Illinois HOA Architectural Review

Illinois HOA Architectural Review

# Mechanic Illinois rule Authority / citation
1 Source of architectural authority Authority originates in the recorded declaration and is delegated to the board or an architectural committee; the process is structured by the Condominium Property Act for condominiums and by CICAA for non-condominium HOAs. 765 ILCS 605 (condos); 765 ILCS 160 (HOAs)
2 Statutory decision deadline for applications No general statutory deadline; the declaration controls. The only statutory timing rule is solar-specific: the application "shall be processed by the appropriate approving entity of the association within 30 days of the submission," or "within 120 days" if no written energy policy statement has yet been adopted. 765 ILCS 165/30(a)-(b)
3 Deemed approval if association misses deadline No general deemed-approval rule. For solar only, if the association fails to adopt a policy or process the application on time, the owner may proceed after first giving "the association written notice of the alleged failure and 10 business days to cure." 765 ILCS 165/30(c)
4 Written decision required No general statutory requirement; the declaration controls. Solar requires a written energy policy statement. 765 ILCS 165/20(b)
5 Written reasons required for denial No general statutory requirement; the declaration controls. 765 ILCS 605; 765 ILCS 160 (declaration matter)
6 Owner right to a hearing or appeal No statutory architectural appeal track. Before a fine, the owner is entitled to notice and an opportunity to be heard. 765 ILCS 605/18.4(l); 765 ILCS 160/1-30(g)
7 Governing standard for decisions Board rules must be reasonable and adopted through the applicable act's rulemaking procedure; recorded covenants are enforced if reasonable and consistently applied and may not conflict with the declaration or the act. 765 ILCS 605/18.4(h); Patel v. Prairie Lakes HOA, 2023 IL App (2d) 230158-U
8 Solar energy devices Cannot be prohibited by bylaw, association power, or covenant; the association "may determine the specific configuration of the elements of a solar energy system on a given roof face" but "may not prohibit elements of the system from being installed on any roof face" and the determination "may not reduce the production of the solar energy system by more than 10%." 765 ILCS 165/15; 765 ILCS 165/20
9 EV charging stations An association may not effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict installation in an owner's unit or designated parking space; reasonable restrictions are allowed. 765 ILCS 1085/30
10 Flags (American / military) A board may not prohibit display of the American flag or a military flag on limited common areas or the immediately adjacent exterior; reasonable placement rules are allowed. Federal law is additive. 765 ILCS 605/18.6; 765 ILCS 160/1-70; Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005
11 Religious objects Condominiums: no rule may prohibit reasonable accommodation for religious practices, including attaching religiously mandated objects to the front-door area of a unit. HOAs: no express parallel statute. 765 ILCS 605/18.4(h)
12 Political / campaign signs Condominiums: no rule or regulation may impair First Amendment rights. No separate express sign statute; CICAA has no express parallel provision. 765 ILCS 605/18.4(h)
13 Antennas / satellite dishes Governed by the federal FCC OTARD rule; no Illinois statute. 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000
14 Disability / fair-housing modifications Federal reasonable-modification right (owner-funded, subject to reasonableness); the Illinois Human Rights Act also applies. 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(A)
15 Enforcement mechanism / fines Board may levy reasonable fines after notice and an opportunity to be heard; assessment liens and possession actions under the Eviction (Forcible Entry and Detainer) provisions apply to condominiums. 765 ILCS 605/18.4(l); 765 ILCS 160/1-30(g); 765 ILCS 605/9; 735 ILCS 5/9-102

Section 1: Overview — How architectural review works in Illinois

In Illinois, two separate statutes govern architectural review, and which one applies depends entirely on how the community is owned. Condominiums answer to the Condominium Property Act (765 ILCS 605). Non-condominium HOAs answer to the Common Interest Community Association Act, or CICAA (765 ILCS 160). In both, the real source of architectural authority is the recorded declaration, and whichever act applies structures the process around it.1 The two acts do not overlap: the Condominium Property Act does not reach non-condominium HOAs, and CICAA does not reach condominiums, so a board cannot borrow rules from the other track.2 Most associations also incorporate as nonprofit corporations under the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 (805 ILCS 105), and CICAA leaves the smallest communities out entirely — those organized under that corporate act with 10 units or fewer, or with annual budgeted assessments of $100,000 or less — unless a majority of their directors or members votes to opt in.3 Set the solar timing rule aside, and Illinois imposes no statutory deadline, no deemed-approval rule, and no written-denial requirement on an ordinary architectural application; those timelines live in the declaration, not the statute.4 Where the state does draw hard lines, it draws them around a few technologies and expressions: solar energy systems, which an association cannot prohibit; EV charging, added by the 2024 Electric Vehicle Charging Act; and flags and religious objects, protected by the Condominium Property Act.5 Enforcement runs through board fines, which a board may levy only after notice and an opportunity to be heard, and no state agency reviews an association's architectural decisions; the Ombudsperson office remains open, but it only provides information.6 Disputes move through the Illinois Circuit Courts, with appeals to the Illinois Appellate Court and discretionary review by the Illinois Supreme Court.7

Section 2: The architectural-review framework

2A. Source and scope of architectural authority

Architectural authority in an Illinois association starts with the recorded declaration, which typically hands review and approval to the board or to an architectural (design review) committee.8 Which statute backs that authority depends on the form of ownership: the Condominium Property Act (765 ILCS 605) governs condominiums, and CICAA (765 ILCS 160) governs non-condominium common interest communities such as townhome and single-family HOAs.1 CICAA defines a common interest community as real estate other than a condominium or cooperative, so the Condominium Property Act does not apply to HOAs and CICAA does not apply to condominiums.2 CICAA also carves out the smallest communities: "A common interest community association organized under the General Not for Profit Corporation Act of 1986 and having either (i) 10 units or less or (ii) annual budgeted assessments of $100,000 or less shall be exempt from this Act unless the association affirmatively elects to be covered by this Act by a majority of its directors or members."3 A separate, narrower exemption frees communities of 10 units or fewer, or those with budgeted assessments of $50,000 or less, from certain board-duty, meeting, and record provisions, though it still requires meeting notice.9 Most associations incorporate as nonprofit corporations under 805 ILCS 105, which supplies the corporate overlay for governance.10 The order of precedence runs from the applicable act — including the carve-outs that apply no matter what the governing documents say — then the declaration, then the bylaws, then the board's rules and architectural guidelines, and those rules must be reasonable and adopted through the act's rulemaking procedures.11

2B. The approval process and standards of review

Illinois sets no general statutory application deadline, no deemed-approval rule, and no written-denial requirement for an ordinary architectural application; all of that comes from the declaration.4 The one statutory clock is solar-specific: an association must adopt a written energy policy statement within 90 days of a request or application, and it must process the solar "application ... within 30 days of the submission of the application," or "within 120 days from the date the property owner submitted the application" if it has not yet adopted a written policy statement.12 The governing standard is straightforward — board rules must be reasonable and adopted through the applicable act's rulemaking procedure. Under the Condominium Property Act, that means calling a meeting of the unit owners for the specific purpose of discussing the proposed rules, giving notice that contains the full text, and allowing owners to comment.13 Courts enforce recorded covenants when they are reasonable, and architectural standards should be grounded in the declaration and applied consistently; the Illinois Appellate Court has held that architectural-review discretion cannot be arbitrary, subjective, or at odds with the governing documents.14 Enforcement runs on fines: the Condominium Property Act lets a board levy reasonable fines after notice and an opportunity to be heard, and CICAA gives HOAs a parallel fine power.15 The practical takeaway is simple. The declaration and the properly adopted rules are the operative rulebook for the architectural timeline, so a board should adopt its architectural standards through proper rulemaking and provide notice and a hearing before it fines anyone.13

2C. Statutory and federal limits on architectural authority

Solar sits at the center of these limits. The Homeowners' Energy Policy Statement Act bars any bylaw, association power, deed restriction, or covenant that prohibits — or effectively prohibits — the installation of a solar energy system, and it requires the association to adopt a written energy policy statement.16 The Act does not bar all regulation, though: an association "may determine the specific configuration of the elements of a solar energy system on a given roof face, provided that it may not prohibit elements of the system from being installed on any roof face and that any such determination may not reduce the production of the solar energy system by more than 10%."17 EV charging is the second limit. The Electric Vehicle Charging Act, effective January 1, 2024, voids any governing-document provision that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts an owner's installation of an EV charging system in a unit or a designated parking space, while still allowing reasonable restrictions.18 The Condominium Property Act protects flags and religious objects: a board may not prohibit display of the American flag or a military flag (765 ILCS 605/18.6), and no rule may block a reasonable accommodation for religious practices — including attaching religiously mandated objects to the front-door area — or otherwise impair First Amendment rights (765 ILCS 605/18.4(h)).19 CICAA carries a parallel flag provision for HOAs (765 ILCS 160/1-70) but says nothing express about front-door religious objects or the content of rules under the First Amendment.20 The federal FCC OTARD rule reaches antennas and satellite dishes.21 The federal overlays apply on top of all of this and are additive: the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, the FCC OTARD rule at 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000, and the Fair Housing Act reasonable-modification right at 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(A).22

Section 3: Compliance obligations in the architectural-review process

A. Adopting and maintaining architectural standards

Boards must adopt rules through the applicable act's rulemaking procedure. Under the Condominium Property Act, that means a unit-owner meeting called for the specific purpose of discussing the proposed rules, with notice that contains the full text (STATUTORY; Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.4(h)).13 For HOAs, CICAA requires open board meetings and a reserved member-comment period, but the substantive architectural standards themselves still come from the declaration (BOTH; CICAA, 765 ILCS 160/1-30, and DECLARATION).23

B. Reviewing and deciding applications

No statutory clock governs an ordinary application; the declaration sets the timeline, the form of decision, and any appeal (DECLARATION).4 The single statutory exception is the solar application, which an association must process within 30 days — or 120 days if it has not adopted a policy (STATUTORY; Homeowners' Energy Policy Statement Act, 765 ILCS 165/30).12

C. Honoring statutory and federal owner protections

An association cannot prohibit solar systems, and it must adopt a written energy policy statement; it may configure the elements on a roof face only when doing so does not cut production by more than 10% (STATUTORY, BOTH acts via 765 ILCS 165/15 and 165/20).16 It cannot effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict EV charging (STATUTORY, BOTH via 765 ILCS 1085/30); flags are protected for condominiums and HOAs alike (765 ILCS 605/18.6; 765 ILCS 160/1-70), and religious objects at the front door are protected for condominiums (765 ILCS 605/18.4(h)).24 Federal law adds the flag act, OTARD, and the Fair Housing Act reasonable-modification right (FEDERAL, additive).22

D. Enforcement and dispute resolution

A board may levy reasonable fines only after notice and an opportunity to be heard (STATUTORY; 765 ILCS 605/18.4(l) for condominiums; 765 ILCS 160/1-30(g) for HOAs).15 For condominiums, unpaid assessments and fines create an automatic lien, and the board may seek possession through the Eviction (Forcible Entry and Detainer) provisions (STATUTORY; 765 ILCS 605/9 and 765 ILCS 605/9.2, with 735 ILCS 5/9-102).25 The Ombudsperson provides information only and does not adjudicate architectural decisions (STATUTORY; 765 ILCS 615).26

Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity

A. Recent bills

Two enacted laws reshaped the edges of association architectural authority in the current window — one on EV charging, and one on the Ombudsperson office and the sunset dates that keep the core statutes alive.

Status Signed
⌾ Last verified July 15, 2026
Docket

P.A. 103-0053 · Electric Vehicle Charging Act

Effective
Jan 1, 2024
Sunset
N/A
Relating to electric vehicle charging systems in community associations
Synopsis

The Electric Vehicle Charging Act opened a new carve-out that trims association architectural authority: it voids any governing-document provision that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts an owner's installation of an EV charging system in a unit or a designated parking space. A companion act (P.A. 103-572) extended the owner-installation provisions to existing associations on the same day, and the legislature amended the Act again in 2025 (P.A. 104-341, effective August 15, 2025).27

Operational impact
What this means, by role
Property managers Handle EV-charging requests as modification requests with reasonable conditions, not blanket denials, and update your intake procedures to match.
HOA board members Adopt an EV-charging policy that permits installation while setting reasonable safety, insurance, and cost-allocation terms.
Community association attorneys Review declarations for prohibitions now void under the Act, and advise on the one-sided fee and civil-penalty exposure.
Homeowners An owner may install a charging system in a unit or designated space at the owner's cost, subject to reasonable rules.
Status Signed
⌾ Last verified July 15, 2026
Docket

SB 1383 · P.A. 104-0377

Effective
Aug 15, 2025
Sunset
N/A
Relating to the Condominium and Common Interest Community Ombudsperson Act sunset extension
Synopsis

This act pushed back the repeal (sunset) date of the Condominium and Common Interest Community Ombudsperson Act, and made matching sunset changes to the Condominium Property Act and CICAA, moving all three from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2029. That keeps the two core association statutes and the informational Ombudsperson office running.28

Operational impact
What this means, by role
Property managers The governing statutes and the Ombudsperson resource stay in force through 2028, so your compliance workflows continue unchanged.
HOA board members Boards keep the Ombudsperson's educational materials but should not expect it to resolve architectural disputes.
Community association attorneys The statutory framework is stable through January 1, 2029, which lowers near-term sunset risk in your advice to clients.
Homeowners Owners keep an informational, not adjudicatory, state resource for questions about their rights and duties.

B. Recent rulings

One recent appellate decision speaks directly to how far a board's architectural discretion reaches, and a second, non-precedential order points the same direction on the limits of committee rulemaking.

Status Final (Rule 23 order)
⌾ Last verified July 15, 2026
Case

Patel v. Prairie Lakes Homeowners Ass'n of Illinois, Inc.

Illinois Appellate Court (Second District) · 2023 IL App (2d) 230158-U
Decided
Oct 16, 2023
Court
Ill. App. (2d)
Synopsis

The court affirmed judgment for the homeowners, holding that an association's reserved power to review and approve building plans is enforceable only when the association exercises it reasonably — and that design demands found nowhere in the governing documents, or contradicted by the association's tolerance of similar features elsewhere, are arbitrary, subjective, and unenforceable. The court rejected the association's escalating demands, which ran "from requiring copper roofing to adding porch masonry and interior design elements," and it found a mandate for first-floor windows arbitrary because other homes in the subdivision lacked side and rear elevation windows — proof that no consistent standard existed.29

Operational impact
What this means, by role
Property managers Document the governing-document basis and past practice for every architectural condition before you impose it.
HOA board members Enforce only the standards written into the declaration, and apply them consistently to avoid an arbitrary-enforcement challenge.
Community association attorneys Lean on the reasonableness-and-consistency standard when you advise on a defensible architectural denial.
Homeowners You can challenge design conditions that are not grounded in the governing documents or that the association applies unevenly.

A second recent decision, Kubik v. Darien Club Owners Ass'n, 2025 IL App (3d) 240546-U, is reported to hold that an architectural committee may set standards for permitted improvements but may not adopt a rule that conflicts with the recorded declaration. It is a non-precedential Rule 23 order, so it carries persuasive weight at most.30

C. Active debates

A pending proposal, House Bill 2563, would amend both the Condominium Property Act and CICAA to require a reserve study on a fixed schedule, with an exemption for the smallest associations. It targets reserve planning rather than architectural authority directly, and no bill in the current window takes specific aim at architectural-review procedure or the carve-outs.31

Section 5: National positioning and related coverage

Illinois is a multi-statute, layered state. It regulates condominiums and non-condominium HOAs under two separate acts — the Condominium Property Act and CICAA — overlays a nonprofit corporate statute, and then adds a distinctive solar energy policy statement regime that makes associations publish written solar rules rather than simply tolerate installations. That sets Illinois apart from the single-comprehensive-statute states that fold every community association into one act, and from the light-touch, declaration-first states that leave architectural process almost entirely to private governing documents. Illinois stands out on two fronts: it requires an energy policy statement, and its 2024 EV-charging mandate sets a hard limit on architectural discretion with its own procedural requirements. For a multi-state operator, the practical implication is that the declaration governs the architectural process, but condominium and HOA associations sit under different acts, and the solar and EV regimes are hard limits that carry their own procedures. Compare a no-statutory-carve-out state like Georgia, which leaves solar and similar owner protections to the governing documents, and the same architectural denial can be perfectly lawful in one state and void in the other.

HOA Weekly's Illinois Architectural Review coverage updates quarterly as the General Assembly and the Illinois appellate courts act. Federal frameworks — the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act, the FCC OTARD rule, and the Fair Housing Act — apply to Illinois associations on top of the state acts, no matter what the state rules say.

  1. Common Interest Community Association Act, 765 ILCS 160/, and Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/, Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  2. 765 ILCS 160/1-5 (definition of common interest community; excludes condominium and cooperative), Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  3. 765 ILCS 160/1-75(a) (exemptions for small common interest communities; 10 units or $100,000 budget unless coverage elected), Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  4. 765 ILCS 605/18.4 (powers and duties of board of managers; no general statutory architectural deadline), Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  5. Homeowners' Energy Policy Statement Act, 765 ILCS 165/, Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  6. Condominium and Common Interest Community Ombudsperson Act, 765 ILCS 615/, Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  7. Illinois Courts, Appellate Court (five judicial districts) (illinoiscourts.gov) ↩
  8. 765 ILCS 605/18.4, Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  9. 765 ILCS 160/1-75(b) (narrower exemption; 10 units or $50,000 budget from certain provisions), Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  10. General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986, 805 ILCS 105/, Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  11. 765 ILCS 160/1-30 (board duties; rules), Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  12. 765 ILCS 165/20 and 165/30 (energy policy statement within 90 days; application processed within 30 days, 120 days if no policy), Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  13. 765 ILCS 605/18.4(h) (rulemaking through unit-owner meeting; First Amendment and religious accommodation limits), Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  14. Patel v. Prairie Lakes Homeowners Ass'n of Illinois, Inc., 2023 IL App (2d) 230158-U (illinoiscourts.gov) ↩
  15. 765 ILCS 160/1-30(g) and 765 ILCS 605/18.4(l) (fines after notice and an opportunity to be heard), Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  16. 765 ILCS 165/15 and 165/20 (solar prohibition barred; written energy policy statement), Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  17. 765 ILCS 165/20(a) (roof-face configuration; no more than 10% production reduction), Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  18. Electric Vehicle Charging Act, 765 ILCS 1085/30, Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  19. 765 ILCS 605/18.6 (flags) and 765 ILCS 605/18.4(h) (religious accommodation; First Amendment), Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  20. 765 ILCS 160/1-70 (CICAA flag provision), Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  21. FCC Over-the-Air Reception Devices rule, 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000 (ecfr.gov) ↩
  22. Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, Pub. L. 109-243 (govinfo.gov); Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(A); FCC OTARD, 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000 ↩
  23. 765 ILCS 160/1-30 (open board meetings; member comment), Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  24. 765 ILCS 1085/30 (EV charging); 765 ILCS 605/18.6 and 765 ILCS 160/1-70 (flags), Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  25. 765 ILCS 605/9 (assessment lien) and 765 ILCS 605/9.2 (other remedies), Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  26. 765 ILCS 615 (Ombudsperson provides information; no binding legal effect), Illinois Compiled Statutes (ilga.gov) ↩
  27. Public Act 103-0053 (Electric Vehicle Charging Act), Illinois General Assembly (ilga.gov) ↩
  28. Public Act 104-0377 (SB 1383; sunset extension to January 1, 2029), Illinois General Assembly (ilga.gov) ↩
  29. Patel v. Prairie Lakes Homeowners Ass'n of Illinois, Inc., 2023 IL App (2d) 230158-U (illinoiscourts.gov) ↩
  30. Kubik v. Darien Club Owners Ass'n, 2025 IL App (3d) 240546-U (unpublished Rule 23 order), Illinois Courts opinions (illinoiscourts.gov) ↩
  31. House Bill 2563 (reserve study proposal amending 765 ILCS 605 and 765 ILCS 160), Illinois General Assembly bill status (ilga.gov) ↩
© 2026 Thastel Group LLC. All rights reserved. HOA Weekly™ is a trademark of Thastel Group LLC.