is created in the Division of Professional
Regulation within the Department of Financial and Professional
Regulation, under the supervision and control of the Secretary,
the Office of the Condominium and Common Interest Community
Ombudsperson.
    (b) The Department shall employ an Ombudsperson and other
persons as necessary to discharge the requirements of this Act.
The Ombudsperson shall have the powers delegated to him or her
by the Department, in addition to the powers set forth in this
Act.
    (c) Information and advice provided by the Ombudsperson has
no binding legal effect and is not subject to the rulemaking
provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
 
    Section 25. Training and education. On or before July 1,
2018, the Ombudsperson shall offer training, educational
materials, and courses to unit owners, associations, boards of
managers, and boards of directors in subjects relevant to: (i)
the operation and management of condominiums and common
interest communities; and (ii) the Condominium Property Act and
the Common Interest Community Association Act.
 
    Section 30. Website.
    (a) The Office shall maintain on the Department's website
the following information:
        (1) the text of this Act, the Condominium Property Act,
    the Community Interest Community Association Act, and any
    other statute, administrative rule, or regulation that the
    Ombudsperson determines is relevant to the operation and
    management of a condominium association or common interest
    community association;
        (2) information concerning nonjudicial resolution of
    disputes that may arise within a condominium or common
    interest community;
        (3) a description of the services provided by the
    Ombudsperson and information on how to contact the
    Ombudsperson for assistance; and
        (4) any other information that the Ombudsperson
    determines is useful to unit owners, associations, boards
    of managers, and boards of directors.
    (b) The Office shall make the information described in
subsection (a) of this Section available in printed form.
 
    Section 35. Written policy for resolving complaints.
    (a) Each association, except for those outlined in Section
(b) of this Section, shall adopt a written policy for resolving
complaints made by unit owners. The association shall make the
policy available to all unit owners upon request. The policy
must include:
        (1) a sample form on which a unit owner may make a
    complaint to the association;
        (2) a description of the process by which complaints
    shall be delivered to the association;
        (3) the association's timeline and manner of making
    final determinations in response to a unit owner's
    complaint; and
        (4) a requirement that the final determination made by
    the association in response to a unit owner's complaint be:
            (i) made in writing;
            (ii) made within a reasonable time after the unit
        owner's original complaint; and
            (iii) marked clearly and conspicuously as "final".
    (b) Common interest community associations exempt from the
Common Interest Community Association Act are not required to
have a written policy for resolving complaints.
    (c) No later than 180 days after the effective date of this
Act, associations existing on the effective date of this Act,
except for those identified in subsection (b) of this Section,
must establish and adopt the policy required under this
Section.
    (d) Associations first created after the effective date of
this Act, except for those identified in subsection (b) of this
Section, must establish and adopt the policy required under
this Section at the time of initial registration as required by
Section 65 of this Act.
    (e) A unit owner may not bring a request for assistance
under Section 40 of this Act for an association's lack of or
inadequacy of a written policy to resolve complaints, but may
notify the Department in writing of the association's lack of
or inadequacy of a written policy. An association that fails to
comply with this Section is subject to subsection (g) of
Section 65 of this Act.
 
    Section 40. Requests for assistance.
    (a) Beginning on July 1, 2019, unit owners meeting the
requirements of this Section may make a written request, as
outlined in subsection (f) of this Section, to the Ombudsperson
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 Property Act.
    (b) The Ombudsperson shall not accept requests for
resolutions of disputes with community association managers,
supervising community association managers, or community
association management firms, as defined in the Community
Association Manager Licensing and Disciplinary Act.
    (c) The Ombudsperson shall not accept requests for
resolutions of disputes for which there is a pending complaint
filed in any court or administrative tribunal in any
jurisdiction or for which arbitration or alternative dispute
resolution is scheduled to occur or has previously occurred.
    (d) The assistance described in subsection (a) of this
Section is available only to unit owners. In order for a unit
owner to receive the assistance from the Ombudsperson described
in subsection (a) of this Section, the unit owner must:
        (1) owe no outstanding assessments, fees, or funds to
    the association, unless the assessments, fees, or funds are
    central to the dispute;
        (2) allege a dispute that was initiated or initially
    occurred within the past 2 calendar years of the date of
    the request;
        (3) have made a written complaint pursuant to the unit
    owner's association's complaint policy, as outlined in
    Section 35, which alleges violations of the Condominium
    Property Act or the Common Interest Community Association
    Act;
        (4) have received a final and adverse decision from the
    association and attach a copy of the association's final
    adverse decision marked "final" to the request to the
    Ombudsperson; and
        (5) have filed the request within 30 days after the
    receipt of the association's final adverse decision.
    (e) A unit owner who has not received a response, marked
"final", to his or her complaint from the association within a
reasonable time may request assistance from the Ombudsperson
pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section if the unit owner
meets the requirements of items (1), (2), and (3) of subsection
(d) of this Section. A unit owner may not request assistance
from the Ombudsperson until at least 90 days after the initial
written complaint was submitted to the association. The
Ombudsperson may decline a unit owner's request for assistance
on the basis that a reasonable time has not yet passed.
    (f) The request for assistance shall be in writing, on
forms provided by the Office, and include the following:
        (1) the name, address, and contact information of the
    unit owner;
        (2) the name, address, and contact information of the
    association;
        (3) the applicable association governing documents
    unless the absence of governing documents is central to the
    dispute;
        (4) the date of the final adverse decision by the
    association;
        (5) a copy of the association's written complaint
    policy required under Section 35 of this Act;
        (6) a copy of the unit owner's complaint to the
    association with a specific reference to the alleged
    violations of the Condominium Property Act or the Common
    Interest Community Association Act;
        (7) documentation verifying the unit owner's ownership
    of a unit, such as a copy of a recorded deed or other
    document conferring title; and
        (8) a copy of the association's adverse decision marked
    "final", if applicable.
    (g) On receipt of a unit owner's request for assistance
that the Department determines meets the requirements of this
Section, the Ombudsperson shall, within the limits of the
available resources, confer with the interested parties and
assist in efforts to resolve the dispute by mutual agreement of
the parties.
    (h) The Ombudsperson shall assist only opposing parties who
mutually agree to participate in dispute resolution.
    (i) A unit owner is limited to one request for assistance
per dispute. The meaning of dispute is to be broadly
interpreted by the Department.
    (j) The Department has the authority to determine whether
or not a final decision is adverse under paragraph (4) of
subsection (d) of this Section.
    (k) The Department shall establish rules describing the
time limit, method, and manner for dispute resolution.
    (l) A request under the Freedom of Information Act for
information does not constitute a request for assistance under
this Section.
 
    Section 45. Confidentiality. All information collected by
the Department in the course of addressing a request for
assistance pursuant to Section 40 shall be maintained for the
confidential use of the Department and shall not be disclosed.
The Department shall not disclose the information to anyone
other than law enforcement officials or regulatory agencies
that have an appropriate regulatory interest as determined by
the Secretary. Information and documents disclosed to a
federal, State, county, or local law enforcement agency shall
not be disclosed by that agency for any purpose to any other
agency or person.
 
    Section 50. Reports.
    (a) The Department shall submit an annual written report on
the activities of the Office to the General Assembly, no later
than October 1 of each year, with the initial report being due
October 1, 2020. The report shall include all of the following:
        (1) annual workload and performance data, including
    the number of requests for assistance received, the manner
    in which requests were or were not resolved and the staff
    time required to resolve the requests. For each category of
    data, the report shall provide subtotals based on the type
    of question or dispute involved in the request; and
        (2) analysis of the most common and serious types of
    disputes within condominiums and common interest
    communities, along with any recommendations for statutory
    reform to reduce the frequency or severity of those
    disputes.
 
    Section 55. Registration.
    (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (d) and (f)
of this Section, every association shall register with the
Department in a form and manner specified by the Department. A
registration shall be valid for 2 years. The initial
registration for an association existing on the effective date
of this Act is due one year after the effective date of this
Act, or at such time as the Department has adopted rules and
forms for registration, whichever is later.
    (b) Newly created associations required to register with
the Department must register no later than 90 days after the
association has assumed control of a property.
    (c) The Department may issue a certification of
registration under this Act to any association that applies to
the Department on forms provided by the Department and provides
the following:
        (1) the business name of the association seeking
    registration;
        (2) the business address or addresses and contact
    information of the association seeking registration;
        (3) the name, address, and contact information for the
    association's authorized agent or management company and
    management company representative;
        (4) a certification that the applicant has a written
    policy for resolving complaints as required by Section 35
    of this Act;
        (5) the initial date of recording of the declaration;
        (6) the recording number or book and page for the
    document that constitutes the declaration; and
        (7) a certification that the association will comply
    with all other requirements of this Act and rules
    established for the implementation of this Act.
    (d) This Section does not apply to a unit, or the owner
thereof, if the unit is a timeshare property subject to the
Real Estate Timeshare Act of 1999.
    (e) If any of the information submitted under subsection
(c) of this Section changes, the association shall provide
updated information to the Department no later than 60 days
after the change.
    (f) A common interest community association is exempt from
registration if it is exempt from the Common Interest Community
Association Act.
    (g) If an association fails to initially register as
provided in subsection (a) of this Section or fails to timely
renew its registration, the Department may impose a late charge
or late fee against the association. If an association fails to
properly register within 2 years after the effective date of
this Act, or fails to renew its registration on 3 or more
occasions, the association is ineligible to impose or enforce a
lien for common expenses or to pursue any action or employ any
enforcement mechanism otherwise available to it in enforcement
of a lien for common expenses until it is validly registered
pursuant to this Section. A lien for common expenses previously
filed during a period in which the association was registered
pursuant to this Section shall not be extinguished by a lapse
in the association's registration, nor shall the common expense
debt reflected by the lien or court action be deemed invalid,
but any pending enforcement proceedings related to the lien
shall be suspended and any applicable time limits tolled until
the association is again validly registered pursuant to this
Section. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to invalidate
any claim for common expenses or other enforcement mechanism,
even if the claim arose while the association was not
registered.
 
    Section 60. Rules. The Department may adopt rules for the
administration and enforcement of this Act. Any rule adopted
under this Act is subject to the rulemaking provisions of the
Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
 
    Section 65. State Lawsuit Immunity Act. Nothing in this Act
shall be construed to constitute a waiver of the immunity of
the State, Department, Division, Office, or Ombudsperson, or
any officer, employee, or agent thereof under the State Lawsuit
Immunity Act.
 
    Section 70. Repeal. This Act is repealed on July 1, 2021.
 
    Section 75. The Condominium Property Act is amended by
adding Section 35 as follows:
 
    (765 ILCS 605/35 new)
    Sec. 35. Compliance with the Condominium and Common
Interest Community Ombudsperson Act. Every unit owners'
association must comply with the Condominium and Common
Interest Community Ombudsperson Act and is subject to all
provisions of the Condominium and Common Interest Community
Ombudsperson Act. This Section is repealed July 1, 2021.
 
    Section 80. The Common Interest Community Association Act
is amended by adding Section 1-90 as follows:
 
    (765 ILCS 160/1-90 new)
    Sec. 1-90. Compliance with the Condominium and Common
Interest Community Ombudsperson Act. Every common interest
community association, except for those exempt from this Act
under Section 1-75, must comply with the Condominium and
Community Interest Community Ombudsperson Act and is subject to
all provisions of the Condominium and Community Interest
Community Ombudsperson Act. This Section is repealed July 1,
2021.
 
    Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
2016.

Effective Date: 7/1/2016