Landlords oppose bill to expand Section 8 housing in Illinois

[March 12, 2022]  By Zeta Cross | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) – A housing bill that passed the Illinois House last spring is strongly opposed by Illinois landlords.

House Bill 2775 requires landlords who prefer not to participate in the Section 8 subsidized rent program to accept Section 8 tenants and sign a contract that would subject them to the rules and requirements of the local housing authority. Among the bill’s advocates are members of disability rights groups, who say they need more housing options.

Landlord organizations say the measure is one-sided, and would take away landlord rights.

Paul Arena, director of legislative affairs for the Illinois Rental Property Owners Association, said the bill requires landlords who do not want to sign Section 8 contracts to do so.

“All of the control is in the hands of the housing authority,” Arena told The Center Square. “You operate on whatever terms they decide should exist at the beginning of the lease. And it says in the contract that they can change the terms in the middle of the lease.”

Section 8 is a housing choice voucher program for low income families, the elderly and people with disabilities. In Illinois, Section 8 is a voluntary program for landlords who opt to participate.

Under HB2775, landlords would continue to be able to screen tenants. However, if those tenants meet the landlord’s criteria, and the tenants use Section 8 subsidies, landlords would be required to sign Section 8 contracts and to abide by Section 8 rules and restrictions.

Arena said this is a violation of landlord rights.

“The bill says that landlords have to sign the contract with the housing authority, which has terms in it that many landlords do not want to sign,” he said.

One requirement under the Section 8 contract is a provision that a landlord’s business records must be open and available for inspection at all times.

“This bill would force landlords to agree to that,” Arena said. “They are taking a program that is designed to be voluntary and imposing the control of the program on all landlords."

Many landlords in Arena’s organization take Section 8 tenants, he said, and they like the certainty of knowing that the tenants’ rent is guaranteed by the government. Other landlords choose not to participate, he said.

“It’s about being forced,” Arena said. “This is a property rights issue. A contract should be between two willing parties.”

HB2775 passed the House in April 2021 on a vote of 62-48. It is now in the Illinois Senate. The Illinois Rental Properties Association is urging landlords to contact their state senators to let them know their positions on the bill.