Condo vs. House in Chicago: Costs, Rules and Two-Flats

This article is part of our Moving to Chicago guide.

A condo in Chicago trades a monthly assessment and an association’s rules for a building someone else maintains. A house, townhome or two-flat gives you control and no association vote over your finances, but every repair and the full insurance bill are yours. For newcomers, the deciding questions are the association’s financial health, whether your lender will approve the building, and how much upkeep you want.

For the full purchase process, start with our guide to buying a home in Chicago.

Is a condo or a house cheaper in Chicago?

In the city, condos have recently sold for a higher median price than single-family homes, and they make up most sales. The city-wide median sale price for all home types was $405,000 in August 2026, up 8.0% from a year earlier, according to the Illinois REALTORS Monthly Local Market Update.

Property type	Median sale price, Aug 2026	Closed sales, Aug 2026	Median sale price, Jul 2026	Closed sales, Jul 2026
Condo	$420,000	1,208	$440,000	1,424
Single-family	$369,950	699	$392,000	713
All home types	$405,000	1,907	$425,000	2,137

Source: Illinois REALTORS, City of Chicago Monthly Local Market Update, August 2026 and July 2026.

A citywide median reflects which homes happened to sell that month, so compare prices in the neighborhoods you’re considering. A condo adds a monthly assessment. A house adds a larger insurance bill and your own repairs. Both owe property tax and the same transfer tax at closing: the buyer pays the city’s 0.75%, which is $3,750 on a $500,000 home, per the City of Chicago. Our property tax and transfer tax guide covers both in detail.

What do Chicago condo assessments cover?

Assessments pay for the shared parts of the building. According to a November 2025 Chicago broker guide, the usual line items include:

Professional management
Common-area utilities and janitorial service
The association’s master insurance policy for the common areas
Elevator maintenance
Repairs
Contributions to the reserve fund for future big-ticket work

Whether heat, gas, water, cable or internet are included varies by building, so check each budget.

The type of building matters:

	High-rise condo	Small vintage building
Assessment level	Typically higher	Usually lower
What drives cost	Elevators, door staff, gym, pool, garage, professional management	Fewer amenities and shared systems
Management	Usually a management company	Often self-managed by the owners
Reserve planning	Formal reserve studies are common	May have no formal reserve study and small reserves

Source: India Whiteside, Nov 2025.

A low assessment can be a warning sign. If a building underfunds its reserves, the bill arrives later.

What is a special assessment?

A special assessment is a one-time charge the board or owners vote in to pay for major work, such as a roof or an elevator, on top of monthly dues. A large one can be a sign that reserves fell short. As of May 2026, Chicago Cooperator reported that lenders now look at special assessments, along with budgets, reserve studies and board minutes, as part of Fannie Mae’s Full Review.

The 22.1 disclosure is how you see one coming.

What is the 22.1 disclosure, and why should you read it?

When a condo is resold in Illinois, Section 22.1 of the Condominium Property Act (765 ILCS 605/22.1) requires the seller to give the buyer nine items:

#	What the seller must provide	What to look for
1	The declaration, bylaws and rules	Leasing limits, pet rules, renovation rules
2	A statement of liens and unpaid assessments	Anything owed on the unit you’re buying
3	Planned capital expenditures for the current and next 2 fiscal years	Big projects that could lead to a special assessment
4	Reserve fund status and amount	Whether savings match the planned work
5	The latest annual financial statement	Deficits, late-paying owners, rising costs
6	Pending lawsuits and judgments	Disputes that could cost the association
7	The association’s insurance coverage	The master policy and its deductible
8	A statement that the prior owner’s alterations comply with the condo instruments	Unapproved renovations you could inherit
9	The principal officer’s name and address	Who to contact with questions

Source: 765 ILCS 605/22.1, statute in force as of October 2026.

The board must provide the documents within 10 business days of a written request. The fee is capped at $375, adjusted each year for inflation, plus $100 for rush service within 72 hours. Those rules took effect January 1, 2023, as Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit explains.

Read it before attorney review ends. Items 3, 4 and 5 show whether the building can pay for work it already knows it needs. If planned spending is large and reserves are thin, expect a special assessment or a jump in monthly dues. Item 1 tells you whether you could rent the unit out later.

How do FHA and Fannie Mae rules affect condo financing?

With a condo, the lender reviews the building as well as you. If the building doesn’t qualify, your loan options shrink even when your own finances are strong.

FHA loans. Under the rule that took effect October 15, 2019, per HUD and the National Association of REALTORS, the building must be FHA-approved or the unit must qualify for single-unit approval:

FHA rule	Requirement
Approved projects: owner-occupancy	Generally at least 50%
Approved projects: recertification	Every 3 years
Single-unit approval, 10+ units	No more than 10% of units FHA-insured
Single-unit approval, fewer than 10 units	No more than 2 FHA-insured units

Source: HUD and NAR, rule effective Oct 15, 2019.

Conventional loans (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). According to Chicago Cooperator, which reported on a March 18, 2026 lender letter, Fannie Mae retired its Limited Review, so all projects now go through Full Review. The same report says the minimum reserve contribution rises from 10% to 15% of the association’s annual budget for loan applications dated on or after January 4, 2027. Axios Chicago reported on August 18, 2026 that the stricter review began August 3, 2026, and that projects with 10 or fewer units no longer need a formal review.

A building that can’t meet these rules is harder to finance, which shrinks the pool of future buyers when you sell. Buildings with thin reserves may also raise assessments to reach the new level. Ask your lender early whether the building is approved or likely to pass review.

Can a condo building be sold out from under you?

Yes. In a deconversion, the owners vote to sell the whole building, often to a developer, and the sale binds every owner, including those who voted no. As of March 2026, the Illinois condo ombudsperson (IDFPR) lists these minimum approval thresholds under Section 15 of the Condominium Property Act:

Building size	Owner approval needed to sell
2 units	A majority
3 units	66⅔%
4 or more units	75%

Source: IDFPR, March 11, 2026. A declaration can require a higher share.

An owner who voted against the sale can file a written objection within 20 days of the meeting and receive their share of the proceeds based on a fair appraisal, less any unpaid assessments. Check the declaration to see whether your building sets a threshold above 75%.

Can you rent out a Chicago condo?

Maybe. Associations can limit or ban leasing by amending the declaration, and Illinois courts presume such amendments valid, as Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit describes in an article first published in 2006. Board-adopted rules get stricter court review. Common designs include:

A cap on the share of units that can be rented, with a waitlist
Grandfathering for current owners or tenants
Hardship exceptions, such as a job transfer

The required vote depends on each declaration. If you might move and keep the unit as a rental, read the declaration and rules (item 1 of the 22.1 package) before you commit. A house or two-flat carries no association limit on leasing.

How do maintenance and insurance compare?

	Condo	Single-family, townhome or two-flat
Roof, exterior, masonry	Shared through assessments and special assessments	All yours
Snow removal, landscaping	Usually the association	All yours, unless a townhome association handles it
Major systems	Shared systems such as elevators covered by the association; your own unit’s systems are yours	All yours
Insurance policy	HO-6 (“walls-in”) policy, plus exposure to the master-policy deductible	Full homeowners policy

Homeowners insurance for a house in Chicago averaged $3,745 a year as of March 2026, according to NerdWallet, based on $400,000 of dwelling coverage, $300,000 of liability coverage and a $1,000 deductible. A condo owner buys an HO-6 policy for the unit’s interior and belongings, while the master policy covers the structure. Ask how your HO-6 handles the master-policy deductible, since owners can be charged a share of it after a claim.

A house has no special assessments and no reserve fund. Set aside your own repair budget from day one.

Is a two-flat a good option in Chicago?

The two-flat is a classic Chicago building: two stacked apartments, often brick, with the owner living in one unit and renting the other. For a newcomer it can be a middle path. You control the whole building, and rent from the second unit helps cover the mortgage, taxes and insurance. Check rents for comparable units on the same blocks before you count on a figure.

Things to know before you buy one:

You become a landlord. That means tenant screening, leases, repairs and Chicago’s tenant rules.
Assistance can apply. The City’s HomeGrown Purchase Assistance grants, launched in June 2026, cover two-unit buildings as well as single-family homes, condos and townhomes in designated zones. The City’s older Home Buyer Assistance Program flyer lists owner-occupied 1 to 4 unit homes, but it is undated, so confirm with a lender that the program is still open.
The homeowner exemption still applies if you live there as your main residence. It cuts your equalized assessed value by $10,000, per the Cook County Assessor. In the Treasurer’s tax year 2023 Chicago example, that saved $699.90.
Budget for repairs. Many two-flats are older, with porches, masonry and two sets of mechanical systems.

If you plan to rent before you buy, our rent vs. buy in Chicago page compares the numbers by neighborhood.

Which should a newcomer choose?

If you…	Consider
Want amenities, a doorman and no exterior upkeep	High-rise condo
Want a lower assessment and vintage character, and can handle owner-run decisions	Small vintage condo
Want full control, a yard and no association	Single-family home
Want rental income and don’t mind being a landlord	Two-flat

Your next step: once you have a building in mind, ask your lender whether it will finance there and request the 22.1 package as early as the seller allows. Still deciding on Chicago? See our Chicago guide and compare moving costs by city.

Frequently asked questions

Do condo owners in Chicago pay property tax?

Yes. Each condo unit gets its own property tax bill, separate from the monthly assessment. The median Chicago homeowner bill was $4,597 for tax year 2025, according to the Cook County Treasurer (August 2026).

How long does it take to get the 22.1 disclosure?

The board has 10 business days from a written request. Rush delivery within 72 hours costs an extra $100 on top of the base fee of up to $375.

Can I use an FHA loan for a Chicago condo?

Only if the building is FHA-approved or the unit qualifies for single-unit approval. Ask your lender to check before you make an offer.

Sources

Author: Go Big City Team

Next step: see the full Moving to Chicago guide for rent, costs, transit, weather, jobs and neighborhoods in one place.