Illinois HOA Board Elections

Section 1 — Overview: How board elections are governed in Illinois

Illinois runs its community-association board elections through two prescriptive state statutes, and which one controls depends on what kind of community you have: a condominium, a non-condominium common interest community, or a smaller association that falls below the statutory thresholds. Condominiums answer to the Illinois Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/1 et seq., which places its election rules in Section 18.¹ Non-condominium planned communities, townhome associations, and master associations answer to the Common Interest Community Association Act (CICAA), 765 ILCS 160/1 et seq.² Two features set Illinois apart on this subject. Board elections may use cumulative voting where the association is incorporated and its governing documents expressly authorize it, and Illinois licenses community-association managers statewide.^3,4 Keep the two statutes separate; you should not read one into the other. CICAA also exempts smaller associations that organize as not-for-profit corporations and have either 10 units or fewer or annual budgeted assessments of $100,000 or less — unless those associations affirmatively elect coverage.⁵ Illinois has not adopted the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (UCIOA); both statutes are bespoke Illinois law. That places Illinois among the statute-heavy, non-UCIOA states, alongside California (Davis-Stirling) and Florida (Chapters 718 and 720). The sections that follow set out the election framework, the detailed mechanics, and recent legislative and judicial activity.

Section 2 — The election framework

2A. The Condominium Property Act and condominium board elections

The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/1 et seq., supplies the election framework for Illinois condominiums, and the core requirements sit in Section 18, "Contents of bylaws." Section 18(a)(1) requires that the unit owners elect the board of managers from among themselves, that the bylaws fix the number of board members, that the terms of at least one-third of the board expire each year, and that owners elect all members at large; where several people own one unit, only one of them may serve on the board at a time.¹ No board member or officer may hold a term longer than two years, though members may succeed themselves (765 ILCS 605/18(a)(11)).¹ The Act spells out proxies and ballots in detail. A proxy the board distributes must let the owner name any proxy holder and either mark a preference for a known candidate or write one in (765 ILCS 605/18(a)(18)); and where a rule adopted at least 120 days before an election — or the governing documents — so provides, the association may move from proxy voting to association-issued ballots, cast in person or by mail, or to electronic voting (765 ILCS 605/18(b)(9)).¹ Owner-initiated petitions run through the special-meeting and vacancy provisions: 20% of unit owners may call a special membership meeting (765 ILCS 605/18(b)(5)), and the remaining board may fill a vacancy by a two-thirds vote until owners holding 20% of the votes petition for a meeting (765 ILCS 605/18(a)(13)).¹ Section 18.2 governs the period of developer control and the first owner election: the unit owners must elect the first board no later than 60 days after the developer conveys 75% of the units, or three years after the declaration is recorded, whichever comes first (765 ILCS 605/18.2(b)).⁶ Unlike the UCIOA frameworks, the Act writes these rules into mandatory bylaw content rather than a uniform declarant-control schedule.

2B. The Common Interest Community Association Act and its thresholds

CICAA, 765 ILCS 160/1 et seq., frames the non-condominium common interest community associations. It defines such a community as real estate — other than a condominium or cooperative — in which owners must pay to maintain common areas under a declaration that an association administers; the definition expressly leaves out a master association (765 ILCS 160/1-5).² On elections, Section 1-25 requires the association to elect the board in accordance with the community instruments at least once every 24 months, bars any board member or officer from a term longer than four years (members may succeed themselves), and lets the remaining board fill vacancies by a two-thirds vote until members holding 20% of the votes request a meeting (765 ILCS 160/1-25).² Meetings run through Section 1-40: the association must give membership-meeting notice 10 to 30 days in advance through a prescribed delivery method, 20% of the membership makes a quorum unless the instruments set a lesser figure, and the association may elect the board at the annual meeting (765 ILCS 160/1-40).⁷ The threshold question is whether CICAA applies at all. Under Section 1-75, a common interest community association organized under the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 with either 10 units or fewer or annual budgeted assessments of $100,000 or less is exempt from CICAA — unless it affirmatively elects coverage by a majority of its directors or members (765 ILCS 160/1-75).⁵ Where CICAA parallels the Condominium Property Act — open meetings, owner petitions, the two-thirds board vote to fill vacancies — the wording is similar. Where it differs, the maximum term runs four years rather than two, elections must occur only every 24 months rather than annually, and CICAA carries no general declaration-amendment mechanism to match Section 27 of the Condominium Property Act. So determining the framework is a three-step inquiry: a property submitted by declaration under the Condominium Property Act is a condominium; real estate that is not a condominium or cooperative but carries mandatory common-area assessments is a CICAA common interest community; and an association that meets the Section 1-75 size or budget threshold falls outside CICAA and answers to its bylaws and corporate law.

2C. Manager licensing, corporate law, and the role of the bylaws

Illinois licenses community-association managers and management firms under the Community Association Manager Licensing and Disciplinary Act, 225 ILCS 427/1 et seq., which the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) administers.⁴ Anyone who provides management services for compensation must hold a license, and management firms must be licensed too; narrow exemptions cover uncompensated directors and officers and persons serving an association of 10 units or fewer (225 ILCS 427/15, 427/20).⁴ Most associations incorporate under the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986, 805 ILCS 105/101 et seq., which fills the gaps where the property statute and the bylaws stay silent: it requires a board of at least three directors (805 ILCS 105/108.10), permits cumulative voting in director elections only where the articles or bylaws expressly provide for it (805 ILCS 105/107.40), and calls for a two-thirds member vote to remove a director (805 ILCS 105/108.35).^3,8,9 Within each framework, precedence runs in a set order: the statute first, then the declaration and bylaws within statutory limits, then board rules. The operational takeaway is that classification controls the election rule. A condominium answers to the Condominium Property Act, a non-condominium common interest community to CICAA unless it is exempt, and an exempt smaller association to its bylaws and the General Not For Profit Corporation Act.

Section 3 — Election mechanics

A. Eligibility and nominations

For condominiums, owners must elect directors at large from among the unit owners; only one owner of a multi-owner unit may serve at a time, and a declaration may require that owner-occupants make up a majority of the board (765 ILCS 605/18(a)(1)).¹ The board may circulate candidate biographies only if it offers every candidate the same opportunity and takes no side (765 ILCS 605/18(a)(17)). CICAA requires election from the membership but leaves the nomination detail to the community instruments (765 ILCS 160/1-25).²

B. Notice, annual meeting, and quorum

Both Acts require 10-to-30-day notice of the membership meeting and set a 20% quorum; for condominium buildings of 20 or more units, the quorum holds at 20% unless a majority interest raises it (765 ILCS 605/18(b)(1), 18(b)(6); 765 ILCS 160/1-40).^1,7 The condominium annual meeting must include a board election, while CICAA requires an election only at least once every 24 months (765 ILCS 605/18(b)(3); 765 ILCS 160/1-25(a)).²

C. Voting methods, proxies, and ballots

Condominium owners may vote in person or by proxy, but an association may adopt a rule at least 120 days before an election — or rely on its governing documents — to require association-issued ballots or electronic voting in place of proxies (765 ILCS 605/18(b)(9)).¹ A proxy lapses after 11 months unless it says otherwise, and candidates have the right to watch the ballots get counted (765 ILCS 605/18(b)(9)(A), 18(b)(10)).¹ Neither property statute provides for cumulative voting; an incorporated association may use it only where the articles or bylaws expressly authorize it (805 ILCS 105/107.40(b)).³

D. Terms, vacancies, removal, and recall

Condominium terms cap at two years and CICAA terms at four, and incumbents may run again (765 ILCS 605/18(a)(11); 765 ILCS 160/1-25(d)).^1,2 The remaining directors fill vacancies by a two-thirds vote, subject to a 20% owner or member petition for an election to fill the balance of the term (765 ILCS 605/18(a)(13); 765 ILCS 160/1-25(e)).^1,2 Removal procedures must appear in the condominium bylaws, and for associations incorporated as not-for-profit corporations, a two-thirds member vote removes a director (765 ILCS 605/18(a)(4); 805 ILCS 105/108.35).⁹

Section 4 — Recent legislative and judicial activity

A. Recent bills

B. Recent appellate rulings

C. Active legislative debates

Recent sessions show continued legislative interest in board-election integrity and governance. SB 3715 of the 103rd General Assembly would have restricted proxy and secret-ballot voting at board meetings and required the removal of members charged with election-related crimes, but it did not advance, and lawmakers keep floating proposals for mandatory board training tied to election.¹⁴ No proposal now before the General Assembly amends the cumulative-voting, proxy, or removal mechanics of the Condominium Property Act or CICAA.

Section 5 — National positioning and related coverage

Illinois is a prescriptive, non-UCIOA state with a split statutory structure: the Condominium Property Act governs condominiums and CICAA governs non-condominium common interest communities. That design resembles the dual-track approach of California (Davis-Stirling) and Florida (Chapters 718 and 720) without importing either state's defaults. Three features set Illinois apart on board elections: cumulative voting reaches board elections only where an incorporated association's governing documents expressly authorize it; CICAA exempts smaller associations that fall below the 10-unit or $100,000-budget thresholds; and community-association managers and firms must hold a statewide license through IDFPR. For a multi-state operator, the practical implication is that the controlling election rule turns first on whether a community is a condominium, a CICAA common interest community, or an exempt smaller association — and that anyone managing Illinois communities must hold a state license.

Federal frameworks reach Illinois associations too, no matter which state framework applies. The Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, and the FCC's OTARD rule all bear on how these associations operate.

1. 765 Ill. Comp. Stat. 605/18 (Condominium Property Act — Contents of bylaws) ↩
2. 765 Ill. Comp. Stat. 160/1-25 (Common Interest Community Association Act — Board elections; voting) ↩
3. 805 Ill. Comp. Stat. 105/107.40 (General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 — Voting; cumulative voting) ↩
4. 225 Ill. Comp. Stat. 427 (Community Association Manager Licensing and Disciplinary Act) ↩
5. 765 Ill. Comp. Stat. 160/1-75 (Common Interest Community Association Act — Exemption for small communities) ↩
6. 765 Ill. Comp. Stat. 605/18.2 (Condominium Property Act — Administration prior to election of initial board of managers) ↩
7. 765 Ill. Comp. Stat. 160/1-40 (Common Interest Community Association Act — Meetings) ↩
8. 805 Ill. Comp. Stat. 105/108.10 (General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 — Number and election of directors) ↩
9. 805 Ill. Comp. Stat. 105/108.35 (General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 — Removal of directors) ↩
10. 765 Ill. Comp. Stat. 605/18.5 (Condominium Property Act — Master associations) ↩
11. H.B. 3586, 104th Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ill. 2025) (board-member training) ↩
12. Act of Aug. 15, 2025, Pub. Act No. 104-0377, 2025 Ill. Laws (S.B. 1383) (Ombudsperson program; repeal extended to Jan. 1, 2029) ↩
13. Cohen v. 175 E. Delaware Place Homeowners Ass'n, 2024 IL App (1st) 230516-U ↩
14. S.B. 3715, 103d Gen. Assemb., Reg. Sess. (Ill. 2024) ↩