Condo Special Assessments in Chicago: A Buyer's Guide (2026)

Last reviewed: November 6, 2026 · Chicago Condo Loans Editorial Team · How we research

Quick answer A special assessment is a separate charge an association levies on top of regular dues, usually for a large repair or a budget shortfall. In Illinois, a condo board can adopt one on its own for emergencies or for work required by law; most others can be challenged by owners holding 20% of the votes, and additions or alterations need two-thirds approval. A special assessment doesn’t automatically block a mortgage. Under Fannie Mae’s rules, lenders review each assessment’s purpose, status, amount and payoff date, and a building is ineligible only if the assessment is tied to a critical repair that hasn’t been fixed. If you’ll be paying it, the payment counts in your debt-to-income ratio.

This is part of our complete guide to condo loans in Chicago.

What is a condo special assessment?

A special assessment (Illinois law calls it a separate assessment) is a charge on unit owners for a cost the regular budget and reserves don’t cover. Common reasons in Chicago include façade and masonry repairs, roof replacement, elevator modernization, garage and concrete work, plumbing risers, insurance deductibles after a loss, and catching up on reserves that were too thin. It can be due in one payment or spread out: Illinois lets boards adopt assessments payable over more than one fiscal year.

How does an Illinois condo board approve a special assessment?

The Illinois Condominium Property Act (765 ILCS 605/18(a)(8)) sets the rules. Owners must get notice of any board meeting held to adopt a separate assessment. What happens next depends on the type of expense:

Type of assessment	Who approves it	Owners’ options
Emergencies (an immediate danger to the structure or to owners’ life, health, safety or property) and expenses mandated by law	The board alone	No owner vote or petition
Additions or alterations to the common elements that aren’t in the annual budget	Two-thirds of the total votes of all unit owners	The vote itself
Other separate assessments that push the year’s total assessments above 115% of the prior year’s	The board	Owners with 20% of the votes can petition within 21 days; the board must call a meeting within 30 days, and the assessment stands unless a majority of the total votes reject it

Source: 765 ILCS 605/18(a)(8). A building’s declaration and bylaws can add procedures; ask an attorney about a specific building.

Because emergency and legally required work skips the owner vote, a building with façade repairs due or a city violation can face a fast, sizable assessment. See our post on Chicago façade ordinance deadlines.

How do lenders review special assessments?

Loan type	What the lender checks
Conventional (Fannie Mae)	For each current or planned assessment: its purpose, when it was approved and whether collection has started, the original amount and the amount still to be collected, and when it will be paid in full. If it pays for a critical repair that hasn’t been fixed, the building is ineligible.
FHA	HUD’s condo rule (24 CFR 203.43b) lists planned or actual special assessments among the items FHA reviews, and FHA’s condo questionnaires ask for the dollar amount of special assessments and whether owners are current on them.
VA	The lender uploads a special assessment letter from the association with the building’s other documents when it asks VA to review the project. See our VA condo loan guide.
Jumbo and portfolio	Each lender sets its own standards; ask early what it needs.

A funded special assessment can actually help a building qualify. Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide (B4-2.1-03) treats unfunded repairs costing more than $10,000 per unit that should be done within 12 months as a critical-repair problem, but repairs funded through a special assessment don’t count toward that test. Routine work paid for through the normal budget, or through special assessments within guidelines, isn’t considered critical. What matters is whether the money is in place and whether any safety or structural problem has actually been fixed.

Two narrower rules also turn on assessments. If a single investor owns more units than Fannie Mae allows, the limit can be waived on a purchase only when there are no pending or active special assessments. And if a structural or mechanical inspection was completed within 3 years of the lender’s review, the lender must get it and read it alongside the assessment list. Building reviews also got stricter for applications on or after August 3, 2026; see our post on the end of Limited Review and our guide to warrantable vs. non-warrantable condos.

Does a special assessment count against my debt-to-income ratio?

Yes, if you’ll be paying it. Fannie Mae defines the monthly housing expense for the home you’re buying as principal and interest, insurance, real estate taxes, ground rent, special assessments and association dues, among other items (Selling Guide B3-6-03). That total feeds your debt-to-income ratio, so a $200 monthly installment on top of $450 in dues is underwritten as $650 a month in association costs. Our guide to HOA dues and your mortgage approval shows how FHA and VA count these costs and how much borrowing power they use up. If the seller is paying the assessment off at closing, ask your lender how to document it.

Who pays a special assessment when a condo is sold?

The purchase contract decides. Common approaches are for the seller to pay the full assessment at closing, for the buyer to take over the remaining installments, or for the price or a credit to reflect it. Have your real estate attorney spell it out, especially for an assessment that is under discussion but not yet adopted.

Before you’re committed, use the Section 22.1 disclosures. On a written request, the association has 10 business days to provide them, and they include a statement of the unit’s unpaid assessments and other charges and a statement of capital expenditures the association anticipates in the current or next 2 fiscal years. Our guide to the condo questionnaire and HOA review covers what else to read.

How do reserves relate to special assessments?

Reserves are the association’s savings for big repairs. When they run short, special assessments fill the gap. Fannie Mae now requires a building’s budget to include the highest recommended reserve allocation, and the minimum reserve contribution for buildings that get a full review rises from 10% to 15% on January 4, 2027 (Fannie Mae Lender Letter LL-2026-03). Associations that are behind may raise dues, levy assessments, or both. See what the 15% reserve rule means for Chicago buyers.

What to ask before you make an offer

Is any special assessment approved, being collected or under discussion? Get the purpose, amount, schedule and remaining balance in writing.
What do the last 12 months of board minutes say? Minutes often show repairs and assessments before they’re adopted.
Is there a reserve study, and how does the reserve balance compare with it?
Are there recent structural, mechanical or façade inspection reports? Conventional lenders must review structural or mechanical inspections from the past 3 years.
Is any planned work an emergency or required by law? Those costs can be assessed without an owner vote.
Who pays under your contract? Settle it with your attorney before your attorney review period ends.
Tell your lender early and share the 22.1 disclosures along with the condo questionnaire.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a mortgage on a Chicago condo with a special assessment?

Often, yes. Under Fannie Mae’s rules the lender reviews each assessment’s purpose, status, amount and payoff date. A building becomes ineligible when the assessment is tied to a critical repair that hasn’t been completed, not simply because an assessment exists.

Can an Illinois condo board pass a special assessment without an owner vote?

For emergencies and expenses required by law, yes. Additions or alterations to the common elements that aren’t in the budget need two-thirds of all owners’ votes. For other assessments that push the year’s total above 115% of the prior year’s, owners with 20% of the votes can petition within 21 days to force a meeting.

Does a special assessment count in my debt-to-income ratio?

Yes, if you’ll be paying it. Fannie Mae includes special assessments in the monthly housing expense used to calculate your debt-to-income ratio.

Who pays a special assessment when a condo is sold?

Whatever the purchase contract says. The seller may pay it off at closing, the buyer may take over the remaining installments, or the price may be adjusted. Settle it with your attorney before you’re committed.

How do I find out about planned special assessments?

Ask for the 22.1 disclosures, which list anticipated capital expenditures for the current and next 2 fiscal years, plus recent board minutes, the budget, the reserve study and any inspection reports.

Sources

Educational content only, not lending, legal or financial advice. See our Disclaimer.