Evanston’s Housing and Community Development Committee is expected to hear a referral sponsored by Councilmember Juan Geracaris looking to implement a fair notice ordinance. It aims to ensure renters receive adequate notice before lease price adjustments and terminations.
“If tenants have more time to find a new place to live when their rent is being increased beyond what they can afford or if their lease isn’t being renewed, they have a better chance of finding another place to live that they can afford and avoid becoming homeless,” Evanston’s Interim Community Development Director Sarah Flax said.
Geracaris’ referral is modeled after Chicago’s July 2020 fair notice ordinance and offers renters protections against abrupt lease terminations and price increases. Under Chicago’s ordinance, renters must receive a minimum 60-day notice of any price increases and lease terminations if they lived at the property for more than six months but less than six years. This increases to 120 days if the resident lived at the property for more than three years.
“Having only 30 days to find housing isn’t enough, especially for people in the housing choice voucher program, families with children and older people with limited mobility,” Flax said. “If a tenant facing eviction has more than the 10-day period to cure for nonpayment of rent, they are more likely to be able to access rental assistance.”
If a renter is being evicted for failure to pay, the Chicago ordinance provides residents avenues to remain at the property and end the eviction case, according to the City of Chicago. Renters — that don’t live in the same six-unit or fewer building as their landlord — can do this by paying all back-owed rent and paying the case’s filing fees submitted by the landlord.
Geracaris submitted another proposal expected to go before the Housing and Community Development Committee that will require landlords to return security deposits to residents more promptly.
“Rising rental prices are seriously hurting working class families,” Geracaris wrote in the referral tracker. “They shouldn’t have to wait almost a month to receive a full security deposit return.”
Evanston Policy Coordinator Alison Leipziger said at a Referrals Committee meeting that staff might consider combining the two referrals into one, which is why the referrals went to the Housing and Community Development Committee rather than Geracaris’ expressed Planning and Development Committee preference.
The Referrals Committee on Oct. 13 set an end of 2022 timeline for these proposals to be heard which Flax said is causing the item to fall behind schedule and expects an official recommendation to reach the committee in February. She said a discussion might take place prior to that and she wouldn’t be surprised if it gets delayed to March.
“We want the update to be comprehensive so we don’t make multiple updates in a relatively short period of time,” Flax said. “That would be confusing and burdensome for both landlords and tenants.”
Corey Schmidt is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.