The last few days have dealt a few blows to Chicagoland real estate investors with tenants not paying their rent, or for landlords with plans to raise rents.
Governor Pritzker has extended the ban on evictions until August 22nd. This means you can not file an eviction on a non-paying tenant until the 22nd of August.
So what actions can you/should you take? First off, there is not much you can do besides continue to be super nice to the tenants and continue to work with them to find a solution. The good news on this front is the governor is also creating grants for tenants up to 5k per tenant, in which applications will be available on August 10th. This should, in theory, help tenants catch up and make rent payments for the next few months.
The city of Chicago just passed a new law stating that notice to vacate given to someone who has lived in the home for more than 6 months must be given 60 days in advance. And for tenants who have more than three years in an apartment, you must give them 120 days' notice.
So what actions can we take? The first is to put a rider in your lease automatically increasing rent if the lease goes to a month to month lease. This means if a tenant does not accept your rent increase you can at least charge a premium until the 120 day notice is up. In terms of leases already in effect, for tenants on a month-to-month lease I would wait until December or January to give notice of renewal with any price changes. So, if they decline, the 120 days puts you back in the spring.
One more adjustment to make is to be sure we are offering lease renewals 90 days out or more. That way, you have time to give notice if they do not accept the renewals.
Thank you for taking the time to read our blog. Please note we are not attorneys, and this post is just an opinion and not legal advice. Please consult with your attorney before taking any advice in this article.
If you are a landlord and want to make your investment passive give us a call to discuss managing your property at 224-601-5415.
