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Angela DeVolder
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Illinois Rent Relief

Angela DeVolder
Posted May 20 2020, 08:03

This is going to be a nightmare.....

https://www.chicagotribune.com...

Measures for statewide rent relief — which would include help for tenants, landlords and homeowners impacted by the coronavirus pandemic — could hit Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk in a matter of days.

If signed into law, the COVID-19 Emergency and Economic Recovery Renter and Homeowner Protection Act, which Chicago Democrat Rep. Delia Ramirez introduced Friday, would cancel rent debt and suspend mortgage payments for those experiencing hardships related to COVID-19.

“We have to make housing an absolute top priority during this special session in Springfield,” Ramirez said during a livestreamed press conference Tuesday. “If we want our families to be able to get through this pandemic, they have to have a roof over their head and not have to decide if they’re going to purchase food — or pay rent.”

The act would:

  • Cancel rent debt for tenants who are diagnosed with COVID-19 or advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine; have lost income through furloughs, layoffs or other employment interruption; or are paying more for household expenses, child care or health care during the moratorium.
  • Prevent landlords and condo associations from fining those residents for missed payments or reporting them to a consumer reporting agency, tenant screening agency or credit bureau.
  • Compensate landlords and mortgage lenders for canceled payments through a newly created residential housing relief fund. The money could also help pay for moving costs and assist mortgage holders and tenants with payments after the moratorium expires.
  • Suspend mortgage payments for coronavirus-impacted landlords and homeowners and give those homeowners a 180-day forbearance on taxes, insurance and association fees. Loan terms would be extended for the number of months of missed payments.
  • Place a moratorium on foreclosures and prevent new eviction filings in court, in addition to the existing moratorium on carrying out evictions. It also gives tenants more time to pay back late rent after the moratorium expires and tightens restrictions on future eviction proceedings and rent increases for a year after the moratorium expires.
  • Be in effect until the state’s unemployment rate recovers to near prepandemic levels and the governor’s disaster proclamation has expired.

Rep. Will Guzzardi, a Chicago Democrat and co-sponsor, said the goal is to pass the bill through both chambers during the three days the Illinois legislature is in session, which begins Wednesday. That could send the bill to Pritzker to sign with days to spare before June rent is due.

While Pritzker has placed a moratorium on evictions statewide since the stay-at-home order went into effect March 20, he has insisted that he legally cannot repeal the state ban on rent regulation, which would allow municipalities to take action individually.

Local leaders like Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot have said they are unable to enact rent relief while the ban is in place. The need, though, has been clear for months; when Chicago offered 2,000 one-time grants of $1,000 to pay for rent or housing in April, it received 83,000 applications. Tenants have also banded together to form tenant unions and call for rent strikes if relief cannot be found.

But while the 1997 ban forbids local governments from regulating rent, the state is able to act as a whole, Guzzardi said. While housing advocates still hope to overturn the ban, their bill would provide immediate relief to the thousands of unemployed and financially stressed residents unexpectedly impacted by COVID-19.

A key component of their plan was relief for landlords and mortgage lenders, Guzzardi said.

“We understand that’s going to create a real hardship on landlords,” he said. “There are a ton of small landlords out there making things work and being as kind and generous as they can, but we can’t just rely on the generosity of individual actors. We need policy to protect people.”

The relief money would come from federal COVID-19 response funds given to the state, and while Guzzardi said he doesn’t have an exact figure in mind, he expects “hundreds of millions of dollars” will be needed.

“The scope of the problem is huge,” he said. “We anticipate the demand will be there for sure. This problem is going to happen whether the state steps up or not. The only question is are we going to step in and give people financial assistance, or do we leave them vulnerable to eviction and foreclosure?”

Certain groups would be prioritized for funding, such as landlords who show rent cancellation caused a material economic hardship; mortgagors at risk of foreclosure due to COVID-19 hardships or whose property is in a high-poverty area; low-income tenants; and those not eligible for federal funds.  

Rep. Tim Butler, a Springfield Republican, has introduced a separate bill in the General Assembly. His would provide rent assistance for coronavirus-impacted households if their landlord agrees to participate in the program.

The COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program Act would require landlords to not increase rental rates or charge late fees, and in return, they would receive at least 80% of the owed rent, which they would have to accept as full payment, for up to seven months of rent between April 1 and Oct. 31.

Butler did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Additional housing legislation introduced Monday would provide a 90-day grace period for property tax payments and waive interest penalties for late payments.

Archeung