A condominium or townhome association has the ability to assess unit owners with common expenses and fines (collectively, “assessments”). When unit owners fail to pay these assessments when they become due, the association can pursue legal action to enforce payment. These actions can result in significant consequences against unit owners, including the potential for eviction.
Foreclosure and Eviction
One option for an association is to place a lien on the unit, which often occurs automatically when an assessment is not paid. If the past due assessment is still not paid, the lien may be foreclosed on in court. This will result in a court-ordered sale of the owner’s equity in the unit. Further, foreclosure is possible regardless of whether the unit owner is current on all mortgage payments.
Under Illinois law, it is also possible to evict a unit owner or tenant who is delinquent on the payment of any assessments. To initiate this process, the association must serve on the unit owner, through the mail, a 30 Day Notice and Demand for Possession (demand, with return receipt requested. If the demand is properly mailed, effective notice is deemed to have occurred, which means that the demand does not actually have to be received by the unit owner.
The effect of the demand is that a unit owner has 30 days to pay the outstanding amount. If the unit owner fails to make this payment, an association can sue to evict the owner from the unit through a forcible entry and detainer action. Included in the lawsuit will be a claim for all unpaid assessments and reasonable attorney fees and costs.
In some circumstances, partial payment may resolve the issue because an association can agree to withdraw the demand in exchange for partial payment. However, if the association does not agree to withdraw the demand, partial payment does not affect the eviction or demand. If after 30 days the partial payments do not total the entire amount due, the association can proceed with the forcible entry and detainer action.
If successful, the court will enter a judgment evicting the tenant or homeowner. However, by law, any enforcement of the eviction judgment must be stayed for at least 60 days, but not more than 180 days, at the discretion of the court.
After the eviction is complete, the association can lease the unit for a period of up to 13 months (which may be extended by court order) until all unpaid assessments have been paid. After all of these have been paid, the unit owner can regain possession of the unit by filing a motion with the court to vacate the judgment of possession.
Help with Real Estate Legal Issues
If you would like more information about real estate transactions or how disputes related to real estate are resolved, speak with a skilled Illinois real estate attorney today. Our firm provides diligent representation for individuals throughout the northwest suburbs, in communities such as Mount Prospect, Inverness, Palatine, Long Grove, and Riverwoods.
About the Author: Founding partner of Drost, Gilbert, Andrew & Apicella, LLC, Colin Gilbert,
received his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of law in 2005. Colin
argues cases across many practice areas including criminal defense,
collections, civil litigation, real estate law, and corporate law. Colin
is an active member of the Board of Governors of the Northwest Suburban
Bar Association and the Illinois Creditors Bar Association. He is
currently Vice President of the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce,
and is a Commissioner for the Village of Arlington Heights. Colin has a
10.0 Attorney rating on Avvo, and was named one of the 2014 “Top 40
Under 40” Trial Lawyers in Illinois by the National Trial Lawyers
Association.