Pritzker Extends Eviction Moratorium

By Gary Scott on November 16, 2020 at 9:41am

Landlords and property owners are having evictions continued for another 30 days in the state of Illinois. Governor J.B. Pritzker extends the state’s moratorium on evictions Friday, citing the second peak of COVID-19 cases currently in the state. 

Pritzker says that the moratorium comes with a new caveat for renters: “With input from smaller landlords and property owners, this new moratorium will ensure that the rents are paid by tenants who may have been taken advantage of the eviction moratorium, but who are in fact able to pay, to make their monthly rent payments. In line with the CDC eviction ban, only renters who have earned no more than $99,000 in annual income or $198,000 as joint filers for this calendar year are covered under this extension. Renters unable to pay will be required to submit a declaration form to their landlord certifying that they are unable to pay their rent due to the substantial loss of income or an increase in out of pocket expenses stemming from the pandemic.”

The form for renters will be available on the Illinois Housing Development Authority website. Pritzker also says some evictions can happen: “This new order also clarifies that enforcement of pre-pandemic eviction orders can indeed move forward if there are serious health or safety concerns.” 

As of Tuesday last week, IDHA has approved 30,000 applications for $5,000 in emergency rental assistance for individuals across the state. More info can be found at ihda.org.