Illinois rental junk fees bill stalls as session ends

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — An Illinois Democratic plan to ban move in fees and other rental junk fees stalled in the Senate as it was never called for a floor vote.

Junk fees that would have been banned include fees that are put alongside an application fee, a lease renewal fee, eviction notice or eviction fee, routine or after hours maintenance fee, contacting a landlord fee, a maintenance hotline fee, a fee to inspect a unit and a fee to setup an online utility account.

Lawmakers hoped that passing this bill would make housing more affordable in the state of Illinois.

"Renting a property has turned into a deeply inequitable process that continues to frustrate and confuse thousands of people looking for an apartment yearly around Chicago and across Illinois," state Sen. Mike Simmons (D-Chicago) said.

Advocates at a committee hearing spoke of the importance of passing this proposal to keep rent fees down.

Landlords stood as strong opponents to the legislation. Steve Myers is a local Springfield landlord who runs the Myers Commercial Real Estate company. One fee that could be banned is a charge on pest control on renters who did not contribute to the pest infestation. Myers said that is too limiting on landlords.

"In a building here in Springfield, I had a person who moved in and brought their plants from a previous place of residence," Myers said. "Guess what was in the plants? Cockroaches. The building had none and all of a sudden we now have cockroaches."

While this legislation passed out of the Senate Executive committee on a partisan 9-4 vote, it was never called for a vote on the Senate floor.

State Sen. Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) said realtors must work with Senator Simmons on the bill during the summer months.

This plan could be voted on sometime later this year.