Associations were, for the most part, prevented from conducting meaningful collections in the early stages of the
pandemic. Evictions and collections moratoriums placed insurmountable hurdles in front of associations seeking not to fall behind on assessment collections. These hurdles required owners to submit a form saying they were impacted by the pandemic, which would stop the eviction process in its tracks. Meanwhile, delinquent assessments continued to accumulate. When the moratoriums were lifted, associations were faced with additional roadblocks to completing collections actions.
An important acronym you may have heard association attorneys reference is ERP. This stands for the Early Resolution Program and is an effort by the courts to coordinate services to help individuals suffering hardship. All residential eviction cases in Chicago’s Daley Center start in the ERP courtroom. If the owner is served and shows up, the case is referred to ERP as long as the owner does not refuse to participate in it. Being referred to ERP can create a short delay. However, once a case has completed ERP, it is not generally marred with huge delays. The collar suburbs of Cook County also use ERP, but it is generally not in a separate court room than the eviction cases are otherwise heard.
Since the onset of the pandemic, units of government have created a number of assistance options to help people who have become delinquent in the payment of assessments and rental obligations. The main allure of this is financial based-assistance. There are more rental based solutions than for non-rent. The owner or tenant can apply for assistance and there is some modest paperwork that must be completed, including by the association or landlord. Receipt of assistance, whether it is for rent or assessments, generally comes with some conditions, such as a prohibition on a new eviction action for a three-month period.
By Bob Prince and Collin Carlucci, Cervantes Chatt & Prince P.C.
In many cases, landlords and associations do not want to participate in remedial efforts. Landlords want the tenant out for good. However, association eviction actions are meant to be temporary because an owner is restored to possession when the account has been paid in full. Payment is the only real goal you can have. Thus, it is strongly recommended that associations participate if an owner or tenant is pursuing assistance. Beyond the optics of not looking reasonable, some of the programs are actually court-based programs (the court’s own program) that the association would be shunning if it does not
www.cai-illinois.org • 847.301.7505 | 9
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