Are Your Restrictive Covenants Clear? Preventing Commercial Use in Residential Condos When condominium unit owners purchase their homes, they often assume they have broad discretion over how they use their units. However, condominium living is subject to numerous restrictions, set forth in a condominium association’s declarations, bylaws, rules, and regulations (altogether known as restrictive covenants) and the Illinois Condominium Property…
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Condo Board Fiduciary Duties: What is the Statute of Limitations for Claims Against Illinois Condominium Board Members? Serving on an Illinois condominium association board comes with significant legal responsibilities. Condominium board members have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the condominium association. In Bd. of Managers of Weathersfield Condo. Ass’n v. Schaumburg Ltd. P’ship, 307…
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Illinois HOA Fence Disputes: Can a Court Require a Fence to be Removed Under the HOA’s Restrictive Covenants? Disputes over the installation of fences are some of the most common disputes faced by homeowners associations. In many Illinois HOAs, the restrictive covenants will completely ban the installation of fences. In other cases, the deed restrictions only permit certain types of…
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Illinois Court Ruling Clarifies How Limited Common Elements Must Be Defined When a unit owner builds a deck without approval, most HOA boards anticipate that the judicial system will favor the association. Condominium association governing documents generally provide that any alterations and improvements to the limited common elements be approved by the board. But what happens when the board’s interpretation…
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Amending HOA Declarations in Illinois: What Recent Court Cases Reveal When can a community association amend its declaration? Must it wait for the end of the initial 20-year term before making changes? Does amending an HOA declaration take effect immediately upon recording, or must it meet specific procedural requirements? These were the questions at the center of a long-running dispute…
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Can Condo Boards Regulate Smoking? An Illinois Condo Association’s Guide to Smoking Rules and Declaration Amendments As smoking continues to raise health and nuisance concerns among condominium residents, it presents two questions: 1. How can condo boards regulate smoking to reasonably accommodate residents? 2. Can, or should, condo associations restrict or prohibit smoking within their buildings. A recent unpublished decision…
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