What’s Wrong Here?
Obviously, there is quite a bit of activity going on today (5/22/20) regarding SB3066. This law has it all – rent cancellation, government control of landlords, eviction moratorium, and eviction sealing. This is going to HURT housing providers. What if the State of Illinois passed a law allowing people to just take what they want from the 7-11 store because of Covid-19 hardship? That’s what they are proposing here. Government sponsored theft.
Let’s take a look at some of the key points:
- Full moratorium on residential and commercial evictions for 60 days after the law is enacted. Prohibition during the moratorium on filing any cases or the sheriff enforcing any evictions.
- Invalidates any eviction notice issued during the moratorium.
- Any eviction notice issued prior to the moratorium for which no case was filed will be invalid.
- Any process service during the moratorium is invalid.
- In any eviction proceeding that was pending or commenced prior to the moratorium, a landlord cannot make claims for rent or late fees that became due on or after March 9, 2020
- Illinois Housing Development Authority will administer a program to repay some (but probably not all) landlords who can prove hardship and are willing to agree to the “strings attached” to getting repayment.
- Sealing of all eviction records.
This law is like the tenant advocate Christmas list. There is no differentiation between a tenant with a Covid-19 related hardship and a tenant who just doesn’t want to pay the rent. It is a get out of rent “free” card.
Even worse, this law will really hurt landlords who need to serve a notice of intent not to renew under section 5-12-130(j). So, if they serve on May 5 a notice that the tenant’s lease ends on July 31, 2020, then that notice is not good and a new one can’t be served until July 23, 2020 with a new termination date of September 30, 2020? That is a travesty.
The law doesn’t clearly define when Covid-19 events end. Instead, it bases things on when the employment rate gets back to normal (which might never happen) . The eviction cases that were underway will be disturbed costing landlords time and money refiling. This is just an overreach.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE fill out a witness slip in OPPOSITION TO THIS LAW!