In 2020, Governor Pritzker issued an executive order working to prevent those who were financially impacted by the pandemic from being evicted. This has been referred to as the eviction moratorium. The eviction moratorium has been extended several times along with rounds of rental assistance programs. Both the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) and the City of Chicago have launched these type of programs throughout the time of the pandemic.
If you submitted an application for the City's Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), applications are now closed and being processed. There is a 4th round of applications for ERAP funds that will open later this year. You can find more information on ERAP here. You can also seek out housing stability case management through the Community Service Centers listed here.
Applications for the State's Rental Payment Program are now closed and those initiated by tenants before July 19 remain accessible to landlords and may be completed before August 16. Tenant led applications are not complete and will not be reviewed until the landlord has completed their portion. If landlords are refusing to cooperate IHDA will send the tenant a follow up email on next steps after the August 16th cut off. To check the status of your application visit here.
The Illinois Housing Rental Assistance Program will be announcing a new round of rental and mortgage assistance programs in the fall. We will be sure keep you updated on all these programs as they become available.
For those that did not apply for ERAP or ILRPP through the city or state, the Illinois Human Services Department does have a bucket of funds available for housing assistance as well. Those applications are open and details can be found here.
For now, the Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of Chicago is offering a Mortgage Assistance Program to provide assistance to low to moderate-income homeowners who have suffered an economic impact due to the pandemic and are having difficulty paying their mortgage. The maximum amount of assistance available is $3,300.
To be eligible for this assistance, you must:
- Be a resident of the City of Chicago.
- Live in the home (single family up to 4 units) for which you are applying for assistance. It must be your primary place of residence.
- Demonstrate your total household income was 120% or below the Area Median Income (AMI) prior to March 1, 2020.
- Have a mortgage on your home that was current as of 3/1/2020 and is now delinquent. You may be on a forbearance plan.
- Have experienced a change in your financial status after 3/1/2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis.
- Be 18 years of age or over, or be a financially independent minor.
The Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt Program also offers mediation in order for landlords and tenants to avoid eviction. The program also offers free counseling, case management, and connections to resources for housing and debt issues. Landlords and tenants alike can apply for up to $25,000 per case for unpaid rent.
You can take advantage of these services if:
- You are a renter and your landlord is trying to evict you
- You are a landlord who is not represented by a lawyer
- You are a homeowner who has fallen behind on your mortgage payments or property taxes
- You were sued by someone who wants to collect an unpaid debt (for example a credit card company trying to collect unpaid charges)
- You need to sue someone who owes you money and do not have a lawyer.
For more information and to apply visit here or call 866-454-3571.
A slow roll out out of the end of the eviction moratorium started on August 1. This means that landlords are now able to file eviction proceedings. However the State will not begin enforcing those filings until August 30. Landlords are also required to wait for a seven-day "cooling off" period in addition to the regular five-day notice period for tenants who have had COVID-related hardships. During this "cooling-off" period, landlords must show the courts they have engaged in good faith efforts to reach a reasonable alternative to eviction, such as mediation and providing tenants with the option of a payment plan.
It was also announced that there will be a moratorium extension as directed by the federal government. This is meant to be for counties with substantial of high levels of COVID community transmission levels, so we will keep you updated on what this means for us locally. The state is continuing to review this new federal directive.
For more information and resources, visit the "Know Your Rights" page of the City of Chicago Department of Housing.
The moratorium may be ending, but residents are still feeling the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is why my colleagues and I are putting pressure on the Governor to extend the moratorium again, especially with the resurgence of the Delta variant.
In case there is no extension, community activists in the 49th Ward have put together an extensive resource document for your use. For information on the lift of the eviction moratorium, what to do if you get an eviction notice, and more you can use the 49th Ward Eviction Defense Resource Document. You can find the document at https://bit.ly/EvictionDefense49.
Other resources available for housing legal aid/advocacy include:
The Rentervention Hotline
Tel: 312.347.7600
Website: rentervention.com
Text "hi" to 866-7RENTER (866-773-6837) to start a conversation with Renny, Rentervention's bot.
Chicago tenants who need help with housing issues such as lockouts or evictions can contact Rentervention, a program of the Lawyers' Committee for Better Housing. Rentervention is free and confidential.
Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing
33 N LaSalle, Suite 900
Chicago IL 60602
Tel: 312.347.7600
Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing provides free legal and supportive services to improve housing stability for lower income renters while advocating for the rights of all renters until everyone in Chicago has a safe, decent, and affordable place to call home.
Services include:
- Any house related issue
- Tenants in Foreclosure Helpline (312) 784-3507
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24/7 Online Assistance with Rentervention
Illinois Legal Aid Online
Illinois Legal Aid Online does not provide legal advice, but they do have free legal forms and information that help people resolve legal issues. Their site also hosts Get Legal Help. By following that ‘Get Legal Help’ link, you can find out if you qualify for free legal assistance, and if there is a legal aid program in your area. If you do not qualify for free legal aid, you will be referred to a local service that may be able to connect you with a lawyer that you will have to pay.
People with legal problems may also wish to ask a volunteer lawyer a question about your legal problem through the Legal Answers website.
Metropolitan Tenants Organization
1727 S Indiana Ave G3
Chicago IL 60616
Tel: 773.292.4988
MTO provides tenants information, tools, and resources about tenant-landlord rights and responsibilities and how to enact those rights to secure their housing and/or preserve (by improving) affordable housing conditions (i.e. preventing evictions and mass lease terminations, addressing health-home hazardous, support tenants experiencing illegal evictions, unlawful landlord-entry, repair, special accommodation requests for the differently-abled, lease issues, return of security deposit). They also organize and advocate, help renters form tenant associations/resident councils and coalitions to advance racial equity and housing justice through campaigns and movements.
If a Chicago renter calls 3-1-1 they will more than likely be transferred to MTO for rental housing counseling. Their Tenants Rights Hotline is 773-292-4988 Monday through Fridays from 1pm-5pm.
Services include:
- Tenants’ Rights Hotline
- Tenant Stabilization
- Building Organizing
- Tenant Advocacy Board
Illinois 2-1-1
Tel: 2-1-1
Every hour of every day, someone in Illinois needs help locating and connecting with essential community services. On February 11, 2009, 2-1-1 made its debut in 13 counties to help residents find fast, free and confidential help for health and human services. The 2-1-1 call specialists are available to help individuals locate health and human service assistance, on everything from mortgage assistance, EITC tax help and food and shelter, to job counseling services and health resources.
