The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recently issued a federal moratorium on tenant evictions effective September 4, 2020 through December 31, 2020. This federal regulation is intended to potentially limit the further spread of COVID 19 that may result from individuals and families becoming homeless.
It is KSN’s position that this federal ban does not apply to condominium or other residential community associations. Rather, the new federal eviction moratorium applies only to landlord-tenant situations.
Over the past several months, Illinois judges have already been interpreting Governor Pritzker’s prior Eviction Moratorium Order as applicable to even community association assessment cases. However, it is imperative that Board Members understand that neither the federal nor state eviction moratoriums prevent a condominium or community association from initiating and pursuing an assessment collection action and money judgment.
Indeed, for the past several months, KSN has been leading the way in protecting our clients’ financial futures by pursuing collection of past due assessments, filing collection lawsuits, and successfully obtaining money judgments against delinquent owners.
As a practical matter, all association boards must continue to carefully review delinquent accounts and authorize the collection process when appropriate. All Chicagoland court systems (except for the Daley Center handling City of Chicago cases) have resumed operations remotely and/or in-person and are hearing assessment collection cases. Again, Illinois Judges cannot order an eviction. But, almost all Judges are entering money judgments (unpaid assessments, other charges, attorneys fees and costs) against delinquent unit owners.
We anticipate that the Illinois eviction moratorium will continue through the end of 2020. However, when addressing delinquent assessments, it is a board’s duty to carefully consider all options and, when appropriate, pursue the available collection remedies in a timely fashion. As always, KSN will continue to keep you apprised of any new developments concerning community association law.
If your condominium, homeowner, or townhome association has questions about the federal eviction moratorium, do not hesitate to contact our law firm. Please call 855-537-0500 or visit www.ksnlaw.com.
Since 1983, KSN has been a legal resource for condominium, homeowner, and townhome associations. Additionally, we represent clients in real estate transactions, collections, landlord/tenant issues, and property tax appeals. We represent thousands of clients and community associations throughout the US with offices in several states including Florida, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
Please note the material contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is established by your review or receipt of the information contained in this article. You should not act on the information discussed in this article without first obtaining legal advice from an attorney duly licensed to practice law in your State. While KSN has made every effort to include up-to-date information in this article, the law can change quickly. Accordingly, please understand that information discussed in this article may not yet reflect the most recent legal developments. Material is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up to date. KSN reserves the right to revise or update the information and statements of law discussed in the article law at any time, without notice, and disclaims any liability for your use of information or statements of law discussed on the article, or the accessibility of the article generally. This article may be considered.