Landlord pays tenants $80k superb after making threatening cellphone name – he was the primary ever to interrupt little-known legislation
A LANDLORD has been slapped with an $80,000 superb after he threatened to name immigration officers on his tenants throughout a heated dispute.
The Chicago property proprietor is the primary to be punished beneath a little-known Illinois legislation defending tenants from such intimidation.
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A decide dominated that Marco Antonio Contreras and his spouse, Denise, violated the 2019 Immigrant Tenant Safety Act once they tried to evict a pair by threatening to report them to ICE.
The ruling got here down on February 19 from Cook dinner County Circuit Decide Catherine A. Schneider.
The tenants, who rented a basement condo from the couple, had been awarded damages and lawyer charges, Chicago Tribune reported.
They took authorized motion after the landlords demanded hire and, once they refused to pay early, allegedly used immigration standing as a weapon.
In a press release, the tenants stated they refused to remain silent as a result of “nobody ought to really feel or act superior to others.”
“We determined to not keep silent as a result of our landlords threatened us with calling immigration, and we don’t imagine that anybody has a proper to threaten us,” the couple stated within the assertion.”
The case was introduced ahead by the Mexican American Authorized Protection and Instructional Fund.
MALDEF’s lawyer Susana Sandoval Vargas stated the choice sends a message that such threats received’t be tolerated.
“Everybody has rights beneath the rule of legislation no matter their precise or perceived immigration standing,” Vargas stated in a assertion.
“In Illinois, landlords are prohibited from wielding the specter of immigration enforcement as a weapon towards their tenants.”
Illinois grew to become the second state to ban landlords from utilizing immigration threats towards tenants when Governor JB Pritzker signed the legislation in 2019.
The legislation bars property house owners from reporting or threatening to report a tenant’s immigration standing as a type of retaliation.
California was the primary state to introduce such a legislation in 2017, with Colorado following in 2021.
Eric Sirota, a legislation professor at Northwestern College, stated the ruling ought to be a warning to landlords.
He emphasised that housing instability brought on by intimidation ways has critical penalties.
The dispute began when the landlords raised the couple’s hire in 2020 from $600 to $800 a month.
The tenants couldn’t afford the rise, so the landlords agreed to allow them to keep on the decrease fee till June.
What’s the 2019 Immigrant Tenant Safety Act?
What the Legislation Does:
- Protects tenants from retaliation primarily based on their immigration standing, significantly in housing disputes.
- Bans landlords from making immigration standing inquiries throughout authorized proceedings a few tenant’s housing rights.
- Permits tenants to hunt treatments in court docket if the legislation is violated.
Treatments for Violations:
- Tenants can sue for precise damages to cowl any damage or loss suffered.
- A civil penalty of as much as $2,000 for every violation might be paid to the tenant.
- Tenants also can get well lawyer charges and court docket prices.
- Courts can present equitable reduction as deemed applicable.
Prohibited Observe:
- Asking a few tenant’s immigration standing
- Threatening to report a tenant’s immigration standing to authorities
- Refusing to hire to a tenant primarily based on their immigration standing
- Charging greater hire to a tenant primarily based on their immigration standing
- Focusing on a tenant for eviction primarily based on their immigration standing
Supply: Illinois Normal Meeting
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In June, the landlords instructed the tenants to maneuver out by August, with out offering written discover.
When the couple supplied to pay a prorated hire, Marco Contreras allegedly made the immigration menace.
The couple moved out on the finish of July 2020 however did not search authorized assist till 2022.
One other related case, filed in 2021, remains to be awaiting judgment.
State Rep. Theresa Mah, who backed the legislation, stated it ensures tenants’ rights are protected.
MALDEF says many tenants nonetheless don’t know in regards to the legislation, leaving them weak to exploitation.
MALDEF did not instantly reply to the request for a remark by The U.S. Solar.
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