There are over 20,000 rented apartments in Chicago, Illinois. Although statistics are unavailable regarding average units per building (and average tenants per unit) more than a few Americans have been put out as a result of the average 125 multi-unit apartment buildings that were foreclosed in the Chicago every week last year. Statistics as to what happened to these people afterwards are also currently unavailable.
This information, which has only recently become available, was provided by the Lawyer’s Committee for Better Housing, a non-profit community organization.
According to the Lawyer’s Committee report the situation was particularly bad in the following nine city zones, which alone accounted for over 200 multi-unit apartment building foreclosures in 2009.
Austin
Humboldt Park
Belmont Cragin
New City
Englewood
West Englewood
Logan Square
North Lawndale
South Lawndale
Nationwide, the lenders responsible for the greatest number of foreclosures were Deutsche Bank (591), U.S. Bank (576) and JPMorgan Chase (545). Among the 15 banks with the largest volume of foreclosure actions in 2009, CitiMortgage closed in on 2,349 rented units out of a sector total of 12,787.
The Lawyer’s Committee for Better Housing is particularly concerned that the various role players in the apartment letting cycle (tenants, owners, property managers, rent receivers, lenders and real estate agents) may be ignorant of the rights and obligations pertaining to foreclosures. Some tenants, for example, think that they can cease paying rent, and some property managers, lenders and re-owners are of the opinion that they can discontinue routine maintenance, and evict tenants following foreclosure and subsequent change of ownership.
The Law of Illinois stipulates that tenants are entitled to ninety day’s notice prior to eviction from a foreclosed property. In Chicago itself, existing tenants are further entitled to be informed of a foreclosure notice affecting them within seven days, and new tenants must be appraised before moving in. In Cook County, they can even visit the Cook County Recorder of Deeds offices and personally inspect foreclosure filings for a particular property.
Notwithstanding this, Director of Lawyers Committee for Better Housing Mark Schwartz is worried that the typical tenant may find the overlapping rules confusing. It’s a convoluted process, and sometimes even they can’t find out what’s going on. Many tenants also get lost in the length of the foreclosure process, or simply give up.
Renters grappling with foreclosure issues affecting their apartment buildings may contact the Lawyers Committee on 312-347-7600 or on www.lcbh.org. Information is also available from the Metropolitan Tenants Organization on either 773-292-4980 or www.tenants-rights.org.
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