Illinois HOA Records Inspection

Illinois HOA Records Inspection

Key Findings

  • Two statutes, two clocks. Illinois splits records rights down the middle. Condominiums run on Section 19 of the Condominium Property Act and a 10-business-day clock; non-condominium communities run on Section 1-30 of CICAA and a 30-day clock. These are distinct provisions for distinct community types, and you should not blend them.1,2
  • Proper purpose is tiered, not universal. Under Section 19, governing documents, insurance, contracts, financial books and records, and any reserve study — subdivisions (1)–(6), (9), and (10) — require no stated purpose. Only the member/owner list and ballots (subdivisions (7) and (8)) call for a purpose “that relates to the association.”3
  • Charges track actual cost. Both statutes limit copy and retrieval charges to the association’s actual cost; neither borrows a Florida- or California-style per-page cap.4
  • CICAA’s reach has limits. Associations of 10 units or fewer, or with annual budgeted assessments of $100,000 or less, organized under the not-for-profit act sit outside CICAA unless they opt in. A separate provision exempts certain associations — including those of 10 units or fewer or with annual budgeted assessments of $50,000 or less — from subsection (a) of Section 1-30 specifically.5
  • Fee-shifting depends on the record. In condominiums, a prevailing owner’s fee recovery is mandatory for records that require no proper purpose; for the owner list and ballots, the owner recovers fees only if the court finds the board acted in bad faith.6

Quick-Reference: Illinois HOA Records Inspection

Field Requirement
Governing provision(s) Condos: Condominium Property Act § 19 (765 ILCS 605/19).7 Non-condo CICs: CICAA § 1-30 (765 ILCS 160/1-30).7 Corporate backstop for incorporated associations: General Not For Profit Corporation Act § 107.75 (805 ILCS 105/107.75).7
Community types covered Condos (§ 19): every condominium instrument recorded under the Act; the provisions are mandatory, and any contrary instrument language is void as against public policy.8 Non-condo CICs (§ 1-30): planned communities, townhome and villa associations, subject to CICAA’s applicability thresholds.5
Who may inspect Condos (§ 19): any member, in person or by agent.3 Non-condo CICs (§ 1-30): any member or unit owner, their mortgagees, and their authorized agents or attorneys.9 Corporate backstop (§ 107.75): any voting member, in person or by agent.10
Proper-purpose requirement Condos (§ 19): none for subdivisions (1)–(6), (9), (10); required only for the owner list and ballots (subdivisions (7), (8)), which call for “a purpose that relates to the association.”3 Non-condo CICs (§ 1-30): none for governing documents, financial records, and minutes; a written statement of proper purpose covers ballots/proxies and the records available to members of a not-for-profit corporation under § 107.75.9
Form of request Condos (§ 19): a written request to the board or its authorized agent, “stating with particularity the records sought to be examined” (and stating a proper purpose for the owner list/ballots).3 Non-condo CICs (§ 1-30): a written request to the board or its agent.11 Corporate backstop (§ 107.75): a written demand “stating with particularity the records sought to be examined and the purpose therefor.”10
Response or production deadline Condos (§ 19): 10 business days from receipt of the written request; failure is deemed a denial.1 Non-condo CICs (§ 1-30): 30 days; failure to provide the record or respond within 30 days is deemed a denial.11
Inspection method and location Condos (§ 19): inspect, examine, and copy at any reasonable time at the association’s principal office.3 Non-condo CICs (§ 1-30): examination and copying “at convenient hours of weekdays.”9 Both Acts address electronic transmission through “acceptable technological means” but neither requires electronic delivery of inspected records.12
Copying and labor fees Condos (§ 19): the association may charge the requesting member the actual cost of retrieving and making records available and the actual cost of reproducing copies.4 Non-condo CICs (§ 1-30): “A reasonable fee may be charged by the board for the cost of retrieving and copying records properly requested.”13
Records expressly subject to inspection Condos (§ 19): declaration, bylaws, plats and amendments; rules and regulations; articles of incorporation; minutes (preceding 7 years); current insurance policies; contracts and leases in effect; the owner list (names, addresses, emails, phone numbers, weighted vote); ballots and proxies (preceding 12 months); books and records of account (current and 10 preceding fiscal years); and any reserve study.3 Non-condo CICs (§ 1-30): the recorded declaration and community instruments, articles, annual reports, rules; chronological receipts/expenditures and contracts/leases; board minutes (kept 7+ years); ballots and proxies (kept 1+ year, proper purpose); other records available under § 107.75 (proper purpose); and any reserve study.9
Records exempt or withholdable Condos (§ 19(g)): documents on employee appointment/employment/discipline/dismissal; documents on pending or threatened litigation by or against the association; documents on common expenses owed by another member; and documents tied to another member’s lease, sale, or transfer of a unit.14 Non-condo CICs (§ 1-30): not enumerated; ballots/proxies and § 107.75-category records require a written statement of proper purpose, and the declaration, bylaws, and corporate law govern the rest.9
Membership or owner list Condos (§ 19): the owner list requires an association-related purpose; the board may demand written certification that the member will not use the information for any “commercial purpose” (sale, resale, or solicitation/advertisement) or non-association purpose, and may fine a false certification.15 Non-condo CICs (§ 1-30): the member list sits among the records available under § 107.75; § 1-30 specifies no separate commercial-use opt-out.9
Records-retention requirement Condos (§ 19): minutes for the immediately preceding 7 years; books and records of account for the current and 10 preceding fiscal years; ballots and proxies for the preceding 12 months.3 Non-condo CICs (§ 1-30): board minutes for no less than 7 years; ballots and proxies for no less than 1 year.9
Electronic records Both Acts define “electronic transmission” and “acceptable technological means” and authorize their use for notices and other functions; § 19 requires a current owner list that includes email addresses and telephone numbers, but neither provision requires records to be delivered electronically.12
Remedies for noncompliance Condos (§ 19): an owner may sue to compel examination, and a prevailing owner recovers reasonable attorney’s fees and costs (mandatory for subdivisions (1)–(6), (9), (10); only on a bad-faith finding for the owner list and ballots).6 Non-condo CICs (§ 1-30): an owner “may seek appropriate relief” and recovers reasonable attorney’s fees and costs if the member prevails and the court finds the failure flowed from the board’s acts or omissions.16 Corporate backstop (§ 107.75): suit to compel examination by mandamus or otherwise.10 Neither HOA statute carries a per-day penalty.
Enforcement forum and process Illinois Circuit Courts at the trial level; appeal to the Illinois Appellate Court (five districts), with discretionary review by the Illinois Supreme Court.17 IDFPR licenses community association managers under 225 ILCS 427 but does not adjudicate records disputes; the Condominium and Common Interest Community Ombudsperson provides information but does not adjudicate.18

The records-inspection framework in detail

Records subject to inspection

Illinois runs condominiums and non-condominium communities on two separate tracks. Start with condominiums. Section 19(a) of the Condominium Property Act tells the board to keep ten categories of records at the association’s principal office: (1) the declaration, bylaws, plats of survey, and amendments; (2) rules and regulations; (3) articles of incorporation and amendments, if the association is incorporated; (4) minutes of every association and board meeting for the preceding seven years; (5) all current insurance policies; (6) all contracts, leases, and agreements then in effect; (7) a current owner list — names, addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, and weighted vote; (8) ballots and proxies for matters voted on in the preceding twelve months; (9) books and records of account for the current and ten preceding fiscal years; and (10) any reserve study.3 These rules are mandatory. Any condominium instrument that contradicts Section 19 is void as against public policy, and an instrument that omits these provisions takes them on by operation of law.8

Non-condominium communities follow a parallel but separately worded list. CICAA Section 1-30(i) directs the board to keep and produce the recorded declaration and community instruments, covenants, bylaws, articles, annual reports, and rules; detailed chronological records of receipts and expenditures affecting the common areas, plus copies of contracts and leases; board minutes (held at least seven years); ballots and proxies for elections and member votes (held at least one year, on a written statement of proper purpose); other records that members of a not-for-profit corporation may reach under Section 107.75 (again on a written statement of proper purpose); and any reserve study.9 CICAA does not cover every non-condo community automatically. An association organized under the General Not For Profit Corporation Act with either 10 units or fewer or annual budgeted assessments of $100,000 or less falls outside CICAA unless a majority of its directors or members elects coverage.5 Where neither HOA statute reaches a record or a community, the right rests on the declaration and bylaws and, for incorporated associations, on the corporate inspection right in Section 107.75.10

The request-and-response sequence

Under Section 19, any member starts by sending a written request to the board or its authorized agent, “stating with particularity the records sought to be examined.”3 The 2018 amendment narrowed the proper-purpose requirement so it now reaches only the owner list and ballots (subdivisions (7) and (8)); for governing documents, insurance, contracts, financial books, and any reserve study, the member states no purpose at all.3 For the owner list and ballots, the request must add “a purpose that relates to the association,” and the board may require the member to certify in writing against commercial or non-association use.15 The condominium clock runs 10 business days from receipt, and a board that fails to produce the records in that window has denied the request.1 Inspection happens at the association’s principal office at any reasonable time, and the association may charge the member the actual cost of retrieving the records and the actual cost of reproducing copies.4

Non-condo communities work on a different schedule. CICAA Section 1-30 makes records available for examination and copying “at convenient hours of weekdays,” and when a member files a written request, a board that fails to provide the record or respond within 30 days has denied it.11 The board may charge a reasonable fee for the cost of retrieving and copying records that the member properly requested.13

The corporate backstop carries its own mechanics. A voting member makes a written demand “stating with particularity the records sought to be examined and the purpose therefor.” When the member asks for books and records of account, the member carries the burden of proving a proper purpose; but when the member asks for minutes, the burden flips, and the corporation must show the absence of a proper purpose.10

Withholding, confidentiality, and the membership or owner list

Section 19(g) is the operative withholding provision for condominiums. Unless a court orders otherwise, the association may keep back five kinds of documents: those covering the appointment, employment, discipline, or dismissal of employees; those tied to actions pending against or on behalf of the association in a court or administrative tribunal; those tied to actions threatened against, or likely to be brought on behalf of, the association; those covering common expenses or charges another member owes; and those provided in connection with another member’s lease, sale, or transfer of a unit.14 The pending- and threatened-litigation carve-outs are what let an association protect attorney-client and litigation material. The owner list gets special handling: the association releases it only for an association-related purpose, the board may demand written certification against commercial use — use for sale, resale, or solicitation or advertisement of sales or services — and a false certification can draw a fine under Section 18.4.15 CICAA Section 1-30 lists no parallel set of withholdable records; instead it conditions ballots/proxies and Section 107.75-category records on a written statement of proper purpose and leaves the rest to the declaration, bylaws, and corporate law.9

Remedies and enforcement for noncompliance

An owner who gets turned away can sue to compel examination. Under Section 19, a prevailing owner recovers reasonable attorney’s fees and costs; recovery is mandatory for the records that require no proper purpose (subdivisions (1)–(6), (9), (10)), but for the owner list and ballots, the court awards fees only if it finds the board acted in bad faith.6 Under CICAA Section 1-30, an owner whose properly requested records do not arrive in time “may seek appropriate relief” and recovers reasonable attorney’s fees and costs if the member prevails and the court traces the failure to the board’s acts or omissions.16 The corporate backstop lets a member compel examination by mandamus or otherwise in the circuit court.10 Neither HOA statute imposes a per-day penalty. Trial-level disputes proceed in the Illinois Circuit Courts, with appeal to the Illinois Appellate Court and discretionary review by the Illinois Supreme Court.17 IDFPR licenses community association managers but does not regulate records disputes; the Ombudsperson provides information and may offer voluntary mediation, but it does not adjudicate or impose penalties.18

Recent legislative and judicial activity

Recent bills

Neither of these bills touches the Section 19 or Section 1-30 clocks. They go after what associations must disclose and document — and that work still lands on the people who keep the records.

Status Introduced — In committee
⊶ Last verified June 25, 2026
Docket

HB 5449 · 104th General Assembly · 2025–2026

Effective
N/A
Sunset
N/A
Condominium and common interest association disclosure information
Synopsis

HB 5449 would amend both CICAA and the Condominium Property Act, reworking the financial data an association supplies to its members and the information a board must post on its website — rules that bear directly on how association records and disclosures reach owners.[19]

Operational impact
What this means, by role
Property managers Track HB 5449 closely — if it passes, you may have to prepare and maintain more financial data and website postings.
HOA board members Boards could pick up new affirmative disclosure duties that go beyond answering individual records requests.
Community association attorneys Watch the final text for changes to disclosure timing and website-posting duties under both Acts.
Homeowners You could gain broader routine access to financial information without filing a records request.
Status Sent to the Governor
⊶ Last verified June 25, 2026
Docket

SB 3527 · 104th General Assembly · 2025–2026

Effective
Pending signature
Sunset
N/A
Condominium and common interest community collection policies
Synopsis

SB 3527 amends both CICAA and the Condominium Property Act to require associations to adopt written policies for collecting unpaid assessments — a documentation rule that feeds straight into what an association must keep and produce.[20]

Operational impact
What this means, by role
Property managers Build the written collection policy into your maintained association records once the bill takes effect.
HOA board members Adopt the required written policy before you pursue legal collection of common expenses.
Community association attorneys Draft compliant collection policies and confirm each one is retained and producible.
Homeowners You gain a documented, inspectable statement of how the association collects unpaid assessments.

These bills shape disclosure and policy documentation; they do not rewrite the Section 19 or Section 1-30 inspection clocks. Earlier proposals that aimed straight at the records provisions — such as HB 1235 in the 103rd General Assembly, which would have let condominium members opt out of having their contact information disclosed for commercial purposes — died when the session adjourned sine die.21

Recent rulings

Illinois has a deep bench of condominium records case law, much of it built around the proper-purpose standard — for example Taghert v. Wesley and Palm v. 2800 Lake Shore Drive Condominium Ass’n, two First District decisions holding that a good-faith concern about financial mismanagement can amount to a proper purpose to inspect financial records.22 Both decisions, though, predate the 36-month window this coverage tracks. Within that recent period, the published and Rule 23 decisions this research turned up addressed neighboring questions — lien validity, fiduciary duty, assessment-collection eviction — rather than squarely interpreting the Section 19 or Section 1-30 inspection rights. So we assert no recent records-specific Appellate ruling here. An honest accounting beats citing an off-point case.

Active legislative debates

The pending 104th General Assembly proposals push toward more routine disclosure — broader financial reporting to members and website posting under HB 5449, and written collection policies under SB 3527 — which fits a transparency-forward trend. No proposal we located would swap out the 10-business-day (condo) or 30-day (non-condo) inspection clock for a single fixed deadline, and none would add a per-day records penalty.19

National positioning and related coverage

Illinois ranks among the more prescriptive records states, alongside California, Florida, and Colorado, because it grants detailed statutory inspection rights and shifts attorney’s fees through two parallel statutes instead of leaving owners to general corporate-law remedies. Illinois also stands out as one of the few states that extends a dedicated statutory records right to non-condominium communities through a stand-alone law (CICAA Section 1-30), where many states hand planned communities back to their covenants and to corporate law; CICAA’s applicability thresholds, though, pull that reach back by exempting the smallest associations unless they elect coverage.5 For a multi-state operator, the practical lesson is direct: match the statute to the community type, confirm whether a non-condo association is even covered by CICAA before you promise production, and hit the right clock — 10 business days for condos, 30 days for non-condo CICs. Recent legislative activity has aimed at wider member-facing financial disclosure and collection-policy documentation, not at the core Section 19 or Section 1-30 inspection mechanics.19

HOA Weekly refreshes its Illinois records-inspection coverage each quarter, as the General Assembly and the Illinois courts act. Federal frameworks — 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 — also apply to Illinois associations no matter what the state framework says.

Footnotes

  1. 765 ILCS 605/19(b), (e) — “Failure of an association’s board of managers to make available all records so requested within 10 business days of receipt of the member’s written request shall be deemed a denial.” ↩
  2. 765 ILCS 160/1-30(i)(2) — 30-day response/denial rule; 765 ILCS 160/1-75(a) — small-association exemption (10 units or fewer, or annual budgeted assessments of $100,000 or less, unless the association elects coverage) ↩
  3. 765 ILCS 605/19(a) (subdivisions (1)–(10)) and (b), (e) (Illinois General Assembly) ↩
  4. 765 ILCS 605/19(f) — “The actual cost to the association of retrieving and making requested records available... may be charged... [and] the actual costs to the association of reproducing the records may also be charged.” ↩
  5. 765 ILCS 160/1-75(a) — exemption for associations of 10 units or fewer or with annual budgeted assessments of $100,000 or less, unless elected; 765 ILCS 160/1-5 definition of “common interest community” ↩
  6. 765 ILCS 605/19(b), (e) — mandatory fee recovery for subdivisions (1)–(6), (9), (10); fee recovery for the owner list and ballots only on a finding the board acted in bad faith ↩
  7. 765 ILCS 605/19, Condominium Property Act (Illinois General Assembly); 765 ILCS 160/1-30, Common Interest Community Association Act (Illinois General Assembly); 805 ILCS 105/107.75, General Not For Profit Corporation Act (Illinois General Assembly) ↩
  8. 765 ILCS 605/19(h) — provisions applicable to all condominium instruments; contrary provisions void as against public policy ↩
  9. 765 ILCS 160/1-30(i)(1) — enumerated records, retention periods, and proper-purpose conditions for ballots and § 107.75-category records (Illinois General Assembly) ↩
  10. 805 ILCS 105/107.75(a) — voting member’s right to examine books, records, and minutes for a proper purpose; written demand; suit to compel by mandamus or otherwise; burden-shifting between books of account and minutes ↩
  11. 765 ILCS 160/1-30(i)(2) — “failure to provide the requested record or to respond within 30 days shall be deemed a denial by the board.” ↩
  12. Illinois Condominium Property Act (eff. Jan. 1, 2025), § 2(y)–(z) “electronic transmission” and “acceptable technological means” definitions; 765 ILCS 605/19(a)(7) (owner list includes email addresses and telephone numbers) ↩
  13. 765 ILCS 160/1-30(i)(3) — “A reasonable fee may be charged by the board for the cost of retrieving and copying records properly requested.” ↩
  14. 765 ILCS 605/19(g) — records the association need not make available (employee records; pending and threatened litigation; another member’s common-expense charges; another member’s lease/sale/transfer documents) ↩
  15. 765 ILCS 605/19(d-5), (e) — “commercial purpose” definition; written certification against commercial or non-association use; fine for false certification under § 18.4 ↩
  16. 765 ILCS 160/1-30(i)(4) — member “may seek appropriate relief” and is “entitled to an award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs if the member prevails and the court finds that such failure is due to the acts or omissions of the board.” ↩
  17. 805 ILCS 105/107.75(a) — enforcement “in the circuit court of the county”; 765 ILCS 605/19(b), (e) — enforcement actions to compel examination ↩
  18. IDFPR, Condo Unit Owner’s Rights and Responsibilities Handbook (Aug. 2022) — Ombudsperson and IDFPR provide information; records disputes are resolved in court ↩
  19. Illinois HB 5449, 104th General Assembly (2025–2026), “CONDO CI ASSN-DISCLOSURE INFO” — amends CICAA and the Condominium Property Act on financial data to members and website-posting information ↩
  20. Illinois SB 3527, 104th General Assembly (2025–2026), “CONDO-CI COLLECTION POLICIES” — requires written collection policies under both Acts; status: Sent to the Governor ↩
  21. Illinois HB 1235, 103rd General Assembly, “CONDOS-RECORDS-INFO OPT OUT” — would have let condominium members decline disclosure of contact information for commercial purposes; status: Failed (session sine die) ↩
  22. Taghert v. Wesley, 343 Ill. App. 3d 1140 (1st Dist. 2003); Palm v. 2800 Lake Shore Drive Condominium Ass’n, 401 Ill. App. 3d 868 (1st Dist. 2010) — proper-purpose inspection of association financial records (case summaries collected by Dickler, Kahn, Slowikowski & Zavell, Ltd.) ↩
© 2026 Thastel Group LLC. All rights reserved. HOA Weekly™ is a trademark of Thastel Group LLC.