Chicago Condo Special Assessments: How They Are Approved and How to Check Before You Buy

A special assessment is a one-time charge a Chicago condo board adds on top of monthly assessments, usually to pay for a repair the reserves cannot cover. In Illinois the board can adopt most of them on its own. Owners can force a vote only when the year's total assessments would exceed 115% of the previous year's.

That rule surprises many buyers, so it is worth knowing before you make an offer. This guide covers how a special assessment is approved, what a seller must disclose to you, how lenders treat it, and what to look for in the building's documents. Every rule below links to the current statute or lender guide.

What is a special assessment on a Chicago condo?

Every Illinois condominium association adopts an annual budget, and each owner pays a share of it as the monthly assessment. When the association needs money the budget does not cover, it charges a separate assessment, which owners usually call a special assessment. The Condominium Property Act requires exactly that: any common expense not in the budget, or any increase over the budgeted amount, "shall be separately assessed against all unit owners" (765 ILCS 605/18(a)(8)(iii)).

Your share is not a flat split. Under Section 9(a), each owner's share of common expenses follows the percentage of ownership in the common elements set out in the building's declaration. A few costs can be assessed differently if the declaration says so, such as some insurance premiums (Section 9(b)). The board decides the amounts and payment dates (Section 9(f)), and it can spread a special assessment over more than one fiscal year (Section 18(a)(8)(vi)).

Typical causes in Chicago buildings are the large, infrequent jobs: facade and masonry work, roofs, elevator modernization, garage and balcony concrete, windows, and mechanical systems such as boilers or risers.

Can a Chicago condo board pass a special assessment without an owner vote?

In most cases, yes. The board must give owners notice of the board meeting where it will adopt the assessment, but the decision is the board's. Owners get a route to challenge it only in one situation, set out in Section 18(a)(8)(ii):

• The trigger: the adopted budget or special assessment would push the total of all regular and special assessments payable this fiscal year above 115% of the total payable last fiscal year.
• The petition: owners holding 20% of the association's votes deliver a written petition to the board within 21 days of the board's action.
• The meeting: the board must call an owners' meeting within 30 days of receiving the petition.
• The vote: the assessment stands unless a majority of the total votes in the association, not just those at the meeting, vote to reject it.

That last point is a high bar. In a building where many owners do not attend meetings, rejecting an assessment means organizing more than half of every vote in the association.

A worked example of the 115% rule

These figures are illustrative, not from any real building.

	A	B
Last year's total	$480,000	$480,000
115% threshold	$552,000	$552,000
Regular assessments	$504,000	$504,000
Special assessment	$72,000	$40,000
This year's total	$576,000	$544,000
Share of last year	120%	113%
Owners can petition?	Yes	No

In scenario A, owners with 20% of the votes can petition for a meeting. In scenario B the total stays under the threshold, so the board's vote is final. Regular assessments rise 5% in both.

For one unit with a 0.8% ownership share, the $72,000 assessment in Scenario A works out to $576 ($72,000 × 0.008). Your own share comes from the percentage in your building's declaration.

Two exceptions that change the rules

Emergencies and legal mandates. The board can adopt a special assessment for an emergency, or for work required by law, without any owner approval and without the petition process (Section 18(a)(8)(iv)). The statute defines an emergency as "an immediate danger to the structural integrity of the common elements or to the life, health, safety or property of the unit owners."

Additions and alterations. Going the other way, an assessment for additions or alterations to the common elements that were not in the budget, such as a new amenity rather than a repair, needs approval from two-thirds of the total votes of all owners (Section 18(a)(8)(v)).

The building's declaration and bylaws can add their own procedures where they do not conflict with the Act. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation's condominium ombudsperson FAQ (2016) explains the same framework for owners.

How do you find out about a special assessment before you buy?

Illinois gives a buyer a defined set of documents. Under Section 22.1, on any resale the seller must get the following from the board and make it available to you on request:

1. The declaration, bylaws, other condominium instruments, and rules.
2. A statement of the unit's account, showing any unpaid assessments and other charges. This is often called the paid assessment letter.
3. A statement of any capital expenditures the association anticipates in the current or next two fiscal years.
4. The status and amount of the reserve fund, and any part of it the board has earmarked for a specific project.
5. The association's statement of financial condition for the last fiscal year available.
6. The status of any pending lawsuits or judgments involving the association.
7. What insurance the association provides for owners.
8. A statement that the prior owner's improvements to the unit are believed to comply with the condominium instruments.
9. The name and mailing address of the association officer designated to receive notices.

The association must furnish this within 10 business days of a written request. It can charge the seller a fee of up to $375, adjusted each year for inflation, plus up to $100 more for rush service within 72 hours. From January 1, 2027, the package also adds a copy of the association's collection policy (P.A. 104-734).

Item 3 is the one to read first. An assessment that has not been adopted yet will not appear on the unit's account, but anticipated capital work should appear in the capital expenditure statement.

Ask for these as well

Section 22.1 is the legal minimum. Before the attorney review period ends, also ask the seller for:

• Board meeting minutes from the last 12 to 24 months, where projects show up long before an assessment is voted.
• The current budget, so you can see what the reserve contribution is.
• Any reserve study, engineering report, or facade inspection report the association has.
• Any special assessment resolution already adopted, with its total, payment schedule, and the unit's remaining balance.

Warning signs in the building's documents

• Anticipated work with no funding plan. Large items in the capital expenditure statement that are larger than the reserve balance usually end in a special assessment, a loan, or both.
• A reserve waiver. Illinois requires budgets to include "reasonable reserves" for capital expenditures and deferred maintenance (Section 9(c)(2)). An association whose declaration does not require reserves can waive that by a two-thirds vote (Section 9(c)(3)), but it must then disclose the waiver, "highlighted in bold print", in its response to a buyer's Section 22.1 request (Section 9(c)(4)). If you see bold print about reserves, read it twice.
• Repairs tied to safety or structure. These are the repairs most likely to affect financing, as the next section explains.
• Litigation with a contractor or the developer. It can delay repairs and leave their final cost unknown.
• Repeated special assessments. A pattern can mean the regular budget is set too low for the building's real costs.

Who pays a special assessment when a Chicago condo is sold?

The purchase contract decides, not the statute. Three amounts need to be kept apart:

• What is already due. This appears on the unit's statement of account. Unpaid amounts are a lien on the unit (Section 9(g)(1)), so they are normally cleared at closing.
• Installments due after closing. If an assessment has been adopted but is payable over time, decide in writing who pays the remaining installments. One way to settle it is a seller credit at closing.
• Work that has been discussed but not adopted. No assessment exists yet, so there is nothing to allocate. Factor the risk into your price and terms instead.

Your Illinois attorney should confirm how your contract and any amendments handle each one before attorney review ends.

Can a special assessment affect your mortgage?

Yes. For loans sold to Fannie Mae, the lender must review every special assessment in the building. The Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B4-2.1-03 (November 4, 2026) lists what it must find out:

• the purpose of the special assessment;
• when it was approved, and whether it is planned or already being carried out;
• the original amount and the amount still to be collected; and
• when it is expected to be paid in full.

The test is whether the assessment pays for a critical repair. Fannie Mae defines critical repairs as those that "significantly impact the safety, soundness, structural integrity or habitability" of the buildings, or the project's financial viability or marketability. If a special assessment is tied to a critical repair that has not been fixed, the building is ineligible. Separately, unfunded repairs costing more than $10,000 per unit that should be done within 12 months count as critical, though repairs funded through a special assessment are excluded from that dollar test.

Delinquency matters too. Under B4-2.2-01 (August 5, 2026), a project reviewed in full can have no more than 15% of its units 60 days or more past due on any special assessment.

FHA, VA, jumbo and portfolio lenders apply their own rules. Give your lender the assessment resolution, payment schedule and unit balance early, and ask in writing whether anything else is needed.

What happens if an owner does not pay a special assessment?

An unpaid assessment, with interest, late charges, attorney fees and collection costs, becomes a lien on the unit that ranks ahead of other claims except taxes and liens recorded before the missed payment, such as an existing mortgage (Section 9(g)(1)). The board can record that lien and foreclose it "in the same manner as a mortgage" (Section 9(h)). It can also bring an eviction action against the owner after serving a written demand (735 ILCS 5/9-102(a)(7)).

For a buyer, this matters less as a personal risk than as a building signal. When many owners fall behind, the association has less money for the work, and the building can fail the lender delinquency test above.

Is a special assessment always a bad sign?

No. A building that has identified a repair, priced it, and funded it can be a safer purchase than one that keeps putting the work off. The questions that matter are whether the work and its cost are documented, whether the funding covers the whole job, and whether anything is tied to safety or structure. A smaller assessment attached to an undefined project can be riskier than a larger one attached to a signed contract.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Chicago condo board pass a special assessment without an owner vote?

Usually, yes. Under 765 ILCS 605/18(a)(8), the board adopts special assessments at a noticed board meeting. Owners get a say only if the year's total assessments would exceed 115% of the prior year's, and then only if owners with 20% of the votes petition within 21 days. Emergency and legally required repairs skip that step entirely.

Can I refuse to pay a condo special assessment in Illinois?

Not without consequences. An unpaid assessment becomes a lien on the unit under Section 9(g) of the Condominium Property Act, the board can foreclose that lien like a mortgage, and it can also bring an eviction action under 735 ILCS 5/9-102(a)(7) after serving a demand.

Who pays a special assessment when a Chicago condo is sold?

The purchase contract decides. Amounts already due show on the unit's statement of account, which the seller must obtain under Section 22.1. Installments that fall due after closing need to be allocated in writing, for example as a credit at closing. Have your Illinois attorney confirm the language.

How can I find out if a special assessment is coming before I buy?

Ask for the Section 22.1 package. It must include any capital expenditures the association anticipates in the current or next two fiscal years, the reserve balance and any earmarked portion, the latest financial statement, and pending lawsuits. Board minutes from the last year or two show projects still being discussed.

Can a special assessment stop me getting a mortgage?

It can. Fannie Mae requires the lender to review each special assessment's purpose, approval status, original and remaining amount, and payoff date. If the assessment is tied to a critical repair that has not been fixed, the building is ineligible for a Fannie Mae loan.

Is a special assessment always a bad sign?

No. A funded, well-documented repair can leave a building in better shape than one that keeps deferring work. Worry more about anticipated capital work with no funding plan, a reserve waiver, or repairs tied to safety or structure.

Buying a Chicago condo with an assessment in the picture? Jovanka can help you request the right documents early, read the capital expenditure statement and minutes alongside the listing, and bring your attorney and lender the records they need before deadlines run.

Plan a Chicago condo purchase with Jovanka

Statutes and lender guidelines reviewed November 8, 2026. This guide explains Illinois rules in general terms. It is not legal advice; your Illinois real estate attorney should review the documents for a specific building and contract.