SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Illinois Senate Democrats passed a bill Thursday to ban rental junk fees and require transparency for leases. Sponsors spent over a year on the plan to help roughly one third of all Illinoisans.
Sen. Mike Simmons (D-Chicago) said renters shouldn't be surprised by charges included in their rent, including fees for after-hours service requests, renewing a lease or routine maintenance. His plan states all non-optional fees should be explicitly disclosed on the first page of a lease agreement.
Tenants would not be able to liable to pay fees if they are not shown on the first page of a lease. Simmons said renters have the right to know what fees to expect, how much they cost, and how they will be charged.
"In Rogers Park, three out of four constituents are renters," Simmons said. "This is going to bring great relief, not just to the people I represent but people all across the state who have seen rental fees increase in recent years often for causes and expenses that are not at the fault of the renters."
Senate Republicans said the legislation comes from a good place, but it could have unintended consequences. Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield) notes there are only 34 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low rentals.
"My concern is this legislation is going to add so much red tape to people already offering affordable housing that they're going to stop investing in the market and they're not going to cause new locations to be built our utilized for low-income housing," McClure said.
The plan passed out of the Senate on a 39-16 vote with one senator voting present. However, the House left Springfield without voting on the plan early Friday morning.
House Democrats could try to pass House Bill 3564 when they return to the Capitol in January.
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