# Illinois HOA Late Fees: No Statutory Cap > Illinois has no statutory cap on condo or HOA late fees, and no cap on the interest charged on unpaid assessments. The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.4(l), lets a condo board impose charges for late payment without naming a figure, and the Common Interest Community Association Act leaves late fees to the declaration. The courts supply one limit. In Hidden Grove Condominium Association v. Crooks (2001), an Illinois appellate court held that adding another $25 for every month a single assessment stayed unpaid was an unenforceable penalty, while a one-time $25 charge would be reasonable. Starting January 1, 2027, under Public Act 104-734, an association cannot take legal action to collect unpaid assessments unless it has adopted, and follows, a written collection policy that spells out its late fees and interest, any payment plan terms, and how payments are applied. _Source: https://hoanotes.com/hoa/illinois/late-fees/ | Last reviewed 2026-10-06_ ## No cap in the statute Section 18.4(l) gives a condo board the power to impose charges for late payment of common expenses. The same sentence requires notice and a chance to be heard before a fine, but that requirement attaches to fines, not to late charges. The Common Interest Community Association Act, which covers non-condo HOAs other than the smallest, does not mention late charges at all, so an HOA's power to charge one comes from its declaration. Illinois came close to a cap once. A 2005 bill would have limited condo late fees to the greater of $25 or 10% of the amount due, charged once per late payment. It passed both chambers and was vetoed, and the veto stood. Nothing has replaced it, so the figure lives in your association's documents. ## The limit the courts added In Hidden Grove, the association billed $88.23 a month and charged $25 for each month a payment ran late, then kept adding $25 for every month the same assessment stayed unpaid. One January payment that arrived in October drew $225 in late fees. The appellate court called the cumulative charge an unenforceable penalty, said a one-time $25 late fee would be reasonable, and sent the case back to recalculate. So if your documents say a late fee repeats every month on the same missed assessment, that clause is exposed to challenge. A single late fee for each late payment is the structure Illinois courts have accepted. Collection charges have their own rule. A condo can add its attorney's fees to an owner's account under 605/9.2(b), but other collection fees, including a manager's fees, only if they cover the cost of collecting common expenses, appear in the management contract, and the declaration or bylaws specifically allow adding them (605/9.2(c)). The HOA statute, 160/1-30(h), has the same three conditions. ## The collection policy rule starting in 2027 Public Act 104-734 takes effect January 1, 2027, for condos (605/18.4) and for associations under the Common Interest Community Association Act (160/1-45(j)). After that date, no association, and no one who buys its debt, can take legal action to collect common expenses without a written collection policy that it has adopted and follows. The policy has to state when an assessment is due and when it becomes delinquent, any late fees and interest, returned-check charges, whether owners can get a payment plan and on what minimum terms, how long before an account goes to a lawyer, the order payments are applied in, and the remedies the association can use. It does not cap any of those numbers. It puts them in writing. The law also adds a copy of the policy to the resale documents an association must give or make available to a buyer (605/22.1(a)(10) for condos and 160/1-35(d)(8) for other associations). For a sale after January 1, 2027, expect to see it in your package. ## What to check in the resale package Read these before you make an offer: - The late fee and interest rate in the declaration, bylaws, rules or collection policy. - Whether a late fee repeats each month on the same unpaid assessment, the structure rejected in Hidden Grove. - For a sale on or after January 1, 2027, whether the collection policy is in the package. - Any management company or collection fees charged to owners, and whether the declaration or bylaws allow them. - The seller's account statement, so late fees and interest are cleared at closing and not left on the unit. ## Why this matters to your offer With no statutory number, the late fee is whatever the board wrote down, and in a condo unpaid assessments, interest and late charges become a lien on the unit under 605/9(g). A heavy fee schedule is a cost you take on the day you close. An HOA Notes brief pulls the late fee, interest rate and collection terms out of your package, flags a monthly stacking late fee, checks for the 2027 collection policy, and cites the page behind each finding. ## What the statute says **765 ILCS 605/18.4(l) and P.A. 104-734 (collection policy, effective January 1, 2027)** (Late fees and collection policy). Illinois sets no statutory cap on late fees or interest: the CPA lets the board 'impose charges for late payment' (605/18.4(l)) with no figure, and a cumulative monthly late charge on one assessment is an unenforceable penalty (Hidden Grove Condo. Ass'n v. Crooks, 318 Ill. App. 3d 945 (2001)). From January 1, 2027, the association may not take legal action to collect common expenses unless it has adopted, and follows, a written collection policy specifying any late fees and interest, payment plan terms if any, and how payments are applied; a copy of the policy is part of the resale disclosures (605/22.1(a)(10), 160/1-35(d)(8)). The association may charge late fees and interest at the amounts its declaration, bylaws, or collection policy set, without a prior hearing (the notice-and-hearing requirement in 18.4(l) applies to fines); it may set its own payment order and decide whether to offer payment plans; it may add attorney's fees to the owner's share, but other collection or management fees only if the 605/9.2(c) or 160/1-30(h) conditions are met. ## Illinois HOA late fees: common questions ### Is there a cap on condo or HOA late fees in Illinois? No. Neither the Condominium Property Act nor the Common Interest Community Association Act sets a dollar or percentage limit. The amount comes from the association's documents. ### Can an Illinois association charge a late fee every month on the same missed payment? That structure is risky. In Hidden Grove Condominium Association v. Crooks (2001), an appellate court held a cumulative monthly late charge on one assessment was an unenforceable penalty, while a one-time $25 fee would be reasonable. ### Is there a cap on interest for unpaid assessments? Not in either association statute. The rate comes from the declaration or bylaws. From January 1, 2027, it must also be stated in the association's written collection policy. ### Does an Illinois HOA have to offer a payment plan? No statute requires one. From January 1, 2027, the collection policy must say whether owners can get a payment plan and on what minimum terms. ## Sources (verified 2026-10-06) 1. 765 ILCS 605/18.4 (powers and duties of board of managers), Illinois General Assembly. Verified 2026-10-06. https://www.ilga.gov/Documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/076506050K18.4.htm 2. 765 ILCS 160/1-45 (finances; collection policy), Illinois General Assembly. Verified 2026-10-06. https://www.ilga.gov/Documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/076501600K1-45.htm 3. Public Act 104-734 (SB 3527), Illinois General Assembly. Verified 2026-10-06. https://www.ilga.gov/Documents/legislation/publicacts/104/104-0734.htm 4. Bill status of SB 1915, 94th General Assembly (late fee cap, vetoed), Illinois General Assembly. Verified 2026-10-06. https://my.ilga.gov/ftp/legislation/94/BillStatus/HTML/09400SB1915.html 5. Hidden Grove Condominium Association v. Crooks, 318 Ill. App. 3d 945 (2001), Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School. Verified 2026-10-06. https://static.case.law/ill-app-3d/318/cases/0945-01.json 6. Illinois SB3527: Mandatory Collection Policies for Community Associations, Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, P.C.. Verified 2026-10-06. https://www.burkelaw.com/alert-illinois-sb3527-mandatory-collection-policies-for-community-associations HOA Notes is not a law firm and this is not legal advice.