Condo Deconversion Emails Won't Stop? Here's What to Do

You own a condo in Chicago. Some investor you've never met wants the whole building, your unit included, and the emails won't stop even after you told them to. That's a condo deconversion, and the people running it are betting you feel powerless. You're not. Illinois law gives you real ground to stand on. Here's where it is and how to use it.

What Is a Condo Deconversion, Exactly?

Here's the whole game in one sentence. An investor wants to buy every unit in your building at once, flip the condos back into rental apartments, and run the place as their own cash machine.

They can't just do it. Under Section 15 of the Illinois Condominium Property Act (765 ILCS 605/15), a bulk sale like this only goes through if at least 75% of unit owners vote yes. Three out of four doors. That bar is high, and it's high on purpose.

So your vote isn't a formality. It's one brick in a wall they need three quarters of to climb over. That's the entire reason they're in your inbox.

Why Are They Emailing You Directly?

Good question. Ask it louder.

These buyers were never supposed to have your personal email. The Illinois Condominium Property Act governs association records at Section 19 (765 ILCS 605/19), and here's the kicker: in the City of Chicago, owner email addresses and phone numbers are specifically left out of the member list an association shares for inspection. On top of that, association records can't be requested for a commercial purpose unrelated to the association. A deconversion buyer hunting for yes votes is about as commercial as it gets.

So how did a private investor end up with your email? If the board or the property manager handed it over, that's not a small slip. That's the association potentially crossing the line Section 19 draws. Ask, in writing, where these buyers got your details and whether anyone actually signed off on releasing them.

What If They Offer You Money for a Yes Vote?

Now it gets uglier.

If one of these emails is dangling a number in front of you, name your price for a yes, that's not pushy salesmanship. That's someone trying to buy a vote the statute was built to keep fair. Conduct like that can run up against the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (815 ILCS 505/2), which targets unfair and deceptive behavior in commercial dealings.

Save those emails like they're made of gold. Don't delete one of them. That's your evidence.

Can They Keep Emailing You After You Said Stop?

Short answer: no. And when they do it anyway, they're not just being rude. They might be breaking the law on two fronts.

Federal first. The CAN-SPAM Act (15 U.S.C. 7704) says commercial senders have to honor an opt-out, and do it quickly. "Please take me off your list" is an opt-out. They do not get to act like they never saw it. That same federal law also bars them from handing your email address off to anyone else once you've opted out.

Illinois has its own anti-spam law too, the Electronic Mail Act (815 ILCS 511/10). Federal CAN-SPAM is the heavier hammer here, but the state law adds pressure, especially when the emails are misleading about who's really behind them or what they're about.

And here's the part that makes this winnable. You don't have to prove they meant any harm. You only have to show that you asked them to stop and they kept going.

So What Do You Do Right Now?

You put it in writing. Not a heated reply, not a phone call that disappears into the air. A written response that creates a record, names the laws standing behind you, and tells the buyer flat out that you're watching. Here's exactly what that looks like.

To: [Buyer company name or contact name]
From: [Your name]
Re: Opt-Out Demand and Privacy Notice - [Your building address], Unit [Your unit number]

Dear [Buyer name or "To Whom It May Concern"],

I am a unit owner at [building address]. I have previously requested removal from your email communications on [date(s) of prior requests]. Despite those requests, I continue to receive unsolicited emails from you or your representatives.

Pursuant to the CAN-SPAM Act (15 U.S.C. Section 7704) and the Illinois Electronic Mail Act (815 ILCS 511/10), I am formally demanding that all commercial email communications from your organization to me cease immediately. Any further contact will be documented and may be reported to the Federal Trade Commission and the Illinois Attorney General's office.

I am also formally requesting, in writing, that you identify the source of my contact information. If it was obtained from the condominium association or its property manager, I intend to raise that issue with the board directly.

I have not agreed to sell my unit and I do not consent to further solicitation.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Unit number and building address]
[Date]

Then Take It to Your Board, in Writing

Once you've sent your opt-out letter, turn to your own board. Send a separate, dated email and ask the blunt question: how did these buyers get my contact information, and did anyone here authorize handing it over?

Under Section 19 of the Act (765 ILCS 605/19), your association controls how owner records are shared and for what purpose. If the board can't explain how your email walked out the door, or if they released it for a commercial deconversion push, you have a real basis to push back through the association's dispute process. Different fight from the buyer, same principle. The people in charge don't get to bend the rules just because it's convenient for somebody with money.

And keep an eye on the clock. The vote hasn't happened yet. That means you've still got time to make sure that when it does, it happens clean.