Condominium and Cooperative Law in Illinois

Condominiums and cooperatives are types of "common interest" communities.

These residential communities are composed of a single piece of land, occupied by one or more buildings, each of which contains more than one housing unit. The units are owned or leased by the people who live in them, but the buildings themselves, and the land they sit on, are owned either collectively by the residents, or by some third party. The residents are responsible for the upkeep of the buildings and the common areas of the property (walkways, lawns, swimming pools, etc.). To that end, they usually pay a periodic fee to cover maintenance.

If you simply look at one of these communities, you won't be able to tell whether it's a cooperative or a condominium community.

This is because there are no physical characteristics that can clearly distinguish one from the other. The basic difference lies in the legal ownership arrangement. In a condominium community, the units are actually owned by the residents. The residents also collectively own the common areas, holding joint title to it. In a cooperative community, the buildings and land which make up the houses are owned by a single entity, and the individual units are often rented rather than owned by the residents.

Laws and Regulations Concerning Common Interest Communities in Libertyville, Illinois

There are a large number of laws in Libertyville, Illinois that can affect condominiums and cooperatives, but few, if any, of them are unique to such common-interest communities. Instead, they're mostly governed by laws of general application, covering zoning, contracts, and landlord/tenant relations.

Your daily life in a cooperative or condominium community is more likely to be affected by the rules set by the owners or managers of the property, rather than the laws of your state or city.

The manager or owner of the land on which your residence is located will probably have a lot of rules concerning what can and cannot be done in and near the houses. These rules usually mandate cleanliness, keeping noise to a minimum, and regulate the presence of pets.

The enforceability of some of these rules may depend on Libertyville, Illinois's laws governing relations between landlords and tenants.

Can a Libertyville, Illinois Attorney Help?

If you have a dispute with a neighbor, your landlord, or your homeowners' association, a good Libertyville, Illinois real estate attorney can be instrumental in obtaining a desired outcome.