Community Association Managers Must Be Licensed by October 1

CHICAGO  – Recently enacted legislation requires professional Community Association Managers to apply for a license by October 1, 2012.  The law, led by Rep. Elaine Nekritz (D-Des Plaines), makes sure that the people hired to manage and maintain common areas of community associations are of good character and trained to handle the sometimes complex financial and legal responsibilities of multi-unit complexes of more than 10 units.

“The need for this legislation became clear when I heard from condominium owners and board members who were concerned about the quality of services from a manager or, worse yet, been victimized by a dishonest manager,” said Rep. Nekritz.  “I’m pleased that the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation will be working to protect condominium owners.”
 
The law mandates that individuals paid to manage community associations by: preparing budgets or other financial documents for the community association; assisting in the conduct of community association meetings; maintaining association records; and administering association contracts must complete 20 hours of pre-license class work and pass an examination approved by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. 

There are currently two exams that are authorized:  the National Board of Certification for Community Association Managers (NBC-CAM) Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA) examination; or the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) Common Interest Developments: Managing Condominium Association Properties(CID201).

In order to be in compliance with the new law, a completed application be filed as soon as possible to be processed by the October 1, 2012 deadline. Penalties for unlicensed practice include fines of as much as $10,000 per violation and refusal to issue licenses in the future.

The new regulations and the application are posted on the Department’s website at www.idfpr.com.