12-3-4: CONDOMINIUM WARRANTY PROVISIONS:

   A.   Any developer of a property submitted subject to the provisions of the Illinois condominium property act shall be required to provide a warranty against any defects in the following property components:

      1.   Roof.

      2.   Foundation.

      3.   External and supporting walls.

      4.   Central heating plant.

   B.   Said warranty shall cover the defects listed in this section for a period of fifteen (15) months from the date control of the condominium property passes to the Board of Managers.

   C.   Repair or replacement of the defects listed in this section shall be performed in a timely manner by the developer following notification by the Board of Managers.

   D.   Warranty coverage shall not include the cost of normal, routine maintenance of the property components listed in this section or defects caused by fire (not related to any breach of warranty), acts of God, vandalism or negligence of a unit owner.

   E.   To assure compliance with this section, the developer shall, at the time of each closing, place in escrow with a bank or trust company authorized to do business in Illinois a sum equal to two percent (2%) of the total of each unit sale price. The developer shall provide proof satisfactory to the Director at the time of application for a real estate transfer tax stamp pursuant to section 23A-1-1 et seq., of this code, as amended, that the escrow account has been or will be established upon closing. Said sum shall remain in escrow for a period of not less than fifteen (15) months from the date control of the condominium project passes to the Board of Managers and all interest earnings on the sum held in escrow shall accrue solely to the developer. The developer shall notify the Director by registered or certified mail that control of the condominium project has passed to the Board of Managers within five (5) days of the passage of control. At least sixty (60) days prior to the termination of the escrow period, the developer shall notify the Board of Managers and the affected unit owners by certified mail of the date upon which the escrow will terminate. If the required prior notice has been given and no notice of claim by any unit owner is received within the fifteen (15) month period, the funds in escrow shall be returned to the developer. If notice of claim is received by the escrowee, funds shall be retained in escrow in the amount of the claim until the claim is adjusted between the claimant and the developer or until the validity of the claim is determined by court action. (Ord. 15-184, 11-2-2015, eff. 12-1-2015)

12-3-5: CONDOMINIUM CODE INSPECTIONS:

   A.   A developer submitting a property to the provisions of the Illinois condominium property act shall file a notice of intent to convert with the Director within three (3) business days from the date said notice is given to the tenants of the property. A code inspection of the property, including all projected condominium units and common elements and facilities, shall be scheduled by agreement between the developer and the Director when the notice of intent to convert is received by the Director.

   B.   Any code violations and deficiencies detected during an inspection of projected condominium units and common elements and facilities should be corrected by the developer at least thirty (30) days prior to the closing of a sales contract on any condominium unit to provide the Director with adequate time to perform a reinspection of the premises and prepare the inspection report and certificate for delivery to the prospective purchaser by the developer at or prior to closing as required in subsection 12-3-5F of this section. Said corrections shall be evidenced by a code inspection report and certificate of code compliance, except as provided in subsection 12-3-5C of this section, issued by the Director.

   C.   If substantial rehabilitation is being performed as part of a conversion to condominium, the Director may issue a partial certificate of code compliance to permit the closing of sales contracts for those condominium units in which rehabilitation is complete and all code violations are corrected. Partial certificates also may be issued for common elements and facilities on which rehabilitation is complete and all code violations are corrected. However, prior to the issuance of a certificate of code compliance for the entire property, a reinspection shall be made on all common elements and facilities and units for which sales contracts have not been closed. Any recurrence of code violations in the common elements and facilities covered by a partial certificate of code compliance shall be corrected by the developer at the developer's expense unless control of the building has passed to the Board of Managers.

   D.   Until such time as all units in a condominium property are sold, the Director shall conduct annual building inspections of all common elements, all common facilities, and at least ten percent (10%) (but never less than 1 unit) of the unsold condominium units.

   E.   Subsequent to the sale of all condominium units, the Director shall conduct an annual inspection of all the common elements and facilities of a condominium property. The condominium building shall be subject to all applicable Village ordinances which may be enforced as to the developer, unit owners, Board of Managers or any other person to whom the ordinances are applicable.

   F.   A developer shall be required to provide a prospective purchaser with a copy of a code inspection report and a certificate or partial certificate of code compliance prior to or at the closing of a condominium unit sales contract. (Ord. 15-184, 11-2-2015, eff. 12-1-2015)

12-3-6: CONVERSION NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

   A.   No less than one hundred twenty (120) days prior to recording the declaration submitting a property to the provisions of the Illinois condominium property act, a developer shall give notice of said intent to record to all persons who are tenants of the property on the date notice is given.

   B.   Any person who was a tenant upon the date of receiving a notice of intent to record a declaration of condominium and whose tenancy expires other than for cause prior to one hundred twenty (120) days thereafter shall have the right to extend his tenancy on the same terms and conditions and for the same rental cost until the one hundred twenty (120) day period expires.

   C.   An exception to the requirement of subsection 12-3-6B of this section shall be provided for any tenant who is sixty five (65) years or over or who is physically handicapped or physically disabled. Any said tenant whose tenancy expires other than for cause prior to one hundred eighty (180) days after receiving a notice of intent to record a declaration of condominium shall have the right to extend his tenancy on the same terms and conditions and for the same rental cost until the one hundred eighty (180) day period expires.

   D.   No rental lease shall be executed between an owner or his agent and a prospective new tenant in a property for which notice of intent to record a declaration of condominium has been given to existing tenants unless the prospective new tenant initially is notified in writing of the intended recordation. No lease shall be executed so as to stipulate an expiration date prior to one hundred twenty (120) days from the date the lease becomes effective. (Ord. 15-184, 11-2-2015, eff. 12-1-2015)

12-3-7: RELOCATION ASSISTANCE:

Special consideration shall be given to tenants who would or could experience severe hardships in relocating, if necessary, after receiving a notice of intent to submit a property to the provisions of the Illinois condominium property act. The following provisions are included to alleviate said hardships:

   A.   A condominium developer shall inform all tenants electing not to purchase condominium units that relocation counseling or assistance may be available by contacting the Oak Park Housing Authority, Oak Park Housing Center or other appropriate agencies.

   B.   A condominium developer shall disclose in writing the following language to a tenant electing not to purchase a condominium unit:

Tenants who find it necessary to move may be eligible for rental assistance payments through the Housing Authority of the Village of Oak Park located at 328 North Austin Boulevard. All tenants desiring assistance are encouraged to inquire about the Housing Authority programs.

The Housing Authority will make every effort to help, although Federal funds available for rental assistance payments are limited. Tenants eligible for assistance must have an annual income not in excess of the income standards set for this area by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Tenants meeting this standard shall receive some priority consideration from the Housing Authority under its standards for tenants who are about to be without housing due to no fault of their own.

   C.   Apartment building owners who receive rehabilitation grant assistance from the Oak Park community development block grant program shall be required to offer, on a priority basis, any unleased units so assisted to eligible tenants displaced by condominium conversions within the Village. (Ord. 15-184, 11-2-2015, eff. 12-1-2015)

12-3-8: CODE REQUIREMENTS:

Every condominium unit shall contain the following:

   A.   Ground fault interrupted (GFI) outlets in kitchen and bathroom.

   B.   All electrical outlets shall be grounded.

   C.   A light fixture in all storage rooms or within fifteen feet (15') of all storage areas defined by wire or other transparent wall material.

   D.   A minimum of three (3) reasonably spaced, grounded electrical outlets in each habitable room in addition to any other electrical fixture which is located in any such room.

   E.   Each dwelling unit in a condominium must have a minimum of sixty (60) amp electric service. Electric service of less than sixty (60) amp must be replaced with one hundred (100) amp electric service.

   F.   The electrical service to the condominium building shall be equal to or greater than that required by article 220 of the national electric code (1993) for a building which complies with the per unit electrical service requirements of subsection 12-3-8E of this section. (Ord. 15-184, 11-2-2015, eff. 12-1-2015)

12-3-9: CONDOMINIUM SALES CONTRACT; RIDER REQUIRED:

The seller of every condominium unit within the Village shall include a rider to every sales contract for the sale of a condominium unit within the Village which must be separately executed by the seller and purchaser and which shall read, in bold print, as follows:

The Seller has notified the Purchaser, and the Purchaser acknowledges receipt of notification from the Seller that the Village of Oak Park has enacted a Condominium and Condominium Conversion Ordinance, setting forth regulations which, among other things, provide BUYER PROTECTION BENEFITS included in the enumerated Section of the Ordinance as follows:

 

Section 12-3-2:		At least 30 days prior to closing a sales contract...a developer shall prepare and file with the Director of the Development Customer Services Department a property report and shall certify by affidavit that all disclosures are true to the best of the developer's knowledge and belief...
Section 12-3-2R:		The maximum number of occupants permitted by the Village Code for this dwelling unit is listed in the Property Report required to be on file with the Director of the Development Customer Services Department.
Section 12-3-4A to E:		Condominium warranty provisions...A copy of the warranty shall be filed with the Director of the Development Customer Services Department...
Section 12-3-5A:		A developer submitting a property to the provisions of the Illinois Condominium Property Act shall file a notice of intent to convert with the Director of the Development Customer Services Department of the Village, within three (3) business days from the date said notice is given to the tenants of the property. A code inspection...shall be scheduled....
Section 12-3-5B:		Any code violations and deficiencies...should be corrected by the developer at least 30 days prior to the closing of a sales contract on any condominium unit to provide the Department of Development Customer Services with adequate time to perform a reinspection of the premises and prepare the required report and certificate. Said corrections shall be evidenced by a code inspection report and certificate, or partial certificate, of code compliance which shall be presented by the developer to the Purchaser prior to or at closing.
Section 12-3-11:		The Purchaser has the right to rescind any sale not in substantial conformance with this Article or to seek damages therefor.

 

All of the above provisions must be satisfied prior to closing. If you have any questions or need additional information, please call the Director of the Development Customer Services Department at [phone].

(Ord. 15-184, 11-2-2015, eff. 12-1-2015)

12-3-10: CONDOMINIUM DEVELOPMENT MEETING; REQUIRED:

The developer shall schedule an informational meeting at the Village Hall with the Director and Director of Community Relations at least ninety (90) days prior to filing the declaration in the case of new construction or within thirty (30) days of providing notice to tenants of an existing building of the developer's intention to file a declaration to convert such building to a condominium building in accordance with the Illinois condominium property act.

The purpose of the meeting will be for the Village to provide the developer and developer's agents with information concerning the application of the Village's fair housing and condominium development laws and regulations to the developer's condominium development. (Ord. 15-184, 11-2-2015, eff. 12-1-2015)

12-3-11: VIOLATION PENALTIES:

Any person found guilty of violating any of the provisions of this article upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than three hundred dollars ($300.00) for the first offense and not less than three hundred dollars ($300.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for the second and each subsequent offense in any one hundred eighty (180) day period, provided, however, that all actions seeking the imposition of fines only shall be filed as quasi-criminal actions subject to the provisions of the Illinois civil practice act 1 . Repeated offenses in excess of three (3) within any one hundred eighty (180) day period may also be punishable as a misdemeanor by incarceration in the county jail for a term not to exceed six (6) months under the procedure set forth in section 1-2-1 .1 of the Illinois municipal code 2 under the provisions of the Illinois code of criminal procedure in a separate proceeding.

Each failure to comply with the provisions of this article with respect to each person shall be considered a separate offense. A separate and distinct offense shall be regarded as committed each day on which such person shall continue or permit any such violation.

The rights, obligations and remedies set forth in this article shall be cumulative and in addition to any others available at law or in equity. The Village or any prospective purchaser, purchaser or owner of a unit may seek compliance with any provision of this article and in addition shall have the right to rescind any sale not in substantial conformance with this article or may seek damages therefor. (Ord. 15-184, 11-2-2015, eff. 12-1-2015)

 

Notes

1	1. 735 ILCS 5/1 et seq.
2	1. 65 ILCS 5/1-2-1.1.