Landlord Threatens Tenants with Eviction During Public Health Crisis
As Chicago faces an escalating public health crisis, unscrupulous landlord Nathan (Fred) Parker (a librarian at Harold Washington Library) is putting his tenants and the community in danger.
Less than 24 hours after moving into their apartment last fall and notifying the landlord of several issues in the unit, he responded with, “find another apartment.”
After a series of floods due to lack of maintenance from the building management, Karen and Adrian were unfairly locked out of the shared laundry room. On November 27th, they were notified that their access to the laundry room would be suspended for 30 days. The laundry room still remains locked from the inside without explanation from Parker or his belligerent handyman Vincent Lengerich. On top of that, the gas and electricity for the room is connected to their apartment’s utility lines. A city inspector has verified that their unit has several building code violations, including a lack of access to the laundry room where the circuit breaker is located.
No longer able to follow the CDC recommendation to stay home, this situation has forced Karen’s mother to venture out to the laundromat, putting herself and others at risk, despite there being a functional washing machine in their building (that other tenants are still using).
On top of that, Parker continues to threaten them with eviction during a pandemic. After Parker refused to correct the conditions issues in their unit, Karen and Adrian exercised their right under the RLTO to withhold a portion of rent to reflect the diminished value of the apartment. Parker responded by issuing a 5-day eviction notice. Their attorneys have been in touch about reaching a resolution but Parker seems unwilling to negotiate in good faith.
Recently, Parker’s lawyer came to Karen and Adrian — still not having cancelled the 5-day notice — with a paltry counter-offer that would still require the family to move out by the end of April. Does Mr. Parker know something about COVID-19 that the rest of us don’t? Still dangling an eviction over their heads and offering them a nightmarish move-out with uncertain ability to get moving help or even find new housing, it seems Mr. Parker does not take these negotiations, or this pandemic seriously.
As Cook County courts have instituted social distancing policies and have committed to postpone eviction and foreclosure orders for at least 30 days, this process promises to be even more arduous and slow-moving than usual, when the solution is so simple: Allow all tenants access to promised amenities. Make necessary repairs to ensure their safety.
During a time of crisis, we must look after one another to ensure our collective safety, not make tenants jump through hoops and endanger themselves out of spite. Nathan Parker should know better.
Since we cannot trust landlords to do the right thing for our collective health and safety, ATU is calling on the circuit court to close all court filings for evictions and foreclosures, along with several other demands to ensure tenant safety as we move through uncertain times. Please sign our petition and share our demands:
The Autonomous Tenants Union (ATU) is an all-volunteer organization committed to organizing for housing justice from below and to the left. As an independent collective based in Chicago, we strategize together to defend and enforce our right to dignified housing. We believe that housing is a human right not a commodity! We fight for an end to all of evictions, and for community control of housing through the building of popular power.
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