I have been battling my association to get my roof repaired. My roof was finally repaired on Monday, July 27. The Village issued a code violation to the management company (finally). Now the Village is saying that the code enforcer did not know Illinois law and the homeowners association's attorney wrote to the village siting Illinois code 765 ILCS 160/1-30(c) which states an association's duties relating to the maintenance, repair and replacement are limited to common areas.  
 
So I am responsible even when it is the associations negligence in fixing my roof and now I have to foot the bill for mold remediation, replacement of my floors, the drywall, the fireplace, the windows, and I am also responsible for the attorney bills I incurred in fighting this? Yet I was not legally allowed to fix my roof myself because that is a common area?  
 
Please any attorneys out there that can help me? Is there anywhere I can go to in the state government. The Village attorney is who sited the above law so they wont fine the association.  
 
I also found out that in Illinois there is no governing body that oversees condo/town home associations. So if I am to understand the law you are at the mercy of the homeowners association and they can do whatever they want you are left holding the bills no matter what for the interior damage?  
 
I am dumbfounded by all the dead ends I have tried to explore. Anyone have any advice?

Here in Mass., the condo laws make all parts of the building with the exception of the inside surfaces of your unit a part of the common area, so in your case, a roof leak problem would be the responsibility of the condo association.  Illinois law may differ.  The important thing is to not take the word of some party who has a bias against your interests, so get an attorney who knows real estate law and have them study the situation.  A consultation is not expensive (could be free, in fact), and you can find a competent attorney by calling the local Bar Association.

You don't mention if you have homeowner's insurance, but assuming you do, have you contacted them regarding this loss?  That's where I would start.  They may take care of it and provide the legal horsepower to go after the Association under subrogation  

(still not a lawyer, but I served on boards of two different condo associations a number of years ago.)

I filed an insurance claim a year ago April, since the association did not repair the roof state farm requested the check back from the claim they issued and dropped my home owners and I have not been able to get home owners insurance since.

Also homeowners insurance does not cover mold under any circumstance in most places in the US.

I was looking for help in what govt agency I could pursue. Also there is no governing body over condo boards in Illinois. So basically the boards can refuse to repair your roof and then because of the by-laws law that says the owner is responsible for the interior they do not have to pay for the interior damage even though it was their negligence.

As I understand insurance, they owe you money for any loss and how you decide to spend it is your business, not theirs, but again maybe Illinois has some funny rules about that.

I wouldn't waste my time on the government agency angle.  You need a lawyer to represent you if you're going to get anywhere.

I would look up info on any lawyer on line and be sure they don't have any complaints lodged against them

...such as criminal law and estate planning.  Perhaps Illinois has a certification for attorneys who practice real estate law/construction defects.  She should look for an attorney who specializes in that area.

JOHNS LAW LLC
205 N. Michigan Ave., Ste 850
Chicago, IL 60601

Phone: 312.257.3970
Fax: 312.756.7375

Rules and Regulations
A homeowners association is the governing body for your planned unit development. All owners automatically become members of the HOA, and your purchase is a contract to pay a fee and abide by all the HOA rules. These rules are called covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs). The CC&Rs can restrict such things as how many cars you can park, whether you can own a pet or the size and number of pets, noise and other disturbances, satellite TV installations, and even whether you can display flags on your dwelling.  
In return for the restrictions, HOAs generally provide such amenities as landscaping, snow removal, pools and recreation areas, and common area repairs.

Homeowners' Rights
Homeowners have the right to object to any CC&R rule that they feel is unfair, but they must gather enough support to approach the HOA board of directors and request the change. Individual homeowners can also run to serve on the board and try for change from within.
An HOA has legal recourse against homeowners who fail to pay fees or otherwise violate the CC&R, but homeowners also have a right to sue their HOA.

Grounds for a Lawsuit
There are generally three circumstances for which a homeowner may sue an HOA. A breach of fiduciary duty is failure of an HOA to manage the association’s affairs prudently and reasonably. Negligent care and maintenance of common areas can be cause for a suit for damages if a resident or guest is injured because the HOA has failed to correct a dangerous situation in a common area, or if such negligence results in damage to an individual's home.  
A homeowner can also sue if the HOA has violated its own rules. Because the CC&R is a contract between the homeowner and the HOA, failure of the association to uphold the regulations can be considered a breach of contract. For example, the CC&R may require that a member of the HOA board must be a homeowner. If it can be proven that a board member has moved out of the development while still serving on the board, a homeowner can sue. Other disputes by homeowners against their associations may involve neglected landscaping, failure to enforce rules about noise, barking dogs and other nuisances, selective enforcement of rules against certain homeowners, and financial mismanagement.

There is an enormous amount of case law on this subject and your browser is your friend.

For additional resources take a look at that Community Association Institute website.

-- Modified on 8/1/2015 6:30:42 AM

the check was made out to the contractor, I never touched it. They can be a bear to fight with at times.

How do you not, unless you own your place out right, have homeowners insurance?

You have a good old fashion business dispute. The only government agency involved would be the courts. I agree you should speak to an attorney.
 

I sued the association. The judge would not let us increase the damage amount so we had to voluntarily withdraw the suit with the option of re-filing in one year.

The Village got involved and forced them to replace the roof. They also sited the association for the mold. However, their attorney said that I was responsible for the mold even though it was their neglect of not fixing my roof for 5 years for all the inside damage.

I have over  80k of damage on the inside and the mold alone is going to cost around 20-25k.

The association cited state law 765 ILCS 160/1-1 et seq. especially narrowing down on 30(c) here is what it states:

The Association is required by State law to adopt by-laws that govern the maintenance and repair of property that is owned by Association members. Under Section 30(c) of this statue, an association's duties relating to the maintenance, repair and replacement are limited to common areas. These by-laws are binding upon you as a member of the association and set forth your rights and obligations, as well as the rights and obligations of the Association.

So in essence they are saying the association can do whatever they want cause all this damage to ones home and you are left holding the bag

The Illinois Condominium Property Act is found at 765 ILCS 605 et.seq. Under that act, a roof would definitely be a common area and therefore the association would be required to repair the roof. Normally, a well-managed association (and, sadly, most of them are not well-managed) would set aside funds for such repairs as part of its reserve. Otherwise, a special assessment would be needed to cover the cost.

However, the act cited to here is the Common Interest Community Association act, which has only been in existence since 2010 and covers anyone not covered by the Condo Act.. While I have not read the entire act, my guess is that 'common area' is defined differently than under the Condo Act, and likely only includes streets, sidewalks and other areas. Roofs would be an individual homeowner's responsibility unless for some reason (a common area tree falling on the home) circumstances would dictate otherwise.

I suggest you a) read through the Association's Bylaws to determine what might be covered as a common area. I also recommend reading this article: http://www.braesidecondomgmt.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/CICAA-Article-Fullett-Rosenlund-Anderson.pdf

Finally, as others have said, speak with an attorney familiar with this Act.

Good luck.

they are liable for interior damage regardless of the general rules that they only repair common elements.

Like I said in a previous post I already sued the association and I am out 40k on that lawsuit. In the state of Illinois when you sue the Association you are in essence suing yourself and you are not entitled to your lawyer bills back. Only the damages incurred.

I am so sick of this situation. I thought there would be somewhere to get help.  

Also another dead end I found out today is that there is no governing board over Association Boards. So once again my point of them being able to do anything to you and not fix your "common area roof" and cause massive damage in your home is within their rights. You cant recoup the damages because as I am finding out one cant recoup any lawyer bills or court costs in Illinois so in essence you are screwed and screwed royally when you have a vindictive board...

aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh  

5 years of hell and I will never be able to sell this home and get out of this hell. I need serious help... are there any attornies on here that can help me I have no more money to spend to even fix my home

Illinois does not recognize legal specializations. Any attorney who claims that they 'specialize' in an area of law will get a nastygram from the ARDC at some point. You'd need to look for a law firm that "Focuses their practice" on Common Interest Associations (since it's close to condo law, a leading firm in that field is probably a good choice).  

Yes I have a good case however, in the state of Illinois one is not entitled to their attorneys fees reimbursed in a "chancery" case. In essence you are suing yourself. I have spent 40k in attorneys fees thus far and have only been able to get the roof repaired and that was because someone reported my roof to the village which was a help and a hindrance. The Village is now not standing behind their code violation of the mold because their attorney is saying that regardless of what the association has done the home owner is liable for the interior. Therefore the Village attorney wrote us a letter stating they are not going to further enforce the mold violation that they originally cited the association with.  

This association is not going to fix anything unless forced to fix it. There is no governing body in the state of Illinois over condo/townhome boards. I am out of funds and now my attorney wants 250 more a month from me so that is now $750 a month.  

I called the 91 year old man's daughter who is an attorney in Wisconsin and she was surprised that her father has been doing this.

Just the other day I filmed this 91 year old who shuffles when he walks driving down the street 4 houses getting out of his car getting his step ladder out of his trunk and then getting on the step ladder on the very top step to change the light bulb in the lamp post. This is a huge liability and yet the other 80 something board members who I went to tell said you are not going to stop him. I said watch me. So I went to the management company who is also useless and then today there was a white truck changing the light bulbs.

If this 91 year old stubborn idiot doesnt stop his crap he is going to fall and cause a lawsuit. Yet he claims he is saving the association money.... oh yea and then he will cost us a huge amount of money for his stupidity. This guy is beyond stubborn he is the former dean of sociology of a university here in chicago. He got fired from the one university and then was able to get hired by the other. He throws this in your face also when he tried this with me I told him the only thing he is the dean of now is his a*****.

I am also reporting the management company to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

I need an attorney that can help me out with the cost of this lawsuit. I need to continue this lawsuit but I simply cant afford the attorney I have any further and I need to refile this lawsuit to get the mold removed.

If there is anyone that can help me please pm me. I do not know what other avenue to go down.

Mold most likely is excluded, as you mentioned. But water damage to the floor, fireplace etc should be covered. Generally the insurance agency should help you pay for repairs, and then they can turn around and subrogate in your name against the condo association for negligence in failing to fix a roof leak for five years. In other words State Farm should pay for damages and then sue the condo assoc to pay them back, and you are not part of that lawsuit except probably as a witness. But maybe state farm just feels it's not worth their trouble........

Very sorry to hear about this frustrating shit-fest that your condo assoc is putting you through, and I understand that our 'advice' probably will fall on deaf ears to state farm etc.  Best of luck!

State Farm sent me a letter asking if the roof was repaired yet. I am assuming that the claim was contingent on the Association fixing the roof to prevent further damage. When the roof was not repaired they requested the check to be returned. So I had to send them a check for the claim check they sent me since the money was not used to repair the damage.

-- Modified on 8/4/2015 1:45:49 PM

now the association is going to fine me for the mold. They dont care who remediates it but I have 90 days. They claim who pays for it is a civil matter.