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1 | AN ACT concerning condominium property.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Condominium Ombudsperson Act.
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6 | Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7 | "Board of managers", "condominium instruments", "master | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | association", "unit", "unit owner", and "unit owners' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | association" have the meanings ascribed to those terms in the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | Condominium Property Act. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | "Condominium association" means a unit owners' association | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | or master association. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | "Office" means the Office of the Condominium Ombudsperson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | established under Section 15.
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15 | "Ombudsperson" means the Condominium Ombudsperson employed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | under Section 15. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | "Person" includes a natural person, firm, association, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | limited liability company, or public entity.
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20 | Section 10. Findings. The General Assembly finds as | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | follows: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | (1) Managing condominium property is a complex |
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1 | responsibility. Unit owners and persons charged with | ||||||
2 | managing condominium property may have little or no prior | ||||||
3 | experience in managing real property, operating a | ||||||
4 | not-for-profit association or corporation, complying with | ||||||
5 | the law governing condominium property, and interpreting | ||||||
6 | and enforcing restrictions and rules imposed by the | ||||||
7 | condominium instruments or other applicable covenants. | ||||||
8 | Unit owners may not fully understand their rights and | ||||||
9 | obligations under the law and the condominium instruments | ||||||
10 | or other applicable covenants. Mistakes and | ||||||
11 | misunderstandings are inevitable and may lead to serious, | ||||||
12 | costly, and divisive problems.
A Condominium Ombudsperson | ||||||
13 | will seek to educate unit owners, condominium | ||||||
14 | associations, and boards of managers as to their legal | ||||||
15 | rights and obligations. Effective education can prevent or | ||||||
16 | reduce the severity of problems within a condominium | ||||||
17 | community. | ||||||
18 | (2) The principal remedy for a violation of condominium | ||||||
19 | property law is private litigation. Litigation is not an | ||||||
20 | ideal remedy for many condominium property disputes, | ||||||
21 | because the disputants are neighbors who must maintain | ||||||
22 | ongoing relationships. The
adversarial nature of | ||||||
23 | litigation can disrupt these relationships, creating | ||||||
24 | animosity that degrades the quality of life within the
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25 | condominium community and makes future disputes more | ||||||
26 | likely to arise. Litigation
imposes costs on a condominium |
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1 | community as a whole,
costs that must be paid by all unit | ||||||
2 | owners through increased assessments.
Many unit owners | ||||||
3 | cannot afford to bring a lawsuit and are effectively
denied | ||||||
4 | the benefit of laws designed for their protection. A | ||||||
5 | Condominium Ombudsperson will provide a neutral, | ||||||
6 | nonjudicial
forum for resolution of condominium property | ||||||
7 | disputes.
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8 | (3) Anecdotal accounts of abuses within condominium | ||||||
9 | communities create continuing public demand for reform of | ||||||
10 | condominium property law. This results in frequent changes | ||||||
11 | to the law, making it more difficult to understand and | ||||||
12 | apply and imposing significant transitional costs on | ||||||
13 | condominium communities
statewide. By collecting empirical | ||||||
14 | data on the nature and incidence
of problems within | ||||||
15 | condominium communities, a Condominium Ombudsperson will | ||||||
16 | provide a sound basis for prioritizing
reform efforts, | ||||||
17 | thereby increasing the stability of condominium property | ||||||
18 | law. | ||||||
19 | (4) The costs of the Office of the Condominium | ||||||
20 | Ombudsperson should be borne entirely by condominium unit | ||||||
21 | owners through the imposition of an annual fee.
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22 | Section 15. Office of the Condominium Ombudsperson.
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23 | (a) There is created in the Office of the Attorney General | ||||||
24 | the Office of the Condominium Ombudsperson under the | ||||||
25 | supervision and control of the Attorney General. |
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1 | (b) Commencing July 1, 2011, the Attorney General shall | ||||||
2 | employ a Condominium Ombudsperson and other persons as | ||||||
3 | necessary to discharge the requirements of this Act. The | ||||||
4 | Ombudsperson shall have the powers delegated to him or her by | ||||||
5 | the Attorney General, in addition to the powers set forth in | ||||||
6 | this Act. | ||||||
7 | (c) The Attorney General, following receipt of | ||||||
8 | recommendations from the Ombudsperson, may adopt rules | ||||||
9 | governing practices and
procedures under this Act. Any rule | ||||||
10 | adopted under this Act is subject to the rulemaking provisions | ||||||
11 | of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. | ||||||
12 | (d) Information and advice provided by the Ombudsperson has | ||||||
13 | no binding legal effect and is not subject to the rulemaking | ||||||
14 | provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. | ||||||
15 | (e) The Attorney General may convene an advisory committee | ||||||
16 | to make recommendations on matters within the Ombudsperson's | ||||||
17 | jurisdiction. The members of any such advisory committee shall | ||||||
18 | receive a per diem and expenses as determined by the Attorney | ||||||
19 | General. In selecting the members of an advisory committee, the | ||||||
20 | Attorney General shall ensure a fair representation of the | ||||||
21 | interests involved.
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22 | Section 20. Training and education. | ||||||
23 | (a) The Ombudsperson shall offer training and other | ||||||
24 | educational materials and courses to condominium unit owners, | ||||||
25 | condominium associations, and boards of managers, in subjects |
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1 | relevant to the operation and management of condominium | ||||||
2 | property and the rights and duties of unit owners, condominium | ||||||
3 | associations, and boards of managers. | ||||||
4 | (b) The Ombudsperson may charge a fee for training and | ||||||
5 | other educational materials and
courses provided under this | ||||||
6 | Section, not to exceed the actual cost of the training or other | ||||||
7 | materials and courses.
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8 | Section 25. Toll-free number; website. | ||||||
9 | (a) The Office shall maintain a statewide toll-free | ||||||
10 | telephone number to provide information or assistance on | ||||||
11 | matters relating to condominium property.
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12 | (b) The Office shall maintain on the Attorney General's | ||||||
13 | website the following information: | ||||||
14 | (1) The text of this Act, the Condominium Property Act, | ||||||
15 | and any other statute or
regulation that the Ombudsperson | ||||||
16 | determines would be relevant to the
operation and | ||||||
17 | management of condominium property or the rights and duties
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18 | of unit owners, condominium associations, and boards of | ||||||
19 | managers. | ||||||
20 | (2) Information concerning nonjudicial resolution of | ||||||
21 | disputes that may arise within a condominium community, | ||||||
22 | including contacts for locally available dispute | ||||||
23 | resolution programs.
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24 | (3) A description of the services provided by the | ||||||
25 | Ombudsperson and information on how to contact the |
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1 | Ombudsperson for assistance.
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2 | (4) An analysis, prepared each year, of changes in the | ||||||
3 | law affecting condominium property.
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4 | (5) Any other information that the Ombudsperson | ||||||
5 | determines would be useful to unit owners, condominium | ||||||
6 | associations, and boards of managers.
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7 | (c) Information described in subsection (b)
shall also be | ||||||
8 | made available in printed form. The Office may
charge a fee for | ||||||
9 | the purchase of such printed materials, not to exceed the
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10 | actual cost of printing and delivery.
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11 | Section 30. Members of condominium board of managers or | ||||||
12 | master association. | ||||||
13 | (a) Within 60 days after assuming office as a member of a | ||||||
14 | board of managers or a master association, every such member | ||||||
15 | shall certify that he or she has read each of
the following: | ||||||
16 | (1) The condominium instruments relating to the | ||||||
17 | condominium property administered by the board of managers | ||||||
18 | or master association.
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19 | (2) This Act or, if the Ombudsperson prepares a | ||||||
20 | detailed summary of the requirements of this Act, that | ||||||
21 | summary. | ||||||
22 | (b) Each member of a board of managers or a master | ||||||
23 | association shall file the certification required by this
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24 | Section with the Ombudsperson.
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1 | Section 35. Dispute resolution assistance. | ||||||
2 | (a) Any interested person may request that the Ombudsperson | ||||||
3 | provide assistance in resolving a dispute between a unit owner | ||||||
4 | and a condominium association or board of managers that | ||||||
5 | involves the law governing condominium property or the | ||||||
6 | condominium instruments relating to a condominium community. | ||||||
7 | (b) On receipt of a request for assistance, the | ||||||
8 | Ombudsperson
shall, within the limits of the available | ||||||
9 | resources, confer with the
interested parties and assist in | ||||||
10 | efforts to resolve the dispute by
mutual agreement of the | ||||||
11 | parties. | ||||||
12 | (c) The Ombudsperson shall not charge a fee for services | ||||||
13 | provided under this Section.
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14 | Section 40. Reports. | ||||||
15 | (a) The Attorney General shall submit an annual written | ||||||
16 | report on the activities of the Office of the Ombudsperson to | ||||||
17 | the General Assembly, no later than October 1 of each year. The | ||||||
18 | report shall include all of the following information: | ||||||
19 | (1) Annual workload and performance data, including | ||||||
20 | the number of requests for assistance received, the manner | ||||||
21 | in which a request was
or was not resolved, and the staff | ||||||
22 | time required to resolve the
inquiry. For each category of | ||||||
23 | data, the report shall provide
subtotals based on the type | ||||||
24 | of question or dispute involved in the
request. | ||||||
25 | (2) Analysis of the most common and serious types of |
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1 | disputes
within condominium communities, along with any | ||||||
2 | recommendations
for statutory reform to reduce the | ||||||
3 | frequency or severity of those
disputes.
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4 | (b) On or before January 1, 2013, the Attorney General, | ||||||
5 | following receipt of recommendations from the Ombudsperson, | ||||||
6 | shall submit
recommendations to the General Assembly on the | ||||||
7 | following topics:
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8 | (1) Whether the Ombudsperson should be authorized to | ||||||
9 | enforce
condominium property law.
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10 | (2) Whether the Ombudsperson should be authorized to | ||||||
11 | oversee unit owners'
association elections.
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12 | (3) Whether the scope of the application of Section 30 | ||||||
13 | should be narrowed or broadened.
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14 | (4) Whether the Ombudsperson should provide or | ||||||
15 | subsidize mediation of condominium property disputes.
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16 | Section 45. Fees.
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17 | (a) Every condominium unit owners' association shall pay to | ||||||
18 | the Ombudsperson an annual fee as provided in this Section. | ||||||
19 | This fee shall be in addition to any other fees authorized to | ||||||
20 | be charged by the Ombudsperson under this Act. The total fee
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21 | due from an association under this Section in any year shall be | ||||||
22 | the product of
(i) the number of units composing the | ||||||
23 | condominium property administered by the association | ||||||
24 | multiplied by
(ii) the annual fee amount for that year | ||||||
25 | determined under subsection (b). |
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1 | (b) The initial annual fee amount to be used in calculating | ||||||
2 | a unit owners' association's fee under this Section shall be | ||||||
3 | $3.
The Ombudsperson, with the Attorney General's approval, | ||||||
4 | shall increase or decrease the annual fee amount every year to | ||||||
5 | provide only the revenue that he or she estimates will be | ||||||
6 | necessary for the Office's operation expenses during the next | ||||||
7 | year. The annual fee amount shall not exceed $10, however. | ||||||
8 | (c) A unit owners' association is excused from paying the | ||||||
9 | fee for a unit if another association has paid the fee for that | ||||||
10 | unit. An association that is excused from paying the fee for a
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11 | unit shall certify, on a form prescribed by the Ombudsperson | ||||||
12 | for that purpose, that another association has paid the fee for | ||||||
13 | that unit. The Attorney General, following receipt of | ||||||
14 | recommendations from the Ombudsperson, may adopt a rule | ||||||
15 | governing which association is required to pay the fee for a | ||||||
16 | unit that is administered by more than one association.
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17 | Section 50. Condominium Ombudsperson Fund. All moneys | ||||||
18 | received by the Ombudsperson as fees under this Act shall be | ||||||
19 | deposited into the Condominium Ombudsperson Fund, which is | ||||||
20 | hereby created as a special fund in the State treasury. All | ||||||
21 | moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the General Assembly, | ||||||
22 | shall be used exclusively for expenditures by the Ombudsperson | ||||||
23 | that are necessary for the proper administration of this Act.
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24 | Section 85. Repeal. This Act is repealed on July 1, 2014.
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1 | Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | ||||||
2 | Section 5.786 as follows:
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3 | (30 ILCS 105/5.786 new) | ||||||
4 | Sec. 5.786. The Condominium Ombudsperson Fund.
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5 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | ||||||
6 | 2011.
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