Illinois HOA Collections & Liens

Section 1 — Overview

Illinois splits its HOA collections law into two tracks. Condominiums operate under the Condominium Property Act (765 ILCS 605, lien at Section 9(g)); all other common interest communities fall under the Common Interest Community Association Act — CICAA — at 765 ILCS 160.¹ The mechanics of collection under those two acts diverge sharply.

The Condominium Property Act gives every condominium association an automatic statutory lien and two tools you won't find in most states: a possession remedy through the eviction statute — meaning the association can take possession of a unit and lease it out to recover the debt — and a limited recovery of pre-foreclosure assessments from whoever buys the unit at a judicial foreclosure sale, which Illinois courts treat as the act that confirms extinguishment of the association's earlier lien.² CICAA, by contrast, creates no statutory lien at all. A planned-community association's lien and foreclosure power must come from its recorded declaration.³

For condominiums, the lien arises automatically when an assessment or fine comes due. Recording is not required for the lien to exist, though the association must record before it can foreclose, and recording is wise to put purchasers on notice.² Illinois grants no super-priority over a first mortgage; the condominium lien sits behind previously recorded encumbrances and taxes.² Association liens are foreclosed judicially under the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law (IMFL, 735 ILCS 5/15-1101 et seq.).⁴ No statute sets a minimum dollar amount or minimum delinquency period before an association may foreclose or sue for possession. Illinois therefore sits apart from super-priority states such as Nevada and Connecticut, from threshold-restricted states such as California and Arizona, and from pure CC&R-primary states: it is a judicial-only state with a strong condominium-possession remedy and no super-priority.⁵ The sections that follow detail the lien, its priority, the collection and foreclosure process, and recent legislative and judicial activity.

Illinois HOA Collections & Liens at a glance

Source: 765 ILCS 605/9; 765 ILCS 160; 735 ILCS 5/9-101 et seq.; 735 ILCS 5/15-1101 et seq. Last verified: June 9, 2026.

Section 2 — The lien and its priority

2A. Lien creation, authority, and what it secures

For condominiums, the lien is statutory and automatic. Under Section 9(g)(1) of the Condominium Property Act, when a unit owner fails to pay common expenses or a fine when due, that amount — together with interest, late charges, reasonable attorney fees incurred enforcing the condominium instruments, rules, or any applicable statute or ordinance, and costs of collection — becomes a lien on the owner's interest in the unit.² The lien attaches without recording. Recording is not a prerequisite to the lien's existence, but the association must record before it can foreclose, and recording is prudent to put bona fide purchasers on notice. The lien reaches the unit and its corresponding common-element interest, not the owner's other property. Every enumerated category — assessments, fines, interest, late charges, attorney fees, and collection costs — is statutorily includable in the condominium lien.

CICAA is a different matter and must be treated separately. The Common Interest Community Association Act does not create a statutory lien for unpaid assessments.³ A planned-community or townhome association governed by CICAA has lien and foreclosure authority only if its recorded declaration or bylaws grant it; without that grant, the association is limited to a money judgment or the possession remedy. Where the declaration does grant a lien, what it secures and how it is perfected come from the declaration's terms, not from Section 9(g). Because CICAA confers no statutory priority, a planned-community association must record any declaration-based lien promptly to preserve its place in Illinois's first-in-time, first-in-right ordering.

2B. Lien priority and any super-priority component

Illinois does not recognize a super-priority lien for associations. Under Section 9(g)(1), the condominium lien takes priority over all other liens and encumbrances except: (a) taxes and special assessments levied by government bodies, and (b) encumbrances recorded before the assessment became due.² Because a first mortgage is almost always recorded before any assessment becomes delinquent, the condominium lien sits junior to the first mortgage in practice. Illinois has no equivalent of the Nevada or UCIOA priority slice that leapfrogs the first mortgage. Nevada, by contrast, makes its association lien prior to a first deed of trust to the extent of the assessments that would have become due during the nine months immediately preceding the recording of the notice of default — a "true lien priority, not merely payment priority" under the Nevada Supreme Court's decision in SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC v. U.S. Bank, 334 P.3d 408 (Nev. 2014).⁹

The six-month mechanic in Section 9(g) is not a priority portion ahead of the mortgage; it is an extinguishment-and-revival rule triggered by the foreclosure purchaser's conduct. When a senior mortgagee forecloses and names the association as a party, the foreclosure sale extinguishes the association's pre-existing assessment lien. Section 9(g)(3) then requires the purchaser at the judicial foreclosure sale — including a mortgagee that takes title — to pay the unit's common expenses assessed from and after the first day of the month after the sale, and that payment confirms the extinguishment of the prior lien.² In 1010 Lake Shore Ass'n v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co., 2015 IL 118372 (Illinois Supreme Court, decided December 3, 2015), the court held that if the purchaser does not pay those post-sale assessments, the pre-existing lien is not extinguished and the purchaser becomes liable for the prior owner's full unpaid balance; in that case, after Deutsche Bank paid no assessments for nearly two years, the judgment against the bank came to $67,935.16 — including more than $43,000 in pre-foreclosure-sale common expenses, with assessments accruing at $1,041.87 per month.¹⁰ Separately, Section 9(g)(4) requires a purchaser other than a mortgagee to pay up to six months of the prior owner's unpaid common expenses — the six months immediately preceding institution of an action to enforce collection. This is a one-time, capped recovery tied to the purchaser's acquisition, not a rolling priority.² CICAA contains no parallel provision; the post-foreclosure recovery rules apply only to condominiums under the Condominium Property Act.

2C. CC&R interaction, corporate-law overlay, and federal overlay

Recorded condominium instruments supplement the statutory lien but cannot reduce the protections the Condominium Property Act mandates; the declaration may add detail on late charges and interest, but a declaration provision that conflicts with the Act is void to that extent.² For CICAA communities the relationship runs the other way: several CICAA provisions specify that where the declaration conflicts with the Act, the declaration controls, and because CICAA grants no lien, the declaration is the source of any lien right.³ The underlying assessment obligation rests on the recorded declaration, a written instrument; Illinois applies a ten-year statute of limitations to written contracts under 735 ILCS 5/13-206, and Illinois courts treat each missed installment as a separate breach with its own limitations period.¹¹

Three federal frameworks overlay the state machinery regardless of which act applies. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act reaches associations' attorneys and outside collection agents — and can reach associations themselves when they act as debt collectors. The Bankruptcy Code's automatic stay halts collection, recording, eviction, and foreclosure on the owner's bankruptcy filing, though post-petition assessments receive different treatment from pre-petition arrears. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act constrains default judgments and foreclosure against servicemembers.

Section 3 — The collection and foreclosure process

3A. Pre-lien collection sequence

For condominiums, no statute requires advance notice before recording the lien; because the Section 9(g) lien is automatic, the association may record a notice of lien without a prior demand.² A statutory demand becomes mandatory at the next stage: before filing an eviction/possession action under the Eviction Article, the association must serve a 30-day demand under 735 ILCS 5/9-104.1. That demand must state the amount claimed and the periods when the amounts were originally due, and the amount claimed may include regular or special assessments, late charges or interest for delinquent assessments, and attorney fees incurred before the demand.⁷ No statutory right lets a condominium owner compel a payment plan, but the owner may cure by paying the full amount demanded within the notice period. For CICAA communities, any pre-lien notice requirement comes from the declaration, not from statute, because CICAA provides no lien; the 30-day eviction demand procedure is available through 735 ILCS 5/9-102(a)(8) where the association qualifies.¹²

3B. Recording and pre-foreclosure sequence

A condominium association records a notice of lien with the county recorder for the county where the unit sits; recording is the step that enables foreclosure (statutory, condominiums). For planned communities, recording follows the declaration's terms (contractual, CICAA). Foreclosure of an association lien proceeds under the IMFL, which carries its own pre-sale notice machinery — the homeowner notice attached to the summons, publication of the sale, and notice to parties of record.⁴ The Condominium Property Act imposes no separate statutory board-vote prerequisite, payment-plan offer, or mediation requirement before foreclosure; whether a board vote is needed and whether the decision may be delegated to management or counsel falls outside the statute and is governed by the instruments and ordinary corporate-governance rules.

The possession remedy stands as the operational centerpiece for condominiums. Section 9.2 of the Condominium Property Act, working with the Eviction Article (735 ILCS 5/9-101 et seq.), lets a condominium association bring an action for possession of a unit for unpaid assessments or other defaults.⁶ After a 30-day demand under Section 9-104.1 and a possession judgment under Section 9-111, the board may take possession and, under 735 ILCS 5/9-111.1, lease the unit to a bona fide tenant for a term not exceeding 13 months — extendable by the court for additional terms of up to 13 months each — applying rent first to the assessments, interest, attorney fees, and costs sued upon.¹³ Possession does not transfer title; the owner retains ownership and may cure to vacate the order. CICAA itself does not describe an eviction remedy, but a planned-community association that qualifies under 735 ILCS 5/9-102(a)(8) may use the same possession procedure; the leasing mechanism of Section 9-111.1, however, is written specifically for condominium boards of managers.¹²

3C. Foreclosure mechanics and thresholds

Foreclosure of an association lien in Illinois is judicial, conducted under the IMFL (735 ILCS 5/15-1101 et seq.) in the Circuit Court, in the same manner as a mortgage foreclosure.⁴ No statute imposes a minimum dollar threshold or minimum delinquency duration as a precondition to foreclosing or bringing a possession action; the figures are zero by statute, leaving timing to the instruments and board discretion. For condominiums, the lien available for foreclosure includes unpaid fines as well as assessments, interest, late charges, attorney fees, and collection costs — so fines are foreclosable to the extent they are part of the Section 9(g)(1) lien.² For planned communities, whether fines or fees can support a lien foreclosure depends entirely on the declaration. The judicial process runs through complaint, service, judgment of foreclosure, the redemption and reinstatement periods, the judicial sale, and a court order confirming the sale. An uncontested Illinois foreclosure typically runs 10 to 12 months from the first missed payment, and a contested case can take two years or longer, in part because the redemption period must expire before a sale can be held.¹⁴

3D. Post-sale: redemption, deficiency, surplus, reinstatement

The IMFL governs post-sale rights for any judicial foreclosure, including an association's. A mortgagor — or owner of redemption — may reinstate by curing all defaults within 90 days after being served, after which the statutory right is generally unavailable for five years (735 ILCS 5/15-1602).¹⁵ For residential real estate, the redemption period ends on the later of 7 months after service or 3 months after entry of the foreclosure judgment (735 ILCS 5/15-1603(b)(1)); the sale may not be held until the redemption period expires.⁸ A special right of redemption runs for 30 days after the court confirms the sale when the foreclosing party buys the property for less than the amount owed (735 ILCS 5/15-1604).⁸ A deficiency judgment may be entered against the former owner at confirmation unless waived or discharged in bankruptcy. Surplus sale proceeds, after satisfaction of the foreclosing lien and costs, go to junior lienholders in order of priority and then to the former owner. These IMFL rules apply identically whether the foreclosing lien is a condominium lien or a declaration-based planned-community lien.

Section 4 — Recent legislative and judicial activity

A. Recent legislation

In Illinois, the 2025 legislative session focused on preserving existing dispute-resolution infrastructure. The General Assembly extended the statutory framework's lifespan rather than rewriting the mechanics of collection.

B. Recent judicial activity

Within the past 36 months, no published Illinois Appellate Court or Supreme Court opinion has squarely reinterpreted the Section 9(g) lien, its priority, or the six-month foreclosure-purchaser recovery. The controlling authorities remain 1010 Lake Shore Ass'n v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co., 2015 IL 118372, and Sylva, LLC v. Baldwin Court Condominium Ass'n, 2018 IL App (1st) 170520 — which holds that an association need not first sue the prior owner to recover up to six months of unpaid assessments from a foreclosure purchaser under Section 9(g)(4).¹⁷

On the possession remedy, recent appellate activity has reaffirmed the established rule that defenses unrelated to possession cannot defeat a condominium eviction for unpaid assessments. The controlling case is Spanish Court Two Condominium Ass'n v. Carlson, 2014 IL 115342 (Illinois Supreme Court), which holds that an owner's counterclaims must be germane to the issue of possession.¹⁸

C. Active legislative debates

Recent condominium and HOA legislative attention in Illinois has centered on reserve-study requirements and operational transparency rather than on lien or foreclosure mechanics. Proposals touching the collection machinery itself have not advanced.

Section 5 — National positioning and related coverage

Illinois occupies a middle position on the national collections spectrum. The state is not a super-priority state: unlike Nevada — with its nine-month priority slice — or Connecticut and other UCIOA jurisdictions, an Illinois association's lien never leapfrogs the first mortgage. It is also not a threshold-restricted state like California, Arizona, or Colorado, which bar foreclosure below a set dollar amount or delinquency period; Illinois sets no such floor. What distinguishes Illinois is its judicial-only foreclosure regime paired with two strong condominium tools: the possession-and-lease remedy and the extinguishment-and-revival mechanic that pressures foreclosure purchasers to pay current assessments. For multi-state operators, the practical implication is straightforward — Illinois condominium collections hinge on the possession remedy and on policing post-foreclosure assessment payments, while planned-community collections depend almost entirely on the declaration because CICAA grants no statutory lien. Illinois's current direction of travel is static on collections mechanics: recent legislation has preserved the existing framework rather than tightening thresholds or expanding owner protections in this area.

1. Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605 (Ill. Gen. Assemb.); Common Interest Community Association Act, 765 ILCS 160 (Ill. Gen. Assemb.) ↩
2. 765 ILCS 605/9 (Sharing of expenses; lien for nonpayment), Ill. Gen. Assemb. ↩
3. Common Interest Community Association Act, 765 ILCS 160 (Ill. Gen. Assemb.); CICAA contains no statutory assessment-lien provision, so lien authority must come from the recorded declaration ↩
4. Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law, 735 ILCS 5/15-1101 et seq. (Ill. Gen. Assemb.) ↩
5. 765 ILCS 605/9(g) (priority limited to liens recorded after the assessment became due; no super-priority over an earlier-recorded first mortgage) ↩
6. 735 ILCS 5/9-102 (Eviction Article; when a possession action may be maintained, including by condominium associations under (a)(7) and common interest communities under (a)(8)) ↩
7. 735 ILCS 5/9-104.1 (Demand; notice; return; condominium and contract purchasers; at least 30 days) ↩
8. 735 ILCS 5/15-1603 (Redemption period for residential real estate; the later of 7 months after service or 3 months after judgment); 735 ILCS 5/15-1604 (Special right of redemption, 30 days after confirmation) ↩
9. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 116.3116(2) (HOA lien prior to first deed of trust to the extent of 9 months of assessments); SFR Invs. Pool 1, LLC v. U.S. Bank, 334 P.3d 408 (Nev. 2014) (en banc) ↩
10. 1010 Lake Shore Ass'n v. Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co., 2015 IL 118372 (Ill. Dec. 3, 2015) (money judgment of $67,935.16, including over $43,000 in pre-foreclosure-sale common expenses, with assessments accruing at $1,041.87 per month) ↩
11. 735 ILCS 5/13-206 (10-year limitation on written contracts and other written evidences of indebtedness) ↩
12. 735 ILCS 5/9-102(a)(8) and 9-104.3 (common interest community possession action; qualifying conditions and same procedures as condominium associations) ↩
13. 735 ILCS 5/9-111.1 (Lease to bona fide tenant; term may not exceed 13 months, court may extend for additional terms of up to 13 months; application of rental income) ↩
14. 735 ILCS 5/15-1603 (sale may not be held until the redemption period expires); practitioner timeline estimate (uncontested Illinois foreclosure typically 10 to 12 months from first missed payment; contested cases up to two years or longer) ↩
15. 735 ILCS 5/15-1602 (Reinstatement within 90 days after service; statutory right then unavailable for 5 years) ↩
16. SB 1383, 104th Gen. Assemb. / Pub. Act 104-0377 (amends 765 ILCS 160, 765 ILCS 605, and 765 ILCS 615; extends repeal date from Jan. 1, 2026 to Jan. 1, 2029; effective Aug. 15, 2025), Ill. Gen. Assemb. Bill Status ↩
17. Sylva, LLC v. Baldwin Court Condo. Ass'n, Inc., 2018 IL App (1st) 170520 ↩
18. Spanish Court Two Condo. Ass'n v. Carlson, 2014 IL 115342 (Ill. S. Ct.) ↩