Illinois HOA Assessment Increases - What Boards Can and Can't Do | 2026

Every Chicagoland HOA board faces the same conversation every budget season: expenses are up — insurance, deferred maintenance, reserves — but owners push back the moment dues increase. The first question the board always gets is whether there's a legal ceiling on how much assessments can rise.

There isn't — not exactly. Illinois law sets no hard percentage cap on regular dues increases for condominiums or HOA communities. But the Illinois Condominium Property Act does build in a 115% threshold that hands a determined group of unit owners real procedural power over large increases. Understanding exactly when that rule fires — and when it doesn't — is the most important thing a Chicagoland board can know before setting the annual budget.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified Illinois HOA attorney for guidance specific to your association.

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Does Illinois Law Cap HOA Assessment Increases?

No hard statutory cap exists for regular annual assessment increases in Illinois. The two laws governing most Chicagoland associations — the Illinois Condominium Property Act and the Common Interest Community Association Act (CICAA) — both leave assessment levels to each association's board and governing documents.

That means your board could, in theory, raise dues by 30% or 50% if the budget genuinely requires it. In practice, two constraints apply before the membership ever shows up at a meeting angry:

1. Your own governing documents. Many declarations and bylaws impose caps more restrictive than state law. A common limit: regular assessment increases of more than 10–15% in a single year require a membership vote. Read your documents first. If a cap exists, you're bound by it regardless of what state law allows.

2. The 115% threshold. Section 18(a)(8) of the Illinois Condominium Property Act creates a unit-owner veto mechanism that activates whenever total annual assessments would exceed 115% of what owners paid the previous year. This is the provision that catches many boards off guard.

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The 115% Rule: When Owners Can Push Back

Under Section 18(a)(8) of the Illinois Condominium Property Act, if the board adopts a budget or special assessment that pushes total annual assessments above 115% of prior-year totals, unit owners gain the right to challenge the increase through a formal petition process^ILGA.

How the Petition Works

Unit owners holding at least 20% of the total votes in the association must sign a written petition and deliver it to the board within 21 days of the board's approval of the budget or special assessment^CAI-IL.

Once a valid petition lands, the board must call a membership meeting within 30 days. At that meeting, a majority of all unit owners — not just those who attend, not just a quorum — must vote to reject the assessment. If a majority of all owners doesn't materialize to vote no, the assessment stands.

This detail matters enormously: abstentions and no-shows effectively count as votes for the board's position. An increase that draws a crowded, heated meeting still passes unless the opposition turns out a majority of every owner in the building, not just the room.

What Triggers the 115% Threshold

The threshold applies to the sum of all regular and special assessments from one fiscal year to the next — not just the regular monthly dues line. If your monthly dues are flat but a large special assessment pushes the year's total collections above 115% of last year, the threshold is triggered.

Example: If your association collected $500,000 in total assessments last year, any budget or special assessment that would push this year's total above $575,000 can trigger the owner petition right.

What's Exempt

The petition process does not apply to two categories of expenditure^CAI-IL:

• Emergencies — expenditures necessary to prevent further damage to common elements, or to address conditions that pose an immediate threat to health or safety
• Legally mandated expenditures — costs required by law, such as building code compliance, city-ordered remediation, or court-ordered repairs

If a boiler fails in January or a building inspector issues a mandatory remediation order, the board can act immediately without worrying about the 115% rule. These carve-outs exist precisely because delayed action in genuine emergencies would harm the entire community.

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CICAA Associations: Same Rule, Different Notice Windows

Most Chicagoland single-family HOAs and townhome communities are governed by CICAA rather than the Condominium Property Act. The rules are nearly identical:

CICAA associations face the same 115% threshold, the same 20% petition requirement, and the same 21-day delivery window^IDFPR. The key operational difference is the notice requirement for board meetings where special assessments are adopted:

	Condominium Associations	CICAA Associations
Notice before board meeting	10–30 days	10–60 days
115% petition threshold	115% of prior year	115% of prior year
Petition deadline	21 days after board approval	21 days after board approval
Petition signature requirement	20% of total votes	20% of total votes
Vote required to reject	Majority of all votes	Majority of all votes

CICAA's wider notice window — up to 60 days — matters for larger communities where tracking and mailing owner notices takes real lead time. Many boards treat the 30-day notice standard as a default without checking which statute actually governs them. That's worth confirming with your attorney if you're not certain.

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What's Actually Driving Assessment Increases in 2026

Boards aren't raising dues arbitrarily. HOA fees in Chicago and the suburbs rose approximately 10% in 2024 and have continued upward through 2025–2026^{The Condo Trap}. The main cost drivers:

Insurance premiums. Condo and HOA insurance costs climbed roughly 15% in 2023 alone, with further increases following in 2024–2025^Steadily. Fewer carriers are willing to write policies for aging buildings, claims payouts are higher, and catastrophe risk models have been redrawn for Midwest weather exposure. Associations that shopped their coverage aggressively in prior years are now finding renewal quotes far above where they budgeted.

Deferred maintenance catching up. Associations that held assessments flat during COVID-era budget freezes are now reckoning with compressed timelines for capital projects — roofs, masonry, parking structures, elevators, and HVAC systems don't pause for budget politics. A project delayed two years is now competing with other deferred work in the same planning cycle.

Reserve funding pressure. Fannie Mae's 2025 and 2027 reserve-fund thresholds are creating real consequences for underfunded associations — lenders can decline to approve mortgage financing in buildings that fall below the threshold. Boards that ignored reserve funding for years are now under pressure to accelerate contributions before they affect unit resale values. For a full breakdown of the reserve requirements, see our Illinois HOA Reserve Fund guide.

Labor and materials. Construction and maintenance costs across Chicagoland remain elevated. Contractor backlogs for major projects — especially masonry and mechanical — mean that delaying a project doesn't save money; it typically adds cost.

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What Boards Should Do Before Raising Assessments

Read Your Governing Documents First

Your declaration and bylaws may impose caps or require procedures more restrictive than state law requires. Some associations require a membership vote for any increase above 10%, regardless of the 115% statutory threshold. The statute sets a floor; your documents may set a lower ceiling. If you haven't reviewed your governing documents alongside the budget this cycle, do that before the board votes.

Give Proper Written Notice

For condominium associations, the board meeting to adopt a special assessment requires 10–30 days' written notice sent to all unit owners^{KSN Law}. CICAA associations have the wider 10–60 day window. Missing this step can void the assessment entirely — a procedural error that generates legal fees and restarts the calendar.

Document the Business Justification

Every significant assessment increase should have a paper trail: insurance renewal invoices, contractor bids with scopes of work, reserve-study findings, or legal opinions requiring the expenditure. Good documentation protects the board against owner challenges and demonstrates the board acted on real data, not arbitrary judgment.

Communicate Before You're Required To

Illinois law doesn't require boards to explain their budget decisions before the formal meeting. But transparency is the single best way to avoid a petition drive. Communities that receive early context — a letter, email, or town hall before the formal board vote — are far less likely to organize a 20% petition than communities that discover a 20% dues increase on their statement with no explanation. Surprise increases generate anger; explained increases generate questions.

Build in Time for the Process

If you're planning a special assessment that will trigger the 115% threshold, build the owner-petition window into your project timeline. A valid petition delays the assessment by at least 30 days while the membership meeting is organized. A special assessment that gets rejected on procedural grounds — even a legitimate one — costs the association in legal fees and delays the project it was meant to fund.

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What Happens When Owners Don't Pay

A validly-adopted assessment that survives any membership challenge is worthless if owners don't pay it. Illinois gives associations meaningful collection tools, but they require consistent, timely use.

Unpaid assessments in Illinois accrue interest at the rate specified in your governing documents, and associations can recover attorney fees when collecting delinquent amounts. The full three-step collection process — demand letters, statutory notices, and ultimately lien or eviction actions — is covered in detail in our Illinois HOA Delinquent Assessment Collection guide.

The key pattern: boards that raise assessments without a corresponding commitment to consistent collection often end up in a worse financial position than before the increase. A 15% dues increase collected at 85% efficiency has less purchasing power than a flat budget with full collection. Enforcement and increases go together.

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Working With a Property Management Company

Navigating Illinois HOA law, governing documents, the 115% calculation, owner notice logistics, and membership meeting procedures simultaneously is a lot for a volunteer board — especially when a significant budget change or capital project is in play.

Many Chicagoland associations work with a professional HOA management company to handle this process. A good manager can prepare the budget package, draft and track owner notices, ensure the 115% calculation is done correctly before the board votes, and run the meeting logistics if an owner vote is required.

If your board is heading into a difficult budget cycle and wants to get the process right, Sync Properties works with HOA and condo associations across Chicagoland. Reach us at contact@syncprop.com or schedule a consultation to talk through your association's situation.

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Sources

1. Illinois Condominium Property Act, Section 18 — Illinois General Assembly
2. Caps on Special Assessments and Expenditures — CAI-IL Blog
3. Illinois Common Interest Community Association Act — IDFPR
4. Changes to the CICAA and Illinois Condominium Property Act — KSN Law Firm
5. Condo Market in Chicago 2026 — The Condo Trap
6. Illinois HOA Laws and Regulations 2026 — Steadily
7. How Much Can Condo Association Assessments Increase in Illinois? — Condo Management