Proposed law seeks to impose penalties on landlords for tenant crimes

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crimesceneIRPOA urges landlords to contact their representatives

Senate Bill 1547 has passed the Illinois Senate and is being debated in committee tomorrow at 10am in the Illinois House Judiciary Committee.  The Illinois Rental Property Owners Association is asking landlords to contact their representatives to oppose this legislation.  The proposed legislation seeks to allow municipalities to penalize landlords for the “underlying criminal conduct” of their tenants.  Penalties can include fees or fines, revocation, suspension or nonrenewal of a rental permit or license, termination or denial of subsidized housing contracts, and termination or nonrenewal of leases.

The Illinois Rental Property Owners Association (IRPOA) has issued a position paper on their opposition to the law.

Once again, this is an instance of the legislature seeking to impart police functions upon landlords.  Just like the ridiculous crime free leasing addendum laws, this law wraps itself in the blanket of “protecting tenants from crime” (who isn’t for that?) and really just imposes undue restrictions and liability upon landlords.

This is a state law, so landlords throughout Illinois should be concerned.