Evanston aldermen are scheduled to act Monday on a resolution that would impose a moratorium on coronavirus-related evictions similar to one already in effect in Chicago.
The resolution would require a landlord giving a tenant a lease termination notice for non-payment information that the tenant could respond with a notice of COVID-19 impact.
The landlord then would be required to “engage in good faith negotiations” with the tenant “to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement for repayment of the unpaid rent.”
A tenant who could show “any loss, reduction or delay in receipt of income, or loss or reduction of employment attributable in whole or in part to COVID-19” would be eligible to seek the delay.
Like the Chicago ordinance, the Evanston resolution would not absolve tenants of the responsibility to ultimately pay the rent, but it imposes limits on the amount of interest a landlord could charge on the unpaid rent balance.
The resolution would have the moratorium remain in effect until 60 days after the expiration of the last moratorium issued by the state, the county courts or the federal government.
Gov. Pritzker’s eviction moratorium currently is scheduled to expire Sept. 19. The federal moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control is scheduled to extend through Dec. 31.