The Evanston City Council on Feb. 27 approved allotting $500,000 to a small to medium residential rental provider assistance fund to help landlords recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The landlord assistance program will give support to property owners located in census tract areas 8092, 8102 and 8103.01 with rental portfolios with less than 35 units and no major code violations. Those areas primarily include Evanston’s south side and between Church Street and the North Shore Channel west of Green Bay Road, according to a city memo.
Eligible landlords can potentially receive payments up to 75% net income loss not to exceed $15,000 per applicant, according to the memo prepared by Housing and Grants Supervisor Marion Johnson. The memo states smaller residential landlords were impacted by COVID-19’s increased expenses, delayed construction projects and long-term vacancies.
The decision to specifically help small landlords was made in part due to a study by the Urban Institute showing small landlords are more likely to house those struggling to pay rent, have tenants of color and less likely to evict tenants compared to large landlords or institutional investors, according to the memo.
Housing activist Gail Schechter previously told Pioneer Press that Evanston’s housing market has been impacted by the presence of buildings with micro units to please young professionals and university students leaving out those with different needs.
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“They’re building a lot of apartment buildings in Evanston and they’re these furnished micro units,” Schechter said. “They’re trying to accommodate students, rather than families. So if you’re a family with children, you have a hard time accessing these new housing developments.”
Johnson wrote the $500,000 fund will likely support between 70 and 80 eligible applicants and the average assistance amount would be around $7,000 with 30% of applicants receiving more than $10,000.
Deputy City Manager Dave Stoneback told City Council remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds are at approximately $6 million. Councilmember Devon Reid said Stoneback’s update made his supporting vote “even easier” to make, considering it alienated his worries about using ARPA funds.
“I’ve been conflicted on this even though I’ve served on the task force (putting this proposal together),” Reid said. “This is a decent chunk of our remaining ARPA funds.”
Stoneback said City Council will discuss its remaining ARPA funds at the next City Council meeting.
The legislation was unanimously approved at all levels of Evanston’s municipal ranks. This comes after the City Council earmarked affordable housing as one of its top priorities in 2023.
Corey Schmidt is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.