- Official section
- National II.C.3: Association regulations and bylaws
- Broker weight
- Part of 5% of the national broker portion
- Expected scored items
- The current PSI outline assigns Land Use Controls about 5 of the 100 scored national broker items
Real estate glossary and exam guide
HOA bylaws: the association's decision-making playbook
When an owner says, 'The HOA decided,' the next question should be, 'Who decided, at what meeting, under what authority, with what notice and vote?' Bylaws turn association power into procedure. They tell owners how directors are elected, how meetings are called, what counts as quorum, who can sign, how vacancies are filled, and how records are kept. They are important, but they are not supreme. Statutes and the recorded declaration set the boundaries.
Last updated: August 1, 2026
What does this exam area cover?
Short answer: HOA bylaws govern the association's internal decision-making, including boards, officers, elections, meetings, notice, quorum, voting, records, budgets, contracts, and administrative procedures. They operate below controlling law and the declaration. A board can exercise only granted authority, and a bylaw amendment must follow the applicable vote, notice, execution, and recording requirements. Condominium and non-condominium common-interest statutes differ.
This guide follows the PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet effective June 24, 2026, the Illinois Common Interest Community Association Act, Condominium Property Act, and Public Act 104-0377 checked through August 1, 2026. Public Act 104-0377 extends the Condominium and Common Interest Community Ombudsperson compliance provisions to January 1, 2029. HB 5449 was still awaiting gubernatorial action at the cutoff and is not treated as enacted law. Exact governance depends on whether the property is a condominium, covered common-interest community, exempt small association, master association, cooperative, voluntary association, or developer-controlled community, plus its recorded instruments.
What is on the official outline?
- Topic
- Bylaw purpose
- What to know
- Internal governance, association, board, director, manager, officer, member, election, meeting, notice, quorum, vote, records, budget, contract, procedure, and administration
- Best exam move
- Use bylaws to answer how association decisions are made, not whether the association owns a particular parcel.
- Topic
- Document hierarchy
- What to know
- Federal law, Illinois statute, public policy, declaration, CC&Rs, plat, bylaws, operating agreement, articles, rules, resolutions, guidelines, conflict, authority, and void provision
- Best exam move
- Trace every bylaw and board action upward to controlling statutes and the declaration.
- Topic
- Association type
- What to know
- Condominium, common interest community, homeowners association, master association, cooperative, voluntary association, not-for-profit corporation, LLC, unincorporated association, developer control, exemption, and election into statute
- Best exam move
- Classify the entity before choosing an Illinois statute or governance rule.
- Topic
- Board composition
- What to know
- Number of directors, managers, owner eligibility, primary-residence qualification, multiple owners, at-large election, staggered terms, developer appointee, officer, vacancy, resignation, removal, and term expiration
- Best exam move
- Separate who may serve from who may vote and from who holds an officer title.
- Topic
- Board powers
- What to know
- Manage common property, adopt budget, collect assessments, maintain insurance, contract, hire manager, enforce documents, adopt rules, levy fines, maintain records, litigate, borrow, repair, and delegate
- Best exam move
- A board power must come from statute or governing instruments and cannot contradict a superior rule.
- Topic
- Board duties
- What to know
- Good faith, fiduciary obligation, reasonable care, compliance, maintenance, finances, records, meetings, notice, conflict disclosure, owner communication, insurance, reserve planning, and document enforcement
- Best exam move
- A power authorizes action; a duty requires responsible performance. Keep the two concepts separate.
- Topic
- Officers
- What to know
- President, vice president, secretary, treasurer, appointment, election, term, removal, vacancy, signature, notice recipient, minutes, financial oversight, delegation, and board supervision
- Best exam move
- An officer performs assigned functions but does not automatically possess the whole board's authority.
- Topic
- Annual member meeting
- What to know
- Owner meeting, election, annual date, call, notice, purpose, agenda, candidate, quorum, ballot, proxy, percentage vote, minutes, adjournment, and inspector
- Best exam move
- Do not confuse a membership meeting to elect directors with a board meeting where directors conduct association business.
- Topic
- Special member meeting
- What to know
- President call, board call, owner petition, 20% condominium owners, stated purpose, notice, time, place, quorum, limited agenda, vote, removal, vacancy, and record
- Best exam move
- Follow the statute and bylaws for who can call the meeting and what business the notice permits.
- Topic
- Board meeting
- What to know
- Gathering of quorum, board business, open portion, closed discussion, technological participation, notice, posting, agenda, owner attendance, recording, deliberation, vote, minutes, and emergency
- Best exam move
- A quorum conducting board business can create a meeting even if participants call it an informal workshop.
- Topic
- Open and closed portions
- What to know
- Owner access, litigation, probable litigation, employment, contractor, interview, rule violation, unpaid assessments, legal counsel, privacy, deliberation, final action, open vote, minutes, and limited exception
- Best exam move
- Use a closed portion only for a statutory reason and take the required vote in the open meeting.
- Topic
- Meeting notice
- What to know
- Board notice, member notice, posted notice, electronic authorization, delivery, 48 hours, annual meeting, 10 to 30 days, purpose, place, time, longer document period, emergency, waiver, and proof
- Best exam move
- Match the notice period and method to the community type and meeting type.
- Topic
- Quorum
- What to know
- Board quorum, membership quorum, total seats, percentage interest, vacancy, presence, technological presence, proxy, ballot, adjournment, loss of quorum, and business validity
- Best exam move
- Calculate quorum before calculating the vote needed to approve a motion.
- Topic
- Voting
- What to know
- Percentage interest, one vote per unit, membership definition, board majority, owner majority, supermajority, ballot, proxy, electronic vote, cumulative voting, tie, abstention, candidate, amendment, and petition
- Best exam move
- Identify the voting body, denominator, allocation, quorum, and required threshold before counting yes votes.
- Topic
- Election procedure
- What to know
- Candidate notice, nomination, ballot distribution, proxy option, secret ballot, electronic means, election meeting, inspector, count, challenge, record retention, staggered term, at large, vacancy, and compelled election
- Best exam move
- Condominium and common-interest election rules differ, including how proxies and ballots may be used.
- Topic
- Budget procedure
- What to know
- Proposed budget, annual budget, common expenses, reserves, assessment allocation, notice, board adoption, owner petition, 115% comparison, 20% petition, 14-day period, meeting within 30 days, rejection vote, special assessment, and ratification
- Best exam move
- Do not assume every increase requires advance owner approval. Apply the statute and documents to the amount and petition process.
- Topic
- Contracts and conflicts
- What to know
- Board member, immediate family, 25% interest, association contract, notice, owner petition, vote, competitive bid, disclosure, recusal, manager, vendor, insurance, and records
- Best exam move
- A conflicted contract can trigger special statutory notice and owner-review rights beyond ordinary board approval.
- Topic
- Records and minutes
- What to know
- Declaration, bylaws, amendments, articles, rules, receipts, expenditures, contracts, leases, board minutes, owner minutes, ballots, proxies, tax returns, financial statements, request, proper purpose, redaction, retention, copy cost, response, and denial
- Best exam move
- Request the precise record under the correct statute and distinguish inspection from a demand that the association create a new report.
- Topic
- Amending bylaws
- What to know
- Statutory minimum, declaration provision, owner approval, board authority, percentage, notice, meeting, written consent, amendment text, officer execution, acknowledgment, recording, effective date, severability, and conflict
- Best exam move
- Verify both substantive authority and procedural compliance before treating an amendment as effective.
- Topic
- Transaction review
- What to know
- Current recorded bylaws, amendments, declaration, articles, rules, board roster, minutes, election dispute, budget, reserve, contracts, special assessment, manager, litigation, violation, resale certificate, owner plan, attorney review, and contingency
- Best exam move
- Governance problems can become ownership costs, delayed approvals, invalid actions, or litigation, so read more than the use restrictions.
Which distinctions produce the most mistakes?
- Terms
- Bylaws vs. declaration
- Difference
- Bylaws govern internal association procedure. The declaration creates core land burdens, ownership structure, assessment duties, and association authority.
- Question cue
- How the entity acts versus what attaches to the property.
- Terms
- Bylaws vs. rules
- Difference
- Bylaws establish governance machinery. Rules implement conduct and operational standards under authority granted by law and governing instruments.
- Question cue
- Decision process versus daily standard.
- Terms
- Board vs. association
- Difference
- The association is the collective membership entity. The board is the elected governing body that exercises delegated association authority.
- Question cue
- All members versus elected decision-makers.
- Terms
- Director vs. officer
- Difference
- A director or manager holds a board seat and votes on board action. An officer performs a designated role, sometimes while also serving as a director.
- Question cue
- Governing vote versus assigned office.
- Terms
- Member meeting vs. board meeting
- Difference
- Members elect directors and decide owner-reserved matters. Directors conduct board business and administer the association.
- Question cue
- Owner body versus governing body.
- Terms
- Quorum vs. majority vote
- Difference
- Quorum is the minimum presence needed to conduct business. Majority vote is an approval threshold measured against the denominator specified by law or documents.
- Question cue
- Can the body act versus did the motion pass.
- Terms
- Proxy vs. ballot
- Difference
- A proxy authorizes another person to exercise voting power. A ballot records the owner's own vote. Illinois election rules can permit, restrict, or replace proxy voting depending on the community and adopted procedure.
- Question cue
- Delegate voting authority versus cast a vote.
- Terms
- Open meeting vs. closed discussion
- Difference
- An open meeting permits owner attendance as required. A closed portion is limited to specified sensitive topics and does not create a general secrecy option.
- Question cue
- Default owner access versus narrow exception.
- Terms
- Board action vs. manager action
- Difference
- The board makes decisions within its authority. A manager carries out delegated administration and does not replace nondelegable board judgment.
- Question cue
- Authorize versus implement.
- Terms
- Rule adoption vs. bylaw amendment
- Difference
- Rule adoption uses existing authority for implementation. A bylaw amendment changes the governance instrument through its required approval and recording process.
- Question cue
- Use present power versus change governing text.
- Terms
- Owner petition vs. owner veto
- Difference
- A petition triggers a meeting or vote when the statute or documents say so. It does not by itself reverse board action unless the required rejection vote succeeds.
- Question cue
- Start review process versus defeat decision.
- Terms
- Private open-meeting rule vs. Illinois Open Meetings Act
- Difference
- Association statutes require access for owners in private communities. The Open Meetings Act applies to public bodies and is not the source of ordinary HOA meeting duties.
- Question cue
- Private owner right versus public-government transparency law.
The B-O-A-R-D-S governance audit
- Basis: classify the community and collect controlling statutes, declaration, recorded bylaws, operating agreement, articles, amendments, rules, and current board resolutions.
- Office and authority: identify members, directors, officers, managers, committees, developer rights, eligibility, terms, vacancies, signatures, delegation, and conflicts.
- Assembly: test meeting type, call, notice, agenda, quorum, open and closed portions, technological participation, owner recording, deliberation, vote, and minutes.
- Results: calculate vote allocation, denominator, threshold, proxies or ballots, abstentions, election outcome, budget petition, amendment approval, and effective date.
- Documents and dollars: review records, retention, contracts, budgets, reserves, assessments, audit or financial review, insurance, litigation, and disclosure duties.
- Solution: identify any procedural defect, cure, ratification route, new meeting, corrected notice, record request, election challenge, owner petition, Ombudsperson process, or legal review.
- Actor
- Members or unit owners
- Typical role
- Elect board and decide reserved matters
- Core limit
- Must use the vote and meeting process required by law and documents
- Actor
- Board
- Typical role
- Manage property and exercise association powers
- Core limit
- Cannot exceed statute or declaration authority
- Actor
- Officer
- Typical role
- Perform a defined leadership or administrative function
- Core limit
- Does not replace collective board action where required
- Actor
- Manager
- Typical role
- Carry out delegated day-to-day administration
- Core limit
- Cannot create powers the association does not have
How do the rules work in scenarios?
An informal board dinner becomes a meeting
Scenario: Four of seven directors meet for dinner and discuss which contractor the association will hire. Four directors constitute a quorum under the bylaws, and the purpose is board business.
- A board meeting is defined by a quorum gathering to conduct board business, not by the label social dinner.
- Meeting notice and owner-access requirements can apply.
- The directors should conduct deliberation and action through the lawful meeting process.
Answer: The gathering can be a board meeting despite its informal setting.
Quorum exists, but the amendment still fails
Scenario: A membership meeting has enough owners present for quorum. The declaration requires 67% of all votes to amend the bylaws, but only 55% of all votes approve.
- Quorum allows the meeting to conduct business.
- The amendment has a separate supermajority approval threshold.
- A simple majority of those present cannot replace the stated denominator.
Answer: The meeting was valid, but the amendment did not receive enough approval.
A manager cannot adopt a new rental ban
Scenario: The management company emails owners that all rentals are prohibited immediately. Neither the board nor owners voted, and the declaration permits leasing subject to registration.
- The manager implements delegated association business.
- A manager cannot contradict the declaration or unilaterally amend governing instruments.
- A lawful restriction would need substantive authority and the required adoption process.
Answer: The management email does not create a valid rental ban on these facts.
A closed discussion still needs an open vote
Scenario: A condominium board closes part of a noticed meeting to discuss a unit owner's alleged rule violation, then announces later that it imposed a fine without voting in the open portion.
- Rule-violation discussion can fit a statutory closed-session topic.
- The Act requires the vote on the matter to occur at an open meeting or open portion.
- The fine also requires the governing notice and hearing process.
Answer: Private discussion did not authorize a private final vote.
A budget petition triggers review, not automatic rejection
Scenario: A covered common-interest board adopts a budget above the statutory 115% comparison. Members holding 20% of the votes deliver a timely written petition within 14 days.
- The petition obligates the association to call the statutory member meeting within the prescribed period.
- The budget is not rejected merely because the petition was filed.
- A majority of the total member votes must be cast at the meeting to reject under the supplied statute.
Answer: The petition starts the rejection process but is not itself a veto.
A covered common-interest board meets only once
Scenario: A non-exempt association covered by 765 ILCS 160 holds one board meeting during the year because its old bylaws require only an annual meeting.
- Section 1-30(a) requires the covered board to meet at least four times annually.
- An inconsistent lower-level bylaw cannot reduce a statutory minimum.
- The association should update its calendar and governance practice.
Answer: One annual board meeting does not satisfy the current statutory minimum.
A recorded bylaw still loses to the Condominium Property Act
Scenario: A condominium bylaw says owners may never inspect any minutes or financial records. The association argues that recording makes the provision supreme.
- Recording does not validate a term contrary to controlling statute.
- Section 19 provides access rights and makes contrary condominium-instrument provisions ineffective as specified.
- The request must still follow the statute and any applicable category limits.
Answer: The bylaw cannot eliminate statutory record rights.
What are the common exam traps?
- Trap
- Calling bylaws CC&Rs
- Correction
- CC&Rs create core property burdens; bylaws primarily organize association governance.
- Trap
- Treating bylaws as the highest authority
- Correction
- Federal and Illinois law and the declaration can control over conflicting bylaws.
- Trap
- Assuming every association follows one Illinois Act
- Correction
- Classify condominium, common-interest, master, cooperative, voluntary, exempt, and developer-controlled structures.
- Trap
- Confusing the board with the association
- Correction
- The board is the governing body; the association is the collective membership entity.
- Trap
- Calling an officer the entire board
- Correction
- An officer cannot act alone where the law or documents require collective board approval.
- Trap
- Confusing quorum with the vote threshold
- Correction
- First decide whether the body can act, then calculate the approval vote using the correct denominator.
- Trap
- Calling a social gathering exempt by label
- Correction
- A quorum gathering to conduct board business can be a meeting despite its name or location.
- Trap
- Using the Open Meetings Act for a private HOA
- Correction
- Use the association's specific Illinois property statute and governing documents.
- Trap
- Taking final action in a closed portion
- Correction
- Closed discussion is limited, and covered votes must occur in the open meeting as the statute requires.
- Trap
- Assuming a petition is a veto
- Correction
- A petition triggers the defined meeting or election; the required vote decides the outcome.
- Trap
- Letting a manager amend bylaws
- Correction
- Management authority is delegated and cannot replace required owner or board approval and recording.
- Trap
- Changing bylaws with an informal email
- Correction
- Follow amendment authority, notice, vote, written instrument, execution, and recording requirements.
- Trap
- Ignoring record-category limits
- Correction
- Statutes differ on proper purpose, retention, exclusions, response periods, redaction, and copying costs.
- Trap
- Assuming old bylaws override a new statute
- Correction
- A lower-level provision cannot defeat a current mandatory statutory rule.
- Trap
- Treating a pending bill as law
- Correction
- HB 5449 had not become a public act by August 1, 2026 and is not used as current authority here.
Can you answer these original practice questions?
These questions are original study items aligned to the published outline. They are not copied, recalled, or predicted PSI questions.
1. What is the main purpose of HOA bylaws?
- To govern association decision-making and administration
- To create municipal zoning districts
- To calculate mortgage interest
- To transfer title at closing
Show answer and explanation
Answer: To govern association decision-making and administration
Bylaws commonly address boards, officers, elections, meetings, voting, records, budgets, and procedure.
2. What is the usual difference between a declaration and bylaws?
- The declaration creates property burdens and authority; bylaws govern internal procedure
- Bylaws are zoning and the declaration is a mortgage
- They are always identical
- The declaration applies only to tenants
Show answer and explanation
Answer: The declaration creates property burdens and authority; bylaws govern internal procedure
The two documents work together but perform different primary jobs.
3. What is quorum?
- The minimum presence required for the body to conduct the relevant business
- Every vote cast for a motion
- The association's annual budget
- A deed restriction
Show answer and explanation
Answer: The minimum presence required for the body to conduct the relevant business
Quorum is measured before determining whether a motion received the required approval vote.
4. May a condominium board take its final vote on a rule violation only in closed discussion?
- No, the covered vote must occur in the open meeting or open portion
- Yes, every board vote is secret
- Yes, if the manager agrees
- No, because violations can never be discussed privately
Show answer and explanation
Answer: No, the covered vote must occur in the open meeting or open portion
The statute separates permitted closed discussion from final board action.
5. How often must a non-exempt board covered by the Common Interest Community Association Act meet?
- At least four times annually
- Once every ten years
- Only when a unit sells
- Every business day
Show answer and explanation
Answer: At least four times annually
That requirement appears in 765 ILCS 160/1-30(a).
6. Does filing a timely budget petition automatically reject the budget?
- No, it triggers the statutory meeting and the required rejection vote still must occur
- Yes, one signature is enough
- Yes, every petition is final
- No, because owners never have budget rights
Show answer and explanation
Answer: No, it triggers the statutory meeting and the required rejection vote still must occur
The petition starts a process rather than deciding the result by itself.
7. Can an association manager unilaterally amend recorded bylaws?
- No, the amendment must follow the authority and procedure in law and governing documents
- Yes, by sending an email
- Yes, if one director approves
- No, because bylaws can never be amended
Show answer and explanation
Answer: No, the amendment must follow the authority and procedure in law and governing documents
A manager implements delegated decisions and cannot replace required votes or recording.
8. Does the Illinois Open Meetings Act ordinarily govern a private HOA board?
- No, the applicable association statute and governing documents control
- Yes, every HOA is a public body
- Yes, if it collects assessments
- No, because HOA meetings are never open
Show answer and explanation
Answer: No, the applicable association statute and governing documents control
Private-association open-meeting duties come from property statutes, not the public-body Act.
9. A bylaw conflicts with a mandatory Illinois statute. Which controls?
- The statute
- The bylaw because it is older
- The manager's preference
- The listing agreement
Show answer and explanation
Answer: The statute
Private governing documents cannot override controlling law.
10. What should a buyer examine beyond use restrictions?
- Governance, elections, meetings, budgets, records, contracts, assessments, and disputes
- Only paint colors
- Only the president's name
- Only the pool hours
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Governance, elections, meetings, budgets, records, contracts, assessments, and disputes
Weak or contested governance can create financial, approval, and litigation risk for owners.
How should you study this area?
- Session
- Session 1
- Focus
- Build the authority ladder
- Proof you are ready
- Sort 30 provisions into statute, declaration, bylaws, operating agreement, articles, rules, resolutions, or management procedure and explain conflicts.
- Session
- Session 2
- Focus
- Map association roles
- Proof you are ready
- For 16 scenarios, identify member, director, officer, committee, manager, developer, candidate, proxy holder, and authorized signer.
- Session
- Session 3
- Focus
- Run lawful meetings
- Proof you are ready
- Build agendas for annual, special-member, regular-board, emergency-board, and closed-discussion situations with correct call, notice, quorum, vote, and minutes.
- Session
- Session 4
- Focus
- Calculate elections and votes
- Proof you are ready
- Solve 24 problems involving board seats, percentage votes, one-vote-per-unit provisions, quorum, proxies, ballots, supermajorities, petitions, vacancies, and removal.
- Session
- Session 5
- Focus
- Audit dollars and records
- Proof you are ready
- Review 12 associations for budget adoption, 115% petition rights, reserves, contracts, conflicts, financial records, minutes, retention, requests, and response periods.
- Session
- Session 6
- Focus
- Run the B-O-A-R-D-S audit
- Proof you are ready
- Score at least 90 percent and explain every miss through basis, office, assembly, results, documents and dollars, or solution.
Do not count recognition as mastery. Close the notes and explain the rule, apply it to a new fact pattern, and identify why each distractor fails.
Practice the topic in Pass Illinois
From concept to decision
Drill this topic, then review the explanation
Pass Illinois gives you original national and Illinois questions, topic-by-topic study, clear explanations, timed practice, flashcards, progress tracking, and Math Coach. Start free, find the weak distinction, and focus the next session there.
Questions students ask about What Are HOA Bylaws? Illinois Real Estate Exam Guide
What are HOA bylaws?
HOA bylaws are governing provisions that organize how a homeowners association conducts its internal affairs. They commonly cover board size, eligibility, elections, officer roles, meetings, notice, quorum, voting, vacancies, committees, records, budgeting, contracts, and administration. They operate under controlling statutes and the recorded declaration rather than replacing either one.
Are HOA bylaws the same as CC&Rs?
No. CC&Rs, usually in the declaration, create core land burdens, assessment duties, easements, use restrictions, and association powers. Bylaws describe how the association and its board make decisions and carry out those powers. Rules give more detailed conduct standards under granted authority. Some documents combine provisions, so read the title, recording history, and substance.
Which controls if condominium bylaws conflict with the declaration?
Illinois Condominium Property Act section 4.1(b) generally provides that the declaration prevails over conflicting bylaws or other condominium instruments, except to the extent the declaration is inconsistent with the Act and subject to the section's qualification for certain instruments recorded before the relevant 1984 amendment. A bylaw cannot override controlling statute or silently amend the declaration.
Can an HOA board change the bylaws by itself?
Only if the statutes and governing instruments grant that authority for the proposed change. Many amendments require a specified owner vote, proper notice, execution, and recording. Under the Illinois Common Interest Community Association Act, no modification or amendment of the declaration, bylaws, or operating agreement is valid unless stated in an amendment and duly recorded. Never assume a board resolution equals a valid bylaw amendment.
Are Illinois HOA board meetings open to owners?
Covered Illinois condominium and common-interest statutes generally require board meetings to be open to owners or members, with defined reasons for closing a portion or meeting separately, such as certain litigation, personnel, contract, rule-violation, delinquency, or legal-counsel discussions. Final votes on covered matters must occur in the open portion as required by the applicable statute. Exact notice and exception language depends on community type.
Does the Illinois Open Meetings Act govern an HOA?
Ordinarily no. A private association is not a public body merely because its own governing statute requires open board meetings. Condominium and common-interest association meeting requirements come from their specific property statutes and documents. Do not import every Open Meetings Act rule into a private HOA.
How often must a covered Illinois common-interest board meet?
Section 1-30(a) of the Common Interest Community Association Act requires the board to meet at least four times annually. That rule applies to associations covered by the Act, subject to its applicability and exemption provisions. A condominium uses the Condominium Property Act and its bylaws rather than this non-condominium provision.
Can owners inspect association bylaws and records?
Illinois condominium and common-interest statutes provide inspection rights for specified association records, subject to written requests, proper-purpose rules for some categories, response periods, excluded records, copying costs, and other procedures. Bylaws, declarations, amendments, rules, meeting minutes, financial records, contracts, and election materials can have different treatment. Use the correct statute and request language.
What is quorum in an HOA meeting?
Quorum is the minimum voting presence required before a board or membership body can conduct the relevant business. Board quorum and owner-meeting quorum are different. The statute, declaration, and bylaws define the number or percentage, what counts as presence, and whether proxies, ballots, or technological participation apply. A majority vote is not the same thing as quorum.
Where are HOA bylaws tested on the Illinois broker exam?
The PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet effective June 24, 2026 places private land-use controls under National II.B. Questions commonly contrast bylaws with CC&Rs, declarations, association rules, deed restrictions, assessments, fines, zoning, and building codes.
Are these official PSI questions or HOA legal advice?
No. The practice questions are original, and the sources were checked through August 1, 2026. A real governance dispute requires the current statutes, declaration, recorded bylaws and amendments, articles, rules, meeting notices, minutes, vote records, association type, and advice from qualified Illinois community-association counsel.
Primary sources
- PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet effective June 24, 2026
- 765 ILCS 160, Illinois Common Interest Community Association Act current full text
- 765 ILCS 160/1-20, recorded amendments, association administration, and reasonable fines
- 765 ILCS 160/1-25, current common-interest board election requirements
- 765 ILCS 160/1-30, board meetings, conflicts, records, retention, and owner access
- 765 ILCS 605/18, current required condominium bylaw contents, meetings, elections, and voting
- 765 ILCS 605/18.4, condominium board powers and duties
- 765 ILCS 605/4.1, declaration priority over conflicting condominium bylaws
- 765 ILCS 605/19, condominium record maintenance and inspection rights
- 765 ILCS 605/18.2, developer control and first unit-owner board transition
- Public Act 104-0377, association Ombudsperson compliance extension to January 1, 2029
- Illinois General Assembly HB 5449 status, not enacted as of August 1, 2026
The current official outline controls the tested scope. Statutes, regulations, and official agency materials control when a general study rule and a jurisdiction-specific rule differ.
Editorial status
Checked against primary sources
The Pass Illinois editorial team last checked this guide on August 1, 2026. Every practice question is an original study item, and the source links above let you verify the rules that support the lesson.