Chicago landlords say rent is still due…but payment plans can be worked out

Chicago landlords say they are willing to work out payment plans for tenants who can’t afford the April 1 rent check because of the economic devastation from the coronavirus crisis.

Evictions have been halted in Cook County through April 30, but landlords are still able to start eviction proceedings before then, which can hurt a tenant’s future chances of securing housing, according to the Sun-Times.

TLC Management , which owns more than 10,000 apartments in Chicago and surrounding suburbs, said it was willing to work out payment plans for tenants who have lost their jobs, but it still expects rent to be paid, according to the report.

Skokie-based F&F Realty plans on working with every tenant facing hardship at its roughly 4,000 apartments in the suburbs, the Sun-Times reported. Local developer and investor Draper & Kramer said it is doing the same.

Meanwhile, Sam Zell’s multifamily entity Equity Residential is offering lease renewals with no increases and is halting evictions and rent hikes for 90 days on its thousands of apartments across the country. 

Tenant advocates are also urging Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot to call on a freeze on rent, mortgage and utility payments amid the worsening pandemic. The mayor hasn’t urged landlords to forgive rent payments, suggested in a press conference this month they “give tenants some grace wherever possible during these trying times.”

Chicago is also offering $1,000 grants to 2,000 residents who can prove job or income loss due to the coronavirus. The $2 million to fund the new grant program will come from the city’s Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund. [Sun-Times] — Brianna Kelly