So I haven't heard from my tenants in 1 month. I'm a long distance real estate investor and my PM company has called, texted, e-mailed, sent out smoke signals but tenants are still refusing to answer. They initially stated that they were going to pay me for the first 2 months, but now they're refusing to answer. My tenants are now 3 months behind in rent and I have e-mailed possible solutions/modifications for rent payment anddd still nothing. Any suggestions on how to go about this given delayed eviction in the midst of this pandemic? And I know for sure that they're in thee house.
@Jay B.
I agree with @Dan Nelson
Give 24 hour notice to enter because you believe the property is abandoned (because of no response). I GUARANTEE you the tenant will start to communicate again. 100%. This is the technique I’ve used. All of a sudden they know how to communicate.
@John Warren Thank you for your response. I have been more than patient with them. I have offered solutions and now they are just taking advantage of this situation. At this point, I need to evict them. That would be great if you can send a referral to one your eviction lawyers. Thanks in advance!
Eviction is not gonna happen for A WHILE. The 5 day is a threat to evict and I don't think you are legally allowed to do that even. Lawyer time.
@Account Closed Illinois' FDCPA prevents debt collectors from threatening suit when a suit is impossible. That's the section to which I'm referring. 225 ILCS 425/9(a)(20) prevents a debt collector from threatening a legal remedy which does not presently exist. Debt collectors are completely screwed by the Illinois orders, including order 2020-10.
Thanks for the clarification though I disagree that individual landlords collecting rent on their own behalf are regulated under the statute you cite any more than they are regulated by the federal FDCPA (do you advise Illinois landlords to obtain a license as a collector in Illinois?) and a 5-day notice to pay or the lease is terminated is not "threatening suit" or prohibited by 2020-10. But I'm not a lawyer and have no intention of giving legal advice, just my opinion and comments and I appreciate your reply.
@Jay B.
I saw what I thought was a great idea on another thread that dealt with the current moratorium on evictions. Not sure if that’s the case in Illinois but the property owner had his PM schedule 2 inspections a day until the tenants decided to pay rent or move. It might be considered harassment but I would take the chance given that you’ve gotten no communication from them. Your PM should be taking care of the issue for you, why is there still tenants in the unit if they are 3 months behind
Best of luck
Luke
@Luke Sass while I can appreciate the outside of the box thinking, there's no "might" about it, that will definitely be considered harassment. You can certainly make a bad situation worse using that tactic.
Thanks for the clarification though I disagree that individual landlords collecting rent on their own behalf are regulated under the statute you cite any more than they are regulated by the federal FDCPA (do you advise Illinois landlords to obtain a license as a collector in Illinois?) and a 5-day notice to pay or the lease is terminated is not "threatening suit" or prohibited by 2020-10. But I'm not a lawyer and have no intention of giving legal advice, just my opinion and comments and I appreciate your reply.
Your scenario is kind of oblique to the situation at hand. If the property is in an LLC or any other type of corporate vehicle, or if it is managed, I would advise whoever is managing the property to get a debt collector's license in Illinois or at least include the language that "This business may be deemed to be a debt collector under Illinois law." If it is a private landlord owning and renting the property, I don't think I would advise them to do that, but I still think savvy tenant attorneys are going to use the provision I've cited. I say this because they're already raising it in my cases, not out of just pure speculation.
A 5-day notice to pay the lease or terminate is absolutely threatening suit. If you send a 5-day notice and then don't file your suit for 3 months, it's often good enough to sustain an FDCPA violation. I've personally won one of these in Will County. If that notice is sent improperly, that is nearly always deemed an FDCPA violation in Illinois. It's both a misstatement of amounts due and threatening suit.
I appreciate the academic discussion. This probably will become a Youtube video on my channel, so you really challenged me to make better content.
State of Illinois requires 24 hours notice to enter a property, Chicago requires two days notice to enter a property.
The evictions coincide with the Governor stay at home order. We cannot file until June 1st under the current order. There is case law that states filing the 5 day eviction notice is interpreted as giving notice of an eviction action. There is concern among the legal community the judges may throw out any cases with 5 day notices during the stay at home order as invalid and you'll have to start over. Also keep in mind the Sheriff was 4 to 6 weeks behind on evictions orders before the pandemic. After the stay at home is lifted, they can attempt to start removing tenants, but I'm sure there will be stricter rules and the process will move even slower. I'm advising all my clients to communicate with tenants, negotiate settlements or new leases, or even offer cash for keys.
OH, and please don't forget about the CARES Act. If your property was purchased using an FHA loan or "federally backed mortgage", you have a different set of rules. Congress has stated you cannot "initiate" an eviction until July 25th. The Act also requires all tenants be given a 30 day notice. So an eviction action cannot be filed until August 24th.
Unfortunately, the City of Chicago hasn't been updating their legislation website, but I was on a call this morning with an Alderman that stated several versions of eviction legislation are floating around City Hall. They've been sent to committee, which is usually a bad sign for anything to be passed, but there's still time for the City to pass additional eviction measures before June 1st.
State of Illinois requires 24 hours notice to enter a property, Chicago requires two days notice to enter a property.
The evictions coincide with the Governor stay at home order. We cannot file until June 1st under the current order. There is case law that states filing the 5 day eviction notice is interpreted as giving notice of an eviction action. There is concern among the legal community the judges may throw out any cases with 5 day notices during the stay at home order as invalid and you'll have to start over. Also keep in mind the Sheriff was 4 to 6 weeks behind on evictions orders before the pandemic. After the stay at home is lifted, they can attempt to start removing tenants, but I'm sure there will be stricter rules and the process will move even slower. I'm advising all my clients to communicate with tenants, negotiate settlements or new leases, or even offer cash for keys.
OH, and please don't forget about the CARES Act. If your property was purchased using an FHA loan or "federally backed mortgage", you have a different set of rules. Congress has stated you cannot "initiate" an eviction until July 25th. The Act also requires all tenants be given a 30 day notice. So an eviction action cannot be filed until August 24th.
Unfortunately, the City of Chicago hasn't been updating their legislation website, but I was on a call this morning with an Alderman that stated several versions of eviction legislation are floating around City Hall. They've been sent to committee, which is usually a bad sign for anything to be passed, but there's still time for the City to pass additional eviction measures before June 1st.
The IL eviction moratorium keeps getting pushed back to the point where it might be indefinite. Would your firm be able to help in suing the state and governor for lost rents since they are in violation of the constitution on property rights?
@Jay B. I'm sorry to tell you this but if they were already 2 months behind before the pandemic hit they aren't going to pay you anything and know that you CAN'T evict them right now. Under normal conditions the cook county courts are back up months for evictions, add in that they have been closed for the last 6 weeks and it might be 4 months after you file before you can even get a court date. I understand that the City of Chicago has certain restrictions as well that might make the process even more difficult.
They are ignoring you because they have no intention of paying....... you will be stuck with them for several more months and I am certain they don't/won't care about your threat to evict. I've been there, it was before the pandemic and the case can be dragged on for months by the tenant just saying they need to get a lawyer, "abc" happened (insert reason) and the judges will grant continuances at least 2 times from you initial court date which means at best case scenario the judge will hear your case on the 4th time back to court typically with 1 month between court dates.
I hope I'm wrong but I have a feeling I'm not
Jay's posting was my experience last year (non-pandemic time frame). 15 years as a landlord in 3 different states and Chicago (outside the city) was the only eviction I have ever had to do. They are not "now" taking advantage of you, they have been the whole time. Start the eviction process immediately if you have not already! Jay was right above. There will be continuances for no legitimate reason, then even AFTER my full eviction was won, a week later on the day of the court ordered move out, they set an ex parte court date for a week later. There was no basis and the eviction stood, but they played the game and gained another week, and I was told the Sheriff won't enforce an eviction if there is a future court date on the matter. A week later, the eviction order stood, THEN the real waiting game begins as it took WEEKS to get on the Sheriff's Civil Eviction list for the Sheriff to actually serve and enforce the eviction order to gain possession. After about 6 weeks of waiting for the Sheriff to serve the eviction and physically remove them, I found they had vacated a few days prior (and I still didn't have a confirmed date for the Sheriff to enforce the eviction). So, I gained possession of my house about 6 weeks AFTER the court ordered eviction move out date. All in all it was 8-9 months to get them out. The Tenant gamed me as yours appears to be doing to you, "got a new job, will be able to pay in a few weeks when I get my first check..." the promises go on, meanwhile they were paying nothing with no intention of paying anything the whole timeI didn't file until about month 4 trying to be "understanding" and hoping they do the right thing and pay or quit/leave. I prevailed (in theory) with a Court judgement for 8 months back rent, of which they still won't pay, and now they're filing for bankruptcy which means I'll never see a dime....
Moral of the story....Repossession is the goal! 2 options: 1) start the eviction process as soon as you can to regain possession asap, or 2) offer cash for keys and get possession asap.
Just ensure you don't pay anything until they are out! You could get creative and put the cash for keys money in an escrow with an attorney's office or title company until possession is regained, that way they know you will in fact pay which may entice them to get out. If an attorney charges $2,000 for an eviction through to trial, but it takes several months to complete, perhaps you are financially better off offering $1-2K (or more) in cash for keys to get possession because in theory you will be able to get a paying tenant in there sooner, and will take less loss overall. Getting an eviction and financial judgement is one thing, collecting on said judgement is another....Morally I love the win in court and that they have a court eviction judgement against them, financially it was the more costly way to do it (8 months no rent + attorney/court fees).
Just my thoughts and experience. Best of luck!
Andrew