Category: MTO News

News and updates from MTO.

Tenants Lead the Fight Against Discrimination

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Low-income tenants throughout the city are fighting to end discrimination against voucher holders in suburban Cook County.  One tenant leader, Mr. Green wages an inspiring daily campaign from his wheelchair.  Mr. Green has lived at 1440 S. Indiana for about three years.  Residents of the building turn to Mr. Green to act as a liaison between them and the management.  His commitment to improving the quality of life for the tenants of his building led him to become a member of MTO.  Mr. Green not only works in his building, but also is a regular attendee of the monthly meetings of the Tenants Congress.  This group is leading the Source of Income campaign.

In Chicago, it is against the law to discriminate against Section 8 voucher holders.  However, in the suburbs, no such law applies.  The Source of Income Campaign is fighting to pass a law that will also make it illegal to discriminate against Section 8 voucher holders in suburban Cook County.  Although Mr. Green has no plans of moving out of Chicago any time soon, he has made this campaign his fight.  His advocacy for this campaign stems from his belief that people shouldn’t be allowed to discriminate regardless of your age, gender, abilities or race, or simply because you use a voucher.  His commitment to this campaign has moved him to spend several hours a week by the train station speaking to fellow Chicagoans about this issue and asking them support their suburban neighbors by signing the petition and calling the Cook County Commissioners to support the ordinance.

If you get off at the red line Roosevelt stop, Mr. Green may ask you to sign the petition to stop the discrimination in the suburbs.  Make sure to sign it, and ask Mr. Green how you can become more involved.

Empowered Seniors at 353 E. 53rd Street

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In January of 2011, tenants from a senior building at 353 E. 53rd Street called MTO complaining of repair problems in their building.  The hotline counselor suggested building organizing to help address the building problems and shortly after, an MTO organizer contacted the residents to arrange a visit to the building. At the first meeting, MTO conducted a Residential Landlord and Tenants Ordinance (RLTO) workshop.

Problems in the building included poorly hung apartment doors that would sometimes trap residents in their apartments, large gaps around the doors and peepholes that were too high to use.  Together, tenants began organizing by electing acting tenant officers, writing joint letters to management and HUD that notified them of the building conditions, and joining the Metropolitan Tenants Organization as members.

On February 16, tenants met with management.  Tenant leaders expressed their concerns to management, who promptly provided a timeline for some of the needed repairs, including the poorly hung apartment doors.  Management committed to working with the newly formed resident organization to resolve repair issues.

As the month of February concludes, tenants are reporting that work is being completed as promised. The resident organization will continue to meet monthly to advocate for residents’ rights in the building.

When Bed Bugs Attack

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Bed bugs have returned, invading our hospitals, hotels, public transportation, and most unsettling of all, our homes. While bed bugs do not transmit disease, bed bugs have proven to be a serious nuisance to homeowners and renters alike, across the nation.

While New York City leads the nation in reported incidents of bed bug infestations, according to an August 2010 report released by Terminix, the Windy City does not find itself far behind – we live in the fifth most bed bug infested city in the U.S. MTO can certainly attest to this, as hotline calls pertaining to bed bugs have increased dramatically in the last two years. In 2010, MTO received 313, usually very frantic, calls with complaints of bed bugs. Two years ago, bed bug calls to MTO’s hotline were nonexistent.

In response to this sudden reemergence of bed bugs in Chicago, MTO has led efforts to create a roundtable of representatives from HUD, EPA, Chicago Department of Public Health, Illinois Department of Public Health, and other invested agencies and community organizations. MTO is actively working with this group on creating a policy proposal for HUD subsidized buildings. Among other recommendations,  MTO has proposed the following to be included in a HUD policy on bed bugs:

-Landlords should disclose any known bed bug infestations within the previous 12 months to prospective renters,

-HUD should support an initiative for an educational campaign on bed bugs and pest control,

-Landlords should hire certified/licensed pest control professionals for both bed bug inspections and treatments,

-Landlords should encourage tenant notification of bed bug sightings by never retaliating against tenants (e.g. imposing fees, threatening eviction, etc),

-and HUD should allocate a long term source of funding to help landlords and renters combat bed bug infestations.

MTO is working on the bed bug issue at the state level as well. Meron Kahssai, an MTO Healthy Homes Organizer, has been appointed to the Illinois Subcommittee on Bed Bugs, a subcommittee of the Illinois Structural Pest Control Advisory Council. MTO will serve on this subcommittee as the voice of renters and will provide the necessary insight on the plight of renters to the other members of the state’s bed bug subcommittee. The goal of this subcommittee is to create a report with recommendations to the IL General Assembly on the prevention, management, and control of bed bugs which include recommendations on an educational campaign, proper transport and disposal of bed bug infested materials, and best practices of treatment and eradication.

Tenants who have dealt with bed bugs are encouraged to join MTO’s bed bug committee. This committee is open to anyone who is interested in serving the need of renters affected by bed bugs by pushing policies for both subsidized and market rate renters. Please contact Meron Kahssai at 773-292-4980 ext. 229, if interested.

Bed bugs will be the topic of discussion at the January 20th Tenant Congress meeting at the Chicago Urban League (4510 S. Michigan). Following a presentation on bed bugs, the floor will be open for a question and answer session. This meeting is open to the public.

State of the Renter in the City of Chicago

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The Hotline has served as MTO’s eyes and ears into the lives of renters. Since its inception in 1994, the MTO Hotline has fielded more than 150,000 calls, carefully collecting information and tracking data on housing issues. In collecting this data, Hotline counselors have spent thousands of hours listening to the stories told by Chicago’s renters. The story of renters in Chicago is that they are increasingly facing unpredictability in the rental housing market, financial stress, and deteriorated living conditions. Their lives are and have been in tumult for years.
– John Bartlett, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization

Above is an except from the State of the Renter report issued by MTO in 2009. For too long, the needs of renters – invaluable investors in our communities – have been marginalized in favor of a policy that focuses only on homeownership. Renters have been regarded as transient occupants rather than stakeholders. MTO recommends a national housing policy that balances homeownership and rental housing. Policy makers have failed to recognize the importance of a stable rental housing market and certainly have an insufficient understanding of the issues facing renters.

An executive summary of the State of the Renter report can be found here. For the full report, click here. We always welcome feedback. Please feel free to leave comments or questions in the space provided at the bottom of this page.

Bed Bug Complaints Surge

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Bed bug complaints on the Metropolitan Tenants Organization Hotline have gone from none to at least 200 calls a year. WBBM’s John Cody reports.

If you have bed bugs in the Chicagoland area, call the Chicago tenants rights hotline at 773.292.4988. Open M-F from 1-5pm.
Stay tuned for an updated online FAQ on Bed Bugs and what do about them.

Action Alert: Save Renters’ Security Deposits!

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*UPDATE* The subcommittee meeting has been rescheduled for Wednesday, June 16th at 10am at City Hall. Meet on the 2nd floor.

*UPDATE* MTO has learned that the subcommittee meeting scheduled for Monday has been canceled. Check back soon for updates.

On Monday, May 24th, at 10am, Alderman Shiller’s newly formed subcommittee will be hearing testimony from landlords and tenants regarding the two amendments that were considered at the Building Committee meeting in April. The subcommittee meeting will be held at City Hall, on the 2nd floor, in room 201A.

The first amendment, proposed by Alderman Stone, would circumvent the current penalties landlords face for not paying security deposit or interest back to the tenant. If this amendment were to pass, landlords would face absolutely NO penalties for violating the all the security deposit laws set forth in the Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance. Once the landlord has violated their tenants’ rights, then the tenants would be required to remind their landlord that their rights have indeed been violated – in writing, and only then could the tenant even consider pursuing other legal remedies.

The second amendment, proposed by Alderman Shiller, allows landlords who miscalculate interest to be given a second chance to correct the problem before facing legal penalties. This amendment would protect landlords who make innocent mistakes from frivolous lawsuits while simultaneously keeping loopholes closed for bad landlords who intentionally violate their tenants’ right to their own money. MTO is in support of Alderman Shiller’s amendment. Alderman Stone’s amendment does not differentiate between good landlord and bad landlords.

There are more tenants than landlords in the city of Chicago and on May 24th, we want the Alderman on this subcommittee to hear tenant voices. MTO is looking for renters to testify about their rental experiences to this subcommittee. If you want to speak out or have your story told, please contact Loreen Targos at 773.292.4980 x 231 or by email at loreen@tenants-rights.org.

Tenants Get Repairs and Fight Foreclosure

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In August of 2008 tenants from a building in Englewood called MTO’s Tenants Rights Hotline complaining about egregious conditions including broken security locks, pest infestations, and lack of essential services, like heat.  MTO immediately sent organizers out to assess the situation.  The Ada-Throop buildings are subsidized by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In addition to confirming the deplorable conditions tenants reported, MTO organizers learned that the building was in foreclosure and that the building’s subsidy was at risk.

The Ada-Throop buildings, in many ways, represent the predicament that the foreclosure crisis has caused in many tenants’ lives.  The tenants in Ada-Throop lived in quickly deteriorating conditions because the owner was either unwilling or unable to attend to the upkeep of the building, let alone pay the mortgage.  Often unresolved repairs are the first sign of a landlord in foreclosure.  Because of unacceptable building conditions, there was fear HUD would eliminate the subsidy of the property, and thus everyone would have to move.

Foreclosures also put into question the person ‘in charge’ during the court process.  The courts, the banks, or the old owner often do not want to invest the needed resources in foreclosure buildings.

Fortunately, the tenants worked together with MTO to take back control over their living conditions.  The tenants association secured the assistance of the City of Chicago’s Troubled Building Initiative and a court appointed receiver took over management of the buildings.  Working with the court appointed management company, tenants continued to organize, heat was restored in the building and conditions were improved.

Thanks to the efforts of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization working in conjunction with the Shriver Center, the Community Investment Corporations (CIC) and HUD, these buildings and their affordable housing subsidizes were all preserved.  Today, there remain problems and obstacles to overcome in the building. But since the tenants have organized, conditions have improved and new owners will soon be ready to take over the buildings. These new owners are currently looking into securing loans to do rehabilitation work on these affordable subsidized buildings.

Summary Prepared by Robert Clack

Metropolitan Tenants Organization 25th Anniversary Celebration

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Deborah Harrington: 2010 Movement Builder Awardee

25 years of raising renters’ voices & community preservation

Please join us to celebrate MTO’s 25th Anniversary!

On Tuesday, May 4th at the Chicago Cultural Center in G.A.R. Hall & Rotunda, from 5:30 to 8:30pm, MTO is hosting a reception. Join us for hors d’oeuvres, wine, jazz and to honor some of our community’s outstanding leaders! MTO will honor Deborah Harrington, former President of the Wood’s Fund of Chicago and Steven Whitman, Ph. D, Director of the Sinai Urban Health Institute. The key note speaker for the event will be Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez.

Mayor Richard M. Daley will serve as the Honorary Celebration Chair and has agreed to issue a proclamation in honor of the occasion.

The following are several opportunities to support MTO and renters throughout the City in celebrating this milestone:

Buy Tickets

Table for 10 – $1,000.00 (limited availability)
Tickets – $100.00/person

Please consider sponsoring a renter scholarship ticket when you purchase some for your agency!

To purchase tickets by credit card on line:

1. Go to the MTO website at www.tenants-rights.org.
2. Under Support Our Work on the right hand side of the page, click on Donate Now.
3. Indicate the amount of your purchase and under Designation, indicate the number of tickets you are purchasing and write 25th Event.
4. Proceed as indicated.

Buy Ad-space in the Program Booklet

  • Full Page…………………………….. $300.00
  • Half Page…………………………….. $150.00
  • Quarter Page…..………………..…. $100.00
  • One Eighth Page…………………… $ 65.00
  • Single Line Mention……………. ..$ 35.00
  • Non-profit special package includes: 2 passes to the event & ½ page ad in Program Book….$300.00

Contact Kathy Cheney-Egan at 773.292.4980 ext. 230 or kathy@tenants-rights.org to purchase your ad or tickets today!

Deadline for inclusion on the print invitation is March 31, 2010. Deadline for ordering ad space is April 16th.

Tenants Get Heat Restored

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photo credit: midnightcomm on flickr

Tenants from the building located at 3045 W 63rd St. call the MTO because their building was in horrible condition and they were not going to take it anymore.  When the MTO organizers arrived at the building the first thing that that they noticed was there was no heat in the building along with security problems such as, locks not working on entrance doors.  Tenants highlighted other problems such as pests (roaches, mice and rats), doors and door frame problems going into apartments, leaky pipes among other issues in the building.

The tenants organized a tenants association.  A group of them called 311 (the City’s complaint number) and asked for reference numbers.  Several tenants also wrote out 24 hour letters concerning the heat problem.  On December 10th organizers sent letters via certified mail to the Management Company, contacted a City of Chicago Building Attorney and contacted a Community Investment Corporation Program Officer in charge of the Trouble Building Initiative.

Two days later City Inspectors toured the building and found the building to be in non compliance with City code.  That same day the Management Company sent repair people to the property and the heat was turned back on around midnight and an open window in a common area was boarded up.

After their victory the tenants are inspired to keep organizing.  MTO organizers are working with the tenants association to fix the rest of the problems.   Tenants learned about their renters’ rights and now they are writing 14 day letters concerning conditions and repairs.  Their next meeting is set for January 4 at the Southwest Youth Collaborative.

Summary Prepared by Robert Clack