15-1106.Applicability of Article.
Article XV. Mortgage Foreclosure · Part 11. General Provisions · Last amended 2018 · Last verified July 20, 2026
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/15-1106
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.)