Affordable Housing
ADDRESSING THE IMPACT OF FORECLOSURES ON RENTERS
APNC has been at the forefront of efforts to address the foreclosure crisis as it impacts renters and its organizing exemplifies how the story of a few families and a community’s response can be translated from a local victory into county, state and national policy.
APNC has been working since May 2008 with the tenants of a 7-unit building on Spaulding Ave in Albany Park whose owner falsely presented the units as condos, secured almost $2 million in mortgages from 7 different banks and fled the country, leaving the tenants at the mercy of the lenders as the units were foreclosed on one by one. Three years later, as a result of APNC’s organizing, all of the tenants are still paying rent in their apartments and are in the process of finding a new owner to keep the building as long-term affordable housing.
APNC has also secured additional victories as a result of this organizing:
- Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart instated a temporary moratorium on foreclosure evictions and later issued a policy requiring banks to provide affidavits that they have given proper notice to tenants before any eviction could occur
- APNC partnered with other organizations to secure the creation of statewide and national policy changes which would ensure that a tenant’s lease survives a foreclosure, or in cases in which a tenant has no lease, that they are given 90 days notice before they have to leave their home
RENT (Renters Empowering Neighbors Together)
RENT (Renters Empowering Neighbors Together) is an initiative of the Albany Park Neighborhood Council that is designed to protect renters living in foreclosed apartments. Through RENT the community is raising awareness and pushing back against unfair evictions!
Even if your apartment building is in foreclosure, YOU HAVE RIGHTS! Click HERE to learn more about your rights as a tenant
"Keep Chicago Renting"
The Lawyer’s Committee on Better Housing’s most recent report finds that the City of Chicago stands to lose 17647 units of affordable housing due to foreclosure this year alone. As a result of these alarming statistics and ongoing stories of community members who are affected by this issue, APNC is launching the “Keep Chicago Renting” Campaign to address this issue at the city level and keep tenants in their homes.
Foreclosure Mediation
Organizations across the city organized and won the Cook County Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program in an effort to help families throughout Cook County who are in foreclosure.
Click HERE to learn more about the Cook County Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program, how to participate and who is eligible for this program.
Please contact APNC to learn more about our work and to get involved!
