It's 2 a.m. and a pipe has burst in the parking garage. Or the boiler fails during a January cold snap. Or an engineer tells you a balcony is no longer safe to stand on.
In moments like these, boards need to act fast — often faster than a properly noticed meeting allows. Illinois law recognizes this and gives boards specific emergency powers. But it also defines "emergency" carefully, and it attaches notice obligations that boards often forget.
Just as important, an emergency response only works if owners know what to report, how to report it, and what to do in the first few minutes. This guide covers both sides: what owners should do when something goes wrong, and what the board and manager should do next.
What counts as an emergency
The Illinois Condominium Property Act defines an emergency as "an immediate danger to the structural integrity of the common elements or to the life, health, safety or property of the unit owners" (Section 18(a)(8)(iv)).
That definition has two parts, and a situation only needs to meet one of them:
1. Immediate danger to the structure. Something is threatening the building itself — falling masonry, a failing roof after a storm, a compromised balcony or garage slab.
2. Immediate danger to people or property. Something is putting residents at risk right now, or will cause significant damage to units or belongings if it isn't handled quickly.
The key word is immediate. A problem that is serious but not urgent — a roof near the end of its life, a boiler that's inefficient — isn't an emergency in the legal sense, even if it will eventually need expensive work.
Likely emergencies
A burst pipe or active flooding that can't be controlled.
Loss of heat in freezing weather, especially building-wide.
Loss of water service to the building.
A fire, unexplained smoke, or a failed fire alarm or sprinkler system.
A gas smell, gas leak or carbon monoxide alarm.
A power outage affecting the building that isn't caused by a tripped breaker or a utility-wide outage.
Structural failures — falling masonry, unsafe balconies, a compromised roof after a storm.
A sewage backup into units or common areas.
An elevator entrapment (someone stuck inside).
A security failure that leaves the building open, such as a broken main entry door or garage gate that won't close.
Usually not emergencies
Aging systems that haven't failed yet.
Cosmetic damage.
Projects that are overdue but not dangerous.
A slow drip that can be stopped by closing a valve.
A clogged drain or toilet in a single unit.
Low water pressure.
A trash chute backup or a spill in a hallway.
A single hallway light out, or a noisy neighbor.
When in doubt, get a professional opinion quickly — a plumber, engineer or fire safety contractor — and document it. That documentation is what supports the board's decision later.
Always call 911 first when there is fire, smoke, a gas smell, a medical emergency, or any immediate danger to life. The association's emergency line is for building problems, not for situations that need police, fire or paramedics.
Emergency vs. routine maintenance: why the distinction matters
It's natural for a problem in your own unit to feel like an emergency. But a condo building is a shared system, and after-hours emergency calls cost the association — and therefore every owner — significantly more than daytime service. Emergency vendor rates often include premium hourly charges and trip fees.
A simple test helps owners and managers sort requests:
Is anyone in danger? If yes, it's an emergency (and possibly a 911 call).
Is damage spreading, and can it be stopped? Water pouring through a ceiling that you can't shut off is an emergency. A leak that stops when you close the valve under the sink can wait until business hours.
Is an essential service out for the whole building or a large part of it? Loss of heat, water or power to many units is an emergency. One unit's issue usually isn't.
Will waiting until morning make it meaningfully worse? If not, submit a routine maintenance request.
Routine requests still matter. Reporting a common-element problem promptly — a stained ceiling in the hallway, a door that doesn't latch, a light out in the garage — helps the manager prioritize work and keeps small issues from becoming emergencies later.
Who is responsible for what
Before a crisis, owners should understand the basic division of responsibility, because it affects who gets called and who pays.
In general, the association maintains, repairs and replaces the common elements — the roof, structure, exterior walls, shared plumbing risers, building mechanical systems, hallways, and so on. Owners are generally responsible for components that serve only their unit, such as appliances, fixtures, and often the supply lines and drains inside the unit.
The exact dividing line depends on your declaration, which is why it varies from building to building. Some declarations make owners responsible for their windows or balconies; others treat them as common elements. If you're not sure, ask your manager or check the declaration before you need to know. (For more on how damage costs are divided after a leak, see our guide Water Leaks in Illinois Condos: Who Pays for the Damage?)
What owners should do in an emergency
Every building's procedure is a little different, but the basic steps are the same.
1. Make sure everyone is safe
If there is fire, smoke, a gas smell, a structural collapse, or a medical issue, leave the area and call 911. Don't try to investigate a gas leak or enter a flooded area where water may be near electrical outlets or panels.
2. Limit the damage if it's safe to do so
If you can safely stop the problem, do it. That might mean closing the water shut-off valve to a toilet, sink or washing machine, turning off the main valve for your unit, or switching off power at your breaker panel. Move valuables away from water, and put down towels or buckets.
Every owner should know where their unit's water shut-off is before an emergency. If you don't know, ask your manager to show you.
3. Call the emergency line — don't email
Use the association's 24/7 emergency number. Email, portal requests and voicemails to the office may not be seen until the next business day. If your building has an on-site engineer or door staff, they may be the fastest first contact.
4. Give clear, specific information
When you call, be ready to share:
Your name, unit number and a callback number.
Exactly where the problem is (for example, "water coming through the kitchen ceiling near the window").
What's happening and when it started.
What you've already done (for example, "I turned off my water main, but it's still coming from above").
Whether anyone is hurt or at risk.
Photos and video are helpful, but speed matters more. Take them once the immediate situation is under control.
5. Notify your own insurer
If your unit or belongings were damaged, contact your HO-6 insurance carrier. The association's policy may not cover everything inside your unit, and your own policy may have deadlines for reporting claims.
What the board and manager should do next
Step 1: Assess and dispatch
The manager or designated board member should quickly confirm whether the situation is a genuine emergency. If it is, dispatch the appropriate on-call vendor immediately. If it isn't, log it as a routine request and tell the owner when to expect service.
Step 2: Stabilize first, repair later
The goal of the first response is to stop the damage from spreading — shut off water, extract standing water, board up a broken window, restore heat, or cordon off an unsafe area. Permanent repairs can be scoped, bid and approved afterward. Mixing the two can lead to large, unapproved repairs that are hard to justify later.
Step 3: Act now, ratify later
Under Section 18(a)(21), the board may ratify and confirm actions board members took in response to an emergency. That means if the president authorizes an emergency plumber at 2 a.m., the full board can approve that decision afterward at a properly noticed meeting. The Act states the purpose plainly: to "empower and support boards to act in emergencies."
This is why it helps to decide in advance who can authorize emergency work and up to what amount (see the emergency plan below).
Step 4: Document everything
Record the time of the first report, who responded, what was found, and what was done. Take photos and video of the damage before and after mitigation. Keep every invoice. Get the vendor's written opinion on the cause, if possible. This record supports insurance claims, cost recovery from a responsible owner, and the board's decision to treat the event as an emergency.
Step 5: Notify the insurer
Many emergencies are also insurance claims. Notify the association's insurer promptly, document the damage with photos and video, and keep invoices for all mitigation work. Prompt mitigation — stopping water, drying, securing the building — is usually required by the policy and protects the claim.
Step 6: Determine responsibility
Once the emergency is over, the board needs to figure out what caused it and who is responsible for the cost under the declaration and the association's insurance. If the damage came from a unit component — a failed washing machine hose, for example — the declaration may allow the association to charge back some or all of its costs to that owner. Talk with the association's attorney and insurance agent before assessing charges back to an owner, and give the owner a chance to respond.
The notice owners must receive
Emergency authority comes with a reporting duty. The board must notify owners of:
1. The emergency itself, within 7 business days after it happens; and
2. A general description of the actions taken to address it, within 7 days after the event.
Many associations handle both in a single notice sent within a few days, followed by updates as repairs continue.
A good notice is short and factual. It should say what happened, when, which areas were affected, what the board did, whether any services are still affected, and when owners can expect the next update. Avoid speculating about fault in a building-wide notice, especially before the cause is confirmed.
Paying for it: emergency special assessments
If reserves and the operating budget can't cover the cost, the board may adopt a special assessment for an emergency without owner approval, and without the owner petition process that normally applies to large increases (Section 18(a)(8)(iv)). The same exemption applies to expenses mandated by law, such as a city-ordered repair.
This is a powerful tool, which is why the definition matters. A board that labels a discretionary project an "emergency" to avoid an owner vote is inviting a challenge.
Remember that the board meeting to adopt any special assessment still requires notice to owners in the same manner as a membership meeting. The emergency exemption removes the owner vote and petition rights, not the notice requirement.
Before reaching for a special assessment, the board should check:
Whether insurance will cover some or all of the cost, and how large the deductible is.
Whether the reserve fund can cover the repair, since unexpected failure of a reserve component is a common reason to use reserves.
Whether a responsible owner or contractor can be charged back.
Whether a loan or a multi-year payment plan would ease the burden on owners.
(For more detail on special assessment rules, see Special Assessments in Illinois Condos: What the Board Can Do on Its Own, and When Owners Get a Vote.)
Build an emergency plan before you need it
The best time to plan for an emergency is when nothing is going wrong. A good plan includes:
1. A 24/7 contact procedure. Owners should know exactly who to call, day or night. Post it in the lobby, mail room and laundry room, and include it in welcome packets.
2. An authority chain. Decide in advance which board member or manager can approve emergency spending, and up to what amount. Record it in a board resolution.
3. Pre-approved vendors for plumbing, restoration, electrical, HVAC, elevators, fire safety and board-up, with after-hours numbers and current certificates of insurance on file.
4. Shut-off locations. Water, gas and electrical shut-offs, mapped and labeled, with access for the right people. Keep keys and access codes where responders can get them.
5. Owner and resident contacts, including residents who may need extra help during an evacuation, and emergency contacts for owners who are often away.
6. A notification template for the 7-day notices, ready to fill in.
7. Insurance information — policy numbers, agent contact and claims steps.
8. Unit access procedures. Know how the association will access a unit if water is coming from it and the owner can't be reached, and what your declaration allows.
9. An annual review, updating contacts and walking the building.
Teach owners the plan
A plan only works if residents know it exists. Once a year, remind owners of:
The emergency phone number and when to use it (and when to call 911 instead).
Where their unit's water shut-off is, and how to turn it off.
What the association covers and what their own HO-6 policy needs to cover.
How to submit a routine maintenance request for non-urgent issues.
A short annual newsletter article, a laminated card in the welcome packet, or a few minutes at the annual meeting is usually enough. Owners who know the difference between an emergency and a routine request save the association money and get faster help when it really counts.
After the emergency
Once the immediate danger is over:
Ratify the emergency actions at the next board meeting and record them in the minutes.
Send the required notices to owners if you haven't already.
Follow up on the insurance claim and any charge-backs.
Review what happened and update the plan.
Check whether the event reveals a reserve study gap — for example, a system that's failing earlier than expected.
Frequently asked questions
Can one board member approve emergency work alone?
Often, yes — as long as the board later ratifies the action under Section 18(a)(21). It's best to authorize specific people and spending limits in advance.
Does the board need a meeting before paying for emergency repairs?
Not before the work is done. The board should ratify the action at a later, properly noticed meeting. Adopting an emergency special assessment still requires a board meeting with proper notice to owners.
Is a leak coming from my upstairs neighbor an emergency?
If water is actively coming into your unit and can't be stopped from your side, yes — call the emergency line so staff or a vendor can access the source and shut off water.
Who pays for emergency service to my unit?
It depends on where the problem started and what your declaration and insurance say. If the problem originated in a component the owner is responsible for, the owner may be charged for the cost.
What if the board calls something an emergency that isn't one?
Owners can raise the concern at a board meeting or with the association's attorney. Misusing emergency authority to skip an owner vote on a special assessment invites a legal challenge.
The bottom line
Illinois lets boards move quickly when owners' safety or property is at real risk. Use that authority for genuine emergencies, keep owners informed within the statutory deadlines, teach residents what to do in the first few minutes, and plan ahead so the 2 a.m. phone call is the start of a process, not a scramble.
Related reading:
Water Leaks in Illinois Condos: Who Pays for the Damage?
Special Assessments in Illinois Condos: What the Board Can Do on Its Own, and When Owners Get a Vote
Rising Condo Insurance Costs in Illinois: What the Law Requires and What Boards Can Control
How Much Should an Illinois Condo Association Keep in Reserves?
Pimmit Run Management helps Illinois condo associations build emergency plans, coordinate vendors and send owner notifications on time. Contact us to see how we'd handle your building's next emergency.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Consult your association's attorney about your specific situation.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Consult your association's attorney about your specific situation.