Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

I would like to rent out my condominium, but my Homeowner's Association passed an amendment restricting the number of rental units in the neighborhood. A paragraph in the amendment states (verbatim) "Those owners leasing their units as of the effective date of this amendment shall be grandfathered and permitted to lease for so long as they own the unit." The effective date of the amendment is July 16,2008. I was renting my unit to tenants during the time period from 2007 to 2010, and reoccupied the condo by myself in 2010. Based on the line in the amendment, I was leasing my unit when the amendment went into effect. Would I be able to legally claim and meet the standard of leasing my unit at the effective date of the amendment and therefore be grandfathered in and permissible to rent my unit now and into the future?


Asked on 11/01/13, 1:15 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Messutta

This is a bad amendment because it seems to create two classes of ownership: those who were renting before the amendment and those who were not. Most amendments simply allow a percentage of units to be rented at any time and grandfather existing lease until the tenants move out. The problem is that you are very possibly going to have to question the validity of this amendment, which could mean legal process. You could start with the position you want, which is that you were renting before the amendment, and see how things go, but there are no guarantees.

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Answered on 11/03/13, 12:32 pm


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