HOA, Condo Association, or PMC in Illinois?

When my dad passed, I sat at his dining table trying to make sense of his paperwork. Not a few folders. Boxes. I'd guess close to a hundred pounds of it stacked around the table and across the floor.

Not all of it was about the apartment. He'd owned a restaurant, so there were boxes of employee pay stubs. There were bank statements from 1997. Random letters. There was even a photo of him and Tony Bennett.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, I emailed the board president and asked her where I could find the "HOA rule book."

That's what I thought it was called. The rule book.

I wanted it because I was about to tear through the apartment and redo everything, and I needed to know what I could get away with before some neighbor called to complain or an inspector showed up.

That email was the start of everything I now know. And the first thing I learned is that almost nobody starts out knowing who actually runs their community.

You probably call it "the HOA." It might not be one.

Most people use "HOA" for any group that sends them a bill and a list of rules. In Illinois, that group could be a few different things, and the difference changes which law applies to you.

If you live in a house or townhome in a planned community, you're likely in a common interest community association. People call it an HOA. It runs under the Illinois Common Interest Community Association Act, 765 ILCS 160.

If you live in a condo, you're in a condominium association. Same idea, different statute. You run under the Illinois Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605.

This isn't trivia. If you ever have to point to the law, pointing to the wrong one makes you look like you don't know your own situation. Getting it right does the opposite.

And the management company? That's a hired hand.

Here's the part that trips up most homeowners. The property management company is not your association. It's a company the board pays to handle the day-to-day work: collecting dues, scheduling repairs, answering email.

The PMC works for the board. The board works for you. So when the management company gives you the runaround, the responsibility still belongs to the association, not the vendor it hired.

| Group | What it actually is | Who it answers to | |---|---|---| | HOA (common interest community association) | Runs a planned community of houses or townhomes | You, the members, under 765 ILCS 160 | | Condo association | Runs a condominium building or complex | You, the unit owners, under 765 ILCS 605 | | Property management company (PMC) | A company the board hires for daily operations | The board, which answers to you |

The "rule book" I was looking for

What I wanted that day had a real name. The rules of a community live in its governing documents: the declaration, the bylaws, and any separately adopted rules. Together they're the closest thing to the rule book I was picturing.

You have a right to those documents. You don't have to be in a fight with anyone to get them. We walk through how to actually request them in our guide to HOA records requests in Illinois.

If you're just getting started

You don't need a dispute to do this. A good homeowner gets oriented early. Three things worth knowing before anything goes wrong:

• Which type of association you're actually in. Your deed or declaration will say.
• Where your governing documents are, and how to ask for a copy.
• Who your management company is, and the fact that they answer to your board, not the other way around.

That's it. Know who's who, and the next problem is a lot smaller than mine was.

Subject: Quick confirmation - [name], [unit]

To the Board / Manager:

I'm an owner at [address]. To make sure I have my facts straight, please confirm:
- Whether our community is a condominium association or a common interest community association
- The name of the management company, and that it operates under the board's direction
- Where I can find the current declaration, bylaws, and rules

[Name] / [phone, email]