An Illinois association may call itself a condominium association, townhome association, homeowners association, community association, or master association. Those labels are useful in conversation, but they do not determine whether the Illinois Condominium Property Act or CICAA governs the community.
The controlling question is how the property was legally created and what the recorded declaration says.
A townhome development may be organized as a condominium and governed by the Condominium Property Act. Another townhome development may be a common interest community governed by CICAA.
A board that relies on the community’s marketing name instead of its recorded documents can apply the wrong meeting, records, budget, election, resale, and collection requirements.
What Is the Illinois Condominium Property Act?
The Illinois Condominium Property Act applies to property that has been formally submitted to the Act.
Section 3 provides that the owner submits property by recording a declaration that expressly states the intent to place the property under the Act. Once the property is established as a condominium, the Act applies to all condominiums in Illinois unless another section expressly provides otherwise.
A condominium declaration typically identifies individual units, common elements, limited common elements, and each unit’s percentage interest in the common elements. The association consists of the unit owners and acts through its elected board of managers.
The physical appearance of the property does not control.
A high-rise building may be a condominium, but so may a group of attached townhomes, detached homes, commercial units, or mixed-use property. The recorded submission to the Condominium Property Act is the decisive fact.
What Is CICAA?
CICAA is the Common Interest Community Association Act. It generally applies to Illinois common interest community associations unless the Act expressly provides otherwise.
A common interest community is generally real estate in which ownership of a unit or other property interest requires the owner to contribute to the maintenance, improvement, insurance, taxes, or other expenses associated with common areas administered by an association.
The statutory definition specifically excludes condominiums, cooperatives, and master associations. It also states that a common interest community may include attached or detached townhomes, villas, and single-family homes.
That is why “townhome association” does not answer whether CICAA applies. Some townhome communities are condominiums. Others are common interest communities governed by CICAA.
The declaration and plat must be reviewed before the board assumes which statute controls.
The Fastest Way to Identify the Governing Statute
Start with the recorded declaration. Do not begin with the association’s website, assessment coupon, insurance certificate, tax classification, or terminology commonly used by residents.
For a condominium, the declaration should state that the property is submitted to the Illinois Condominium Property Act. The recorded condominium instruments will generally define units and common elements and assign each unit a percentage interest in the common elements.
For a community governed by CICAA, the declaration typically creates obligations tied to ownership of a lot, home, townhome, villa, or other unit and requires owners to contribute to common expenses. The documents may use terms such as common areas, community instruments, members, association property, or board of directors.
The articles of incorporation may provide supporting information, but incorporation alone does not decide whether CICAA or the Condominium Property Act applies. Both types of associations may be organized as Illinois not-for-profit corporations.
Why Townhome Communities Are Frequently Misclassified
Townhome describes architecture, not legal ownership structure.
Two Illinois developments can look nearly identical while operating under different statutes.
In a condominium townhome community, unit boundaries and each owner’s percentage interest in the common elements are established through the condominium declaration and plat.
In a community governed by CICAA, owners may hold title to their individual lots or structures while the declaration creates mandatory assessment obligations and association authority over common areas.
The distinction affects more than terminology. It can change statutory procedures governing:
- Board and membership meetings
- Owner notices
- Records requests
- Budgets and assessments
- Elections and voting
- Resale disclosures
- Rule adoption
- Collection and enforcement
A manager or board using a condominium form for a CICAA association may provide the wrong notice deadline or approval procedure. The reverse creates the same risk.
Small Associations May Be Exempt From CICAA
CICAA contains an exemption that does not exist in the same form under the Condominium Property Act.
A common interest community association organized under the Illinois General Not For Profit Corporation Act and having either 10 units or fewer or annual budgeted assessments of $100,000 or less is exempt from CICAA unless the association affirmatively elects to be covered.
The word “or” matters.
An association may qualify based on its unit count even if its annual assessments exceed $100,000. It may also qualify based on its annual budgeted assessments even if it contains more than 10 units.
A small association should not assume the exemption applies without reviewing:
- Its corporate organization
- Its current unit count
- Its annual budgeted assessments
- Its governing documents
- Any previous election to be governed by CICAA
An exemption from CICAA does not mean the association has no legal obligations. Its declaration, bylaws, corporate law, contracts, local ordinances, and other state and federal laws may still govern its actions.
Association counsel should determine the complete legal framework.
What About Master Associations?
The statutory definition used by CICAA excludes master associations. Illinois addresses master associations primarily through Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act.
A master association may exist when recorded covenants delegate powers from one or more condominium associations, or when an entity exercises powers for the benefit of owners in one or more condominiums.
Some layered developments include an underlying condominium association, a master association, and separate recreational, parking, or shared-service entities.
In those communities, the question is not always simply “CICAA or the Condominium Property Act?”
Different entities within the same development may have different sources of authority. Each declaration, covenant, delegation, and corporate document must be reviewed separately.
Other Laws Can Apply Alongside Either Statute
Identifying CICAA or the Condominium Property Act is the beginning of the legal analysis, not the end.
Illinois associations may also be affected by the:
- Condominium and Common Interest Community Ombudsperson Act
- General Not For Profit Corporation Act
- Community Association Manager Licensing and Disciplinary Act
- Fair housing laws
- Debt collection laws
- Local ordinances
- Association’s recorded declaration and bylaws
The Condominium and Common Interest Community Ombudsperson Act, for example, applies to condominium associations governed by the Condominium Property Act and common interest community associations governed by CICAA.
The governing documents cannot override mandatory statutory provisions. At the same time, neither the Condominium Property Act nor CICAA answers every operational question.
The declaration and bylaws frequently establish assessment allocation, maintenance responsibility, voting rights, insurance obligations, leasing restrictions, architectural standards, and enforcement authority.
The Consequences of Using the Wrong Statute
Misclassification creates operational and legal risk.
Meeting notices may be sent using the wrong deadline. Owner records requests may be handled under the wrong standard. Budget challenges, elections, rule adoptions, resale disclosures, and collection procedures may be based on statutory provisions that do not govern the association.
The error can remain hidden for years because many procedures under CICAA and the Condominium Property Act are similar.
The problem usually surfaces when an owner challenges board action, a disclosure deadline is missed, a collection case is filed, or association counsel reviews a disputed decision.
A professional management transition should therefore include a statutory classification review. The manager should obtain the recorded declaration, bylaws, plat, articles of incorporation, amendments, rules, and prior legal opinions.
The association’s forms, calendars, notice templates, accounting procedures, and compliance systems can then be aligned with the correct statute.
What Illinois Boards Should Confirm
Every Illinois board should be able to answer four questions:
- Was the property expressly submitted to the Illinois Condominium Property Act?
- Does the declaration create a non-condominium common interest community governed by CICAA?
- Does the association qualify for a statutory CICAA exemption?
- Is the association part of a master or layered governance structure?
Those answers should come from the recorded documents and legal review, not assumptions based on the community’s name or physical design.
Williamson Management, Inc. has served Illinois condominium, townhome, and homeowner associations since 1983.
Our management process is built around accurate financial oversight, consistent administration, governance support, assessment collection, and procedures aligned with each association’s actual governing structure.
Whether the association is governed by the Condominium Property Act, CICAA, or a layered combination of recorded instruments is ultimately a legal determination. Management must understand that determination well enough to apply the correct operating procedures every day.
