Illinois' eviction moratorium is over. What's next?

[October 06, 2021]  By Kevin Bessler

(The Center Square) – Now that the eviction moratorium has ended in Illinois, some are wondering if there will be a wave of eviction filings that could threaten to overload the system.

Landlord eviction filings were allowed to resume in August, but they weren’t enforceable until now.

According to a U.S. Census Bureau survey, more than 60,000 Illinoisans said they are likely to face eviction in the next two months.

Rebecca Levin with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office said in August and September, they received 3,200 eviction notices.

“Which is fewer than in normal times, so I am hoping that bodes well for there not being a tsunami of evictions, but time will tell,” Levin said.

According to QuoteWizard, 18% of renters are behind on their rent in Illinois, one of the highest percentages in the country.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office reports more than $443 million in emergency rental assistance has been paid to over 49,000 households through the Illinois Rental Payment Program. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Illinois is one of the highest providers of rental assistance in the country.
 

The program was launched in May and provides up to $25,000 in emergency rental assistance to cover up to 12 months of past-due rent and up to three months of future rent payments for tenants experiencing financial hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Clint Sabin, spokesman for the Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance, said landlords have been barely hanging on during the pandemic.
 

“Most rental units are provided by a housing provider who only own a handful of units, and if you have just one or two units that are unable or unwilling to pay, that can add up very quickly to a real crisis,” said Sabin.

A survey by the NBOA found that Chicago housing providers have not been paid $1 billion in rent since the pandemic began.

Michael Glasser, president of the NBOA, said housing providers prefer not to go through the long and painful legal process of eviction.

“Just having the ability to evict gives us a tool that we need to kinda wake up and shake up some of the tenants who have been milking this process,” Glasser said.