Condos, landlords and renters

A condominium splits a building into units and the shared parts around them. Under the Condominium Property Act, the common elements are all parts of the property except the units. Fixtures inside the unfinished surfaces of a unit's walls, floors and ceilings that the developer first installed are common elements too.

The board's job is to provide for the operation, care, upkeep, maintenance, replacement and improvement of the common elements. The bylaws must cover how the common elements are maintained, repaired and replaced, and how that work is paid. The board may enter each unit as needed to maintain, repair or replace common elements, or to make emergency repairs that prevent damage to common elements or other units. Board members must use the care required of a fiduciary of the unit owners.

Source: Illinois General Assembly

Equipment you add to your own unit is treated differently. The Act counts air conditioning and heating equipment that a unit owner installs inside the unit as improvements and betterments. The association's insurance does not have to cover improvements and betterments that owners install. A unit owner is liable for claims or damage that come from the use or operation of their unit, or from their own conduct.

Some shared parts are limited common elements, assigned to particular units. The condominium documents may charge the costs of limited common elements only to the units they are assigned to. Your declaration and bylaws are the place to check before you hire anyone, so you know whether the board or you should call for service.

Source: Illinois General Assembly

The Act also sets heating and cooling standards, in its Section 18.11. During the heating season, October 1 through May 31, heat must reach at least 68°F between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. when it is below 55°F outside, and at least 62°F between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. During the cooling season, June 1 through September 30, cooling systems must run when the heat index is over 80°F.

Not every condo building has central cooling. When a building has no building-wide cooling that serves the units, the association must provide at least one indoor common gathering space with cooling that runs when the heat index is over 80°F. If you think your building is falling short, raise it with your board first.

Source: Illinois General Assembly

Shared heating and cooling plants wear out, and replacing them is costly. Every condo budget adopted on or after July 1, 1990 must provide reasonable reserves for capital spending and deferred maintenance on the common elements. In setting reserves, the board must consider the repair and replacement cost and useful life of what the association maintains, including mechanical parts and energy systems and equipment.

Limits on spending in the condo documents do not apply to repairing, replacing or restoring existing common elements. That includes energy systems and equipment replaced with the functional equivalent of the original. For an improvement costing more than 5% of the annual budget, owners with 20% of the votes can petition within 21 days of the board's approval, and the board must then call an owners' meeting within 30 days.

Source: Illinois General Assembly

In a rental, the landlord carries most of the duty. In cold weather months, landlords must supply heat to rental units, or to any unit where the owners do not have individual control of the heat. Landlords must also keep individual heating equipment in houses or apartments in good operating condition. A tenant with individual heating equipment may have to pay the gas or electric bills to run it.

A lease can shift some costs but not the responsibility. The owner may require the occupant to provide the heating at the occupant's expense, but that does not free the owner from responsibility for the heating equipment being there. For cooling, Chicago does not require landlords to provide air conditioning in all apartments. Landlords must, however, maintain existing air-conditioning units, according to state law.

Source: City of Chicago · Metropolitan Tenants Organization · Chicago Sun-Times

If your heat fails, tell your landlord first. The Department of Buildings encourages residents to contact their landlord first and to call 3-1-1 if nothing is being done. Tenants without heat may have the right to withhold rent under the Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance. The heat and cooling rules page explains the notice and the time limits.

Renters can also use some energy programs, with the landlord's agreement. If you rent and heat is included in your rent, you may be eligible for a LIHEAP benefit. For weatherization, the landlord must sign a consent form before a rented house can qualify for any work. Renters in single-family homes, two-flats, condos and townhouses are eligible for ComEd's efficiency programs with their landlord's permission, according to a July 2025 fact sheet. If you rent a home built before 1978, your landlord must follow EPA's lead-safe rule when work disturbs paint.

Source: City of Chicago · Illinois DCEO · Citizens Utility Board · U.S. EPA