Chicago City Wire

Tenants in Chicago who are not able to pay their rent because of COVID-19 may get some relief as the Chicago City Council's Housing Committee pushed through a policy that would protect them from eviction, according to CBS Chicago. 

Under the ordinance, landlords would have to comply with a series of steps and guidelines before pressing "Go" on evicting a renter from their property because of overdue rent. After residents are informed about being at risk of eviction, they have five days to let their landlord know if they can’t pay because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit Chicago notably hard financially. 

However, tenants will have to do more than simply claim financial hardship due to the coronavirus. They would be required to present evidence such as a layoff letter or separate paychecks showing a significant drop in income since the outbreak. A simple text message from their boss laying them off or cutting their hours would suffice as proof, the committee said. 

Following that, the tenant and the landlord would take part in a “cooling-off period” in which both parties would come to an agreement on the unpaid rent, according to CBS Chicago. While some aldermen wanted landlords with less than six units to be excused from the ordinance, that portion did not pass as the policy does not ban landlords from evicting tenants. Instead, it allows more time for them to come to an agreement about payment. 

“With or without this ordinance, folks are going to be taking on the expense of evicting people regardless," Housing Department Commissioner Marisa Novara told CBS Chicago. "What this does is say let’s add seven days to try to entice people to come to a deal, and if they cannot, then the same circumstances apply as applied seven days before.”