Municipal Ordinance

Alderman Moreno is back with a piecemeal version of his prior CRLTO amendments

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Ordinance unfairly targeting landlords about to be introduced

If you read this blog, you are certainly aware of the “Good Cause for Eviction” ordinance championed by first ward Alderman Proco Joe Moreno in May earlier this year.  Landlords came out in force and Alderman Moreno’s office decided not to introduce the ordinance and instead was going to put together a task force to look at the issues he was proposing.  Now, not more than three months later, it looks like he is ready to propose an amendment to the CRLTO that was contained in the Good Cause for Eviction ordinance.

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Illinois court upholds nonrefundable move-in fees under CRLTO

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nonrefunableLandlords win case over move-in fee in lieu of security deposit

For a number of years, landlords in the City of Chicago have sought to avoid the undue burdens and unreasonable potential liability resulting from the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance’s requirements related to security deposits by collecting all kinds of “non-refundable fees”.  Some landlord collect a “non-refundable processing fee”, administrative fee, additional rent, or a “non-refundable move-in fee”.  Tenants rights attorneys and advocates have long shouted “no fair!” at landlords engaging in such practices.  One advocate I know said “this is just the way landlords are trying to avoid liability for security deposit violations!”  Duh!

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Turn that heat on this weekend! Chicago and Suburbs enter heating season.

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It’s an annual event.  Tenants throughout Chicago and some suburbs are entitled to minimum amounts of heat beginning this coming Sunday, September 15, 2013.  I’ve posted before on the Chicago rules and some of the suburban rules.  It’s been hot in September and that’s likely to continue.  No matter, the CRLTO and other laws require … Read more

City moves forward on “Keep Chicago Renting” Ordinance

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The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Keep Chicago Renting Ordinance has passed out of committee and will be voted on by the City Council on June 5.  The text of the ordinance has been changed slightly to reduce the originally proposed relocation payment of $12,000 to $10,600.  The aldermen seem to believe that this … Read more

“Keep Chicago Renting” ordinance comes before Chicago City Council today

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kcroIn the wake of the report issued by Lawyer’s Committee for Better Housing indicating that crime has increased in vacant lots and buildings, the Housing Committee of the Chicago City Council plans to conduct a hearing and possibly vote on the “Keep Chicago Renting” ordinance today (Mayday).  Originally introduced in July of last year, the ordinance has been kicking around for about a year in various forms.  In its current form, the City proposes that banks or other entities that take title to foreclosed real estate at a foreclosure auction must pay (yes, you read that right) tenants who are forced to vacate the premises or offer them leases with rent restrictions.

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Renting in the ‘Burbs

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renting in the Illinois suburbsI devote quite a bit of time on this blog to looking at Chicago and state (Illinois) landlord-tenant issues.  However, landlords in the northwest suburbs and Chicagoland in general should not think that they are left out in the cold.  Yes, you suburban landlords have it much easier (at least most of you do) than the City of Chicago landlords.  But, your care-free days may be coming to a close in this new regulation-heavy era.

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The 5 stages of “grief” for Landlords with CRLTO problems

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The Kübler-Ross Model of the stages of grief deals with the feelings people experience in response to death or terminal illness. There are five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. There is no real “order” to the stages and many people move from one stage to the other and back again. Eventually, people move on to a peaceful acceptance of death.

Interestingly, in my landlord-tenant practice, I have found that Chicago landlords who have violated the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance go through these same stages after being served with a complaint or a nasty attorney letter threatening legal action based upon violations of the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance.

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