Article XV. Mortgage Foreclosure · Part 11. General Provisions · Last amended 2018 · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceThis section defines which mortgages, installment contracts, and collateral assignments of beneficial interest must, or may, be foreclosed exclusively under Article XV, and preserves general equitable principles and pre-1987 cases.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/15-1106
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(a)Exclusive Procedure. From and after July 1, 1987 (the effective date of Public Act 84-1462), the following shall be foreclosed in a foreclosure pursuant to this Article:
(1)any mortgage created prior to, on or after July 1, 1987 (the effective date of Public Act 84-1462);
(2)any real estate installment contract for residential real estate entered into on or after July 1, 1987 (the effective date of Public Act 84-1462) and under which the amount unpaid under the terms of the contract at the time of the filing of the foreclosure complaint, including principal and due and unpaid interest, at the rate prior to default, is less than 80% of the original purchase price of the real estate as stated in the contract;
(3)any collateral assignment of beneficial interest made on or after July 1, 1987 (the effective date of Public Act 84-1462) (i) which is made with respect to a land trust which was created contemporaneously with the collateral assignment of beneficial interest, (ii) which is made pursuant to a requirement of the holder of the obligation to secure the payment of money or performance of other obligations and (iii) as to which the security agreement or other writing creating the collateral assignment permits the real estate which is the subject of the land trust to be sold to satisfy the obligations. (b) Uniform Commercial Code. A secured party, as defined in Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, may at its election enforce its security interest in a foreclosure under this Article if its security interest was created on or after July 1, 1987 (the effective date of Public Act 84-1462) and is created by (i) a collateral assignment of beneficial interest in a land trust or (ii) an assignment for security of a buyer's interest in a real estate installment contract. Such election shall be made by filing a complaint stating that it is brought under this Article, in which event the provisions of this Article shall be exclusive in such foreclosure. (c) Real Estate Installment Contracts. A contract seller may at its election enforce in a foreclosure under this Article any real estate installment contract entered into on or after July 1, 1987 (the effective date of Public Act 84-1462) and not required to be foreclosed under this Article. Such election shall be made by filing a complaint stating that it is brought under this Article, in which event the provisions of this Article shall be exclusive in such foreclosure. A contract seller must enforce its contract under this Article if the real estate installment contract is one described in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of this Section.
(d)Effect of Election. An election made pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) of this Section shall be binding only in the foreclosure and shall be void if the foreclosure is terminated prior to entry of judgment.
(e)Supplementary General Principles of Law. General principles of law and equity, such as those relating to capacity to contract, principal and agent, marshalling of assets, priority, subrogation, estoppel, fraud, misrepresentations, duress, collusion, mistake, bankruptcy or other validating or invalidating cause, supplement this Article unless displaced by a particular provision of it. Section 9-110 of this Code shall not be applicable to any real estate installment contract which is foreclosed under this Article.
(f)Pending Actions. A complaint to foreclose a mortgage filed before July 1, 1987, and all proceedings and third party actions in connection therewith, shall be adjudicated pursuant to the Illinois statutes and applicable law in effect immediately prior to July 1, 1987. Such statutes shall remain in effect with respect to such complaint, proceedings and third party actions notwithstanding the amendment or repeal of such statutes on or after July 1, 1987.
(g)The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly apply to real estate installment contracts for residential real estate executed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly.
Plain-English Summary
Section 15-1106 marks the boundary of Article XV's exclusive procedure. From July 1, 1987 forward, three categories must be foreclosed under this Article: any mortgage, regardless of when it was created; a real estate installment contract for residential real estate signed on or after that date where less than 80% of the original purchase price remains unpaid at the time the complaint is filed; and a collateral assignment of beneficial interest in a land trust created contemporaneously with the trust, required by the lender, and structured to let the trust real estate be sold to satisfy the secured obligation.
Beyond those mandatory categories, the section gives two other parties an election. A UCC Article 9 secured party whose security interest arises from a collateral assignment of beneficial interest or an assignment for security of a buyer's interest in an installment contract may choose to proceed under Article XV by filing a complaint that says so. A contract seller may make the same election for an installment contract not otherwise required to be foreclosed here. Either election binds only that foreclosure and becomes void if the case ends before judgment; a contract seller must use this Article, though, if the contract falls within the 80%-unpaid residential category described above.
Subsection (e) preserves general principles of law and equity, capacity to contract, agency, marshalling, priority, subrogation, estoppel, fraud, duress, and the like, to fill gaps Article XV does not address, while excluding Section 9-110 of this Code (the Code of Civil Procedure's forcible entry and detainer provision on real estate installment contracts, not the Uniform Commercial Code) from applying to any installment contract foreclosed here. Subsection (f) grandfathers complaints filed before July 1, 1987 under the prior law. Subsection (g), added by the 100th General Assembly, limits its 2017 changes to residential installment contracts executed on or after that amendment's effective date.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which mortgages must be foreclosed under Article XV?
Any mortgage, whether created before, on, or after July 1, 1987, must be foreclosed under this Article.
When must a residential real estate installment contract be foreclosed under this Article?
When it was entered into on or after July 1, 1987 and, at the time the foreclosure complaint is filed, less than 80% of the original purchase price remains unpaid, including principal and pre-default interest due and unpaid.
Can a UCC Article 9 secured party choose to foreclose under Article XV?
Yes, if its security interest was created on or after July 1, 1987 from a collateral assignment of beneficial interest or an assignment for security of a buyer's interest in an installment contract, by filing a complaint that elects this Article.
Is an election to proceed under this Article reversible?
The election binds only the foreclosure in which it is made, and becomes void if that foreclosure is terminated before judgment is entered.
What law governs foreclosure complaints filed before July 1, 1987?
Subsection (f) keeps them, and any related third-party actions, governed by the Illinois statutes and law in effect immediately before that date, even after those statutes are later amended or repealed.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 100-416, eff. 1-1-18.)
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Compiled Statutes, published by the
Illinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois General Assembly / Legislative Reference Bureau. Last verified July 20, 2026.
· Official source
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