New Section 5-12-170 Ordinance Summary to be Attached to LeasesAs my readers know, the CRLTO was amended recently with the passage Mayor’s Fair Notice law that made significant changes to Section 5-12-130(j) of the Ordinance. The City has FINALLY release their revised version of the CRLTO summary. You can find a copy Continue reading
Cook County Court Issues Guidance on Return to EvictionsOn July 27, 2020, Judge Kenneth Wright, Jr. entered a General Order dealing with the current caseload of Cook County eviction cases. As you know, the Governor’s extension of Executive Order 2020-30 is going to extend the moratorium on evictions to August 22, 2020. In the order, the court explains how the backlog of already filed and pending eviction cases will be dealt with. Continue reading
Cook County Seeks County-wide RLTOYep – you heard that right. Coming soon to rental units in the suburbs is the pain felt for years by landlords in the City. At a time when it seemed that the regulations affecting landlords could not get more voluminous and complex, the Cook County Board is debating a newly introduced Cook County Residential Tenant and Landlord Ordinance this morning July 30, 2020 (you can watch the County Board proceedings Live here). I haven’t made a deep dive into the law, but here are a few high points from my first pass through: Continue reading
Moratorium Extended to August 22, 2020So, after you’ve already added insult to injury, what comes next? I guess more of the same. Some commentators (not me) had suggested that the Governor was unlikely to extend the ban on evictions that goes all the way back to April 23, 2020. On July 24, Governor Pritzker Continue reading
For the first time since 2016, the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance has been amended. By a vote of 35-15, the City Council passed Mayor’s second draft of the measure. At the Building’s committee a week earlier upon only a few hours notice, the Mayor presented an amendment to the proposal she originally introduced on May 20, 2020 which contained even more anti-landlord provisions. That version was Continue reading
Did you NOTICE this?We’ve discussed the Mayor’s Fair Notice law for a few weeks here. However, when the Building Committee met last week, they pushed through a materially changed version of the law. They gave next to no notice to anyone before passing the new, anti-landlord, language out of committee so that it can go in front of the full City Council. Many groups, including the Chicago Association of Realtors are issuing a CALL TO ACTION to oppose these amendments to the CRLTO which are likely to be heard at the next City Council meeting. Continue reading
As reported here a few weeks back, on July 17, 2020, the Illinois Supreme Court has entered new Rule 139 amending the pleading practice in eviction actions. The new rule became effective upon its entry, so all eviction cases going forward will need to comply. The rule requires landlords to attach written evidence, like a lease or five day notice, to their eviction complaint. For some reason, this rule is touted to help both landlords and tenants. That suggestion is nonsense as there is nothing helpful to landlords in the requirements. Tenants will, however, get to see the evidence being presented against them long in advance of court.
Language ReleasedUPDATE: the notice has been released.
On June 17, 2020, the City of Chicago passed the Covid-19 Eviction Protection Ordinance. The law provides that the City’s Department of Housing was to prepare a notice that is supposed to accompany any 5 day notice served in Chicago that is governed by the ordinance. Almost immediately, the City published Continue reading
During the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, I’ve been asked perhaps thousands of times in one way or another “what rights does a Chicago landlord have right now”? The quick answer is VERY FEW. Nonetheless, such a short answer is trite and unhelpful. So, maybe we can help to clear things up. There are a number of laws, local rules, and orders that are governing the situation for landlords in Chicago right now. I’ve distilled them into a flowchart that might help to untangle the mess. Continue reading
Governor Pritzker promised an eviction freeze until July 31, 2020 but only delivered with a moratorium until July 26, 2020. Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans must have saw that and decided to deliver on the Gov’s promise. On June 26, 2020, he entered General Administrative Order 2020-02. This nine page monster order Continue reading