New law makes service on condominiums just a bit easier

Hopefully, things just got a bit easier for process servers in eviction cases.  The State of Illinois has passed an amendment to Section 735 ILCS 5/2-203 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure intended to assist process servers in making access to a “gated residential community”.  The new law requires guards in such a community to permit access to the premises to a process server.  The law defines a “gated residential community” as including “a condominium association, housing cooperative, or private community”.

In the past, process servers have been thwarted in their efforts to serve process on a defendant by doormen and guards who refuse to allow the process server access to a high-rise condominium building.  Under the new law, authorized process servers will now be permitted access to the common areas beyond the “gates” so that service might be effectively made.  The new law goes into effect o January 1, 2015.