CALL TO ACTION — Meeting date to be
announced
Over a decade ago I started hearing about municipalities that were licensing
landlords and inspecting rental properties. Many, if not all of them, are
unconstitutional, violating the tenant’s rights as well as the landlord’s
rights. Despite many lawsuits that have been fought and won by tenants and
landlords, these laws have continued to proliferate. The proliferation of
these laws was one of the major issues that led me to gather leaders from around
the state to form the Illinois
Rental Property Owners Association in 1994.
We are at a crossroads in Illinois. This past Spring Representative
Reboletti, from Addison, introduced a bill that would
allow all municipalities and counties to enact licensing and
inspection ordinances. I brought
this to your attention, and at the time the grassroots efforts of the Illinois
Rental Property Owners Association and its member groups, like CCIA, made a
difference. We got the bill tabled.
Now, Representaive Reboletti is asking for our input since he intends to
reintroduce the bill. He has asked us to bring our members together
for a meeting with him on August ???, 2008 in Addison. At first I
thought he would only want to talk to IRPOA leaders, and his local constituents.
But, we have been asked to gather as many of our members as can make it to
the meeting. This is our chance to let a key legislator know how we feel
about this issue. Please join me on August ??? in Addison. Full
details are in the letter on our home page at: http://www.ccia-info.com.
You probably will not need to get up and speak unless you want to.
I do think that it would be useful to bring a letter expressing your
opinion to the meeting.
In some communities with inspection laws, landlords are being asked to let
inspectors into occupied apartments with or without the resident’s permission.
This unwarranted search is a violation of the constitutional rights of
the tenant and landlord. If the tenant doesn’t want their apartment
inspected, the landlord can be sued by the tenants for complying with the
City’s request. Landlords who respect the tenant’s rights have been
jailed and fined for failing to comply with the City’s requirements, a
“catch-22” for landlords.
In another community, where inspections were the law for all residential
properties, inspections were carried out by armed law
enforcement professionals. Exactly what were they inspecting for
when they gained access to an owner occupied residence early in the morning and
surprised the owners in bed. What credentials do law enforcement
professionals have that makes it appropriate for them to inspect buildings for
“health and safety” issues.
In every instance where licensing and inspections are the law, there is a fee.
This adds to the Cities coffers, which is one of the unspoken reasons for
these laws. But, it is on the backs of tenants making housing even less
affordable.
Come help us protect your constitutional rights on August ???, 2008.
Full details are in the letter on our home page at: http://www.ccia-info.com.
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U.S. Constitution -
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and
effects, against unreasonable
searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall
issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to
be seized.
Comments: Inspection ordinances are in direct contradiction to this
right established by the U.S.
Constitution. Besides insisting on searching people’s homes,
local ordinances frequently allow penalties to landlords (fines and even jail
time) for not allowing inspectors in without the tenant’s permission. In
communities where landlords or tenants have insisted on the officials obtaining
a search warrant, the warrants issued are usually administrative – the
constitution states that they must be for probable cause.
U.S. Constitution -
Amendment XIV
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to
the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state
wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge
the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any
state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.
Comments: This amendment established equal protection of the
laws. When inspection ordinances provide for inspection of some
residences, but not all, they are establishing two classes of people. Many
inspection ordinances are passed “for health and safety” reasons. Are
tenants entitled to this extra protection, when homeowners are not?
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Inspection laws have been successfully fought in many communities. However,
the financial burden of bringing suit is too high for many tenants and
landlords, so in many areas inspection laws are still in place and being
enforced. Representative Reboletti would like to allow all municipalities
and Counties in Illinois to pass these laws. If this happens, the legal
burden to protect our constitutional rights will be overwhelming.
Please join us on ???? to express your concern over these laws.
Full details are in the letter on our home page at: http://www.ccia-info.com.
Thanks,
Jane Garvey