Law Offices of David L. Rudolph, P.C.: Practicing Real Estate Law, Condominium Law, Business Law and Litigation in Chicago, Illinois.

Condominium Law

Collecting Delinquent Assessments:

The collection of monthly assessments is the association's primary source of revenue. As such, it is vitally important that a board maintain a strict collection policy in order to effectively deal with delinquent owners. Once an owner gets more than two months delinquent, we recommend that the association work quickly to, at a minimum, establish a payment plan with the delinquent owner. If the account is not cleared up shortly, we recommend that an attorney be contacted.

If the account remains past due, the association can seek to terminate the unit owner's possession rights through an eviction action. The first step in the eviction process is the delivery of a written thirty-day notice. Once the thirty-day repayment period has elapsed, the Association is in a position to file an eviction action against the homeowner.

If an eviction action is filed, the defendant must then be served by the sheriff's office with a copy of the complaint and summons. In Cook County, the trial date can occur as soon as three weeks after the filing of the complaint. However, this trial date may be delayed if the deputy sheriff is unable to serve the defendant. Once the defendant has been served, and the trial date arrives, the defendant often times will not even appear and will be "defaulted". In that instance, the judge will enter an order of possession in favor of the association. As part of the judgment, the association is also entitled to recovery of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. If the owner is leasing out the unit, the association is entitled to an immediate assignment of rents whereby the tenant must pay rent directly to the association. If the unit owner is still occupying the unit, the court must "stay" the eviction (i.e., delay the eviction) a minimum of 60 days. Once the stay period concludes, the association can schedule a removal of the owner by the sheriff, rent the unit out and collect rent to be applied against the delinquency. In Cook County, however, there is a significant delay in scheduling with the sheriff.

Given the present turmoil in the real estate market, it is critical that the association monitor the filing of any foreclosures against delinquent owners. According to past Illinois condominium law and mortgage foreclosure law, once the unit is sold following a foreclosure, the assessment delinquency was wiped out, and the purchaser at foreclosure only had to pay assessments going forward. This was obviously very harsh to condominium associations. However, a recent change in law provides that the purchaser of a unit at a foreclosure sale must pay up to six months of unpaid assessments and reasonable attorney’s fees if the association has previously filed a court action to collect the unpaid assessments.