Are you a renter or landlord suburban Cook County? Has COVID-19 made it difficult for you or your tenants to pay rent and utilities? You may qualify for @cookcountygov assistance. The first step? Check your eligibility and gather your documents. Start the process at cookcountyil.gov/rent-help. Applications open October 4th. Landlords and tenants may apply.
While the State of Illinois applications are closed, Cook County has opened a new round of emergency rental assistance for renters impacted by COVID. Millions of dollars have already been distributed to tenants and landlord so avoid eviction. There is still more money. Apply today. Application deadline is October 29. Don’t get evicted, get resources that can help you stay in your home. Go to https://cookcountyil.gov/rent-help or call MTO’s hotline 773-292-4988 for assistance.
Kass Management has locked us out of rent cafe also,we got approved for emergency rental assistance, but I’m unable to see anything on rent cafe.
Have you contacted the management to ask why you are locked out and to inquire about the status of the rental assistance. Can you let us know what they say.
Greetings,
My landlord has locked me out of Rent Cafe so I can’t see my previous rent payments or make any additional payments. The company is Kass Management. Is this legal? I still have not received a 5-day or 7-day notice. I know from experience that those notices say to pay rent. If my landlord has locked me out of the payment system without issuing these notices, how would I pay rent if I were to receive a notice? I need an attorney to speak with.
If the landlord has not issued 5 day notice they cannot evict you for non payment. The law states that you have 5 days to pay once you have been served the notice. There is a new law that states you can pay up to court hearing. You will have to pay any fees the management has incurred. Have you called, emailed or texted the management company. If you haven’t start there and see what they say.
Can a landlord issue a late rent notice informing you the tenant to pay rent in 24 hours in lieu of a 5-day notice? I have not received a 5-day notice, only a late letter.
I do not know what your late notices states. The notice could be stating that if rent isn’t received then the landlord will assess a late fee which is described in your lease. The landlord cannot begin eviction proceedings without giving you 5 full days to pay the rent.
How does the Fair Tenant Ordinance work regarding evictions? If the tenant pays all costs before an order of possession is issued, what happens?
If you pay all the back rent including filing fees then the eviction needs to stop.
Thanks John. I did the IHDA online seminar on Webex. Where can I find an attorney that might help me? My management company, Kass Management, appeared in a WBEZ article since the company has filed the most evictions post-pandemic, with Pangea coming in 1st place. The Fair Notice Ordinance says that tenants can pay rent owed up until a judge issues a possession order, Is this true? If so, why won’t landlords accept RAP money to avoid court since the tenant will be there anyway. The ordinance implies that once the tenant pays before a possession order is issued, the case can be vacated or dismissed. Is this correct?
yes it is true that you can pay back rent and court costs up until the judge issues the eviction notice. I cannot answer why landlords will not accept RAP money. It would also violate Chicago’s Fair Housing Ordinance which prohibits discrimination based on a tenants source of income.
If a tenant has applied for many rental assistance programs (IHDA, DFSS, AFC, IDHS) months and weeks before rent was due and the property manager refused to cooperate with any of it, will a judge still evict a tenant? The new Cook County Eviction process includes a attestation form in which the landlord confirms that he/she has not received and is not anticipating any RAP funds. The GAO 2020-09 amendment PDF states that eligible eviction cases may be referred to the ERP and medication nd case management. And that ERP info must be provided with a summons, My second question is what is the point of this if the landlord has not cooperated with any RAP before?
First a judge will evict a tenant if the rent is not paid.
There is some debate about whether landlords have to accept RAP funds. Chicago, Cook County and soon the State of Illinois will have ordinance preventing landlords from discriminating against tenants due to their source of income. Many attorneys believe that refusing to accept RAP funds would violate this Fair Housing provision and thus open the landlord to a possible discrimination lawsuit.
ERP has some problems and we are trying to help resolve them. Currently, an ERP attorney may seek to challenge the eviction as a violation of Fair Housing law. Unfortunately, many will not so it depends on the attorney you are referred to. The first reason to participate in the program is the attorney may choose to challenge the landlord. Secondly, at least for IDHA programs tenants that have participate in a training and who landlord has refused to participate may be able to receive a direct payment, Then the tenant would have money to move.
My clients’ tenant’s job closed due to COVID and she has still not found steady work; plus her mother recently died suddenly. I have provided her information – if you can help, please let her know.
Please have your client call our hotline 773-292-4988.
Landlord refuses to sign off on rental insurance. I filled out application in December Now I am being evicted. I have MS and Lupus
I am not sure how to answer your question. Why do you need your landlord to okay the insurance policy? It is covering your personal property. Is the landlord requiring you to get insurance? or to add their name as an interested party.
I meant rental assistance. I applied the first day it became available and the management just decided not to fill out their portion of the application. I sent them more than 2 emails and got no response. I am disabled I just want to have this done so I can move out and move on.
I do not see the first part of the question. Have you written the landlord a note stating that you are willing to leave but cannot pay the back rent. Ask the landlord if there is a mutually beneficial way to go about this. You tried to apply for rental assistance but cannot really do it if the landlord fails to fill out paperwork.