A CHICAGO woman had entered a legal battle with her former landlord when she was allegedly pushed out of her apartment abruptly after 11 years.
Renter Sandra Diaz filed a lawsuit against her landlord, claiming that he wrongfully evicted her during the pandemic and refused to hand back her $850 security deposit.
A Chicago woman sued her former landlord after she was evicted[/caption]
Tenant Sandra Diaz filed a lawsuit against her landlord, arguing he had wrongfully pushed her out of her apartment and withheld her security deposit[/caption]
Sandra Diaz sued her landlord in 2022[/caption]
Diaz moved into her apartment in a brick two-flat building in the 3100 block of North Elston Avenue in 2009, per a lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court in 2022.
The tenant argued that her former landlord Armando Garza illegally kicked her out of her home and withheld her $850 security deposit, filing the lawsuit to recover the money.
The landlord’s son, Juan Garza, who is named in the lawsuit, claimed that Diaz’s deposit was never returned to her due to a lack of communication.
He said that Diaz did not inform them when she was moving out so they could conduct a final walk-through, and he later discovered damage coming from the bathroom.
“I was trying to reach out to her to settle that,” Garza told Chicago Sun Times. “I had no problem giving her security deposit back. She never reached back to me. She never set up a location where we could meet. I just left it at that.”
BACK AND FORTH
The Chicago woman was told by her landlord in a letter dated March 8, 2020, that she needed to move out by May 17, 2020, due to upcoming renovations, per the lawsuit.
Governor JB Pritzker announced the following day that counties across Illinois were a disaster area due to the COVID-19 virus, issuing a moratorium on evictions on March 21, 2020, according to the governor’s website.
Diaz argued in the lawsuit that she received Garza’s letter on March 15, 2020, and that her landlord issued a five-day notice on March 28, 2020, in response to the tenant seeking legal assistance.
She ultimately moved out in May of that year, claiming that she felt harassed by her landlord and unsafe in the building.
Diaz never got her $850 security deposit back and she was never informed of why it was withheld, per the lawsuit.
The woman’s former landlord argued that no one had harassed her and that his family simply requested that their two tenants move out so they could start on repairs before selling the building, as maintenance was becoming too expensive.
“We gave her 10 years of low rent,” said Garza. “We asked her to leave and that was it. We are not vindictive people. We gave her an opportunity to stay in a good location, in a two-flat at low rent.”
Diaz revealed at a news conference announcing the lawsuit that she chose to sue her former landlord because she did not want to keep quiet.
“I’m tired of waiting for them to do the right thing,” said the woman. “It’s not okay for renters to be treated like this and for our basic rights to be taken away. I want justice.”
Tenant’s rights
According to InCharge Debt Solutions, tenants have several rights in the United States:
As a tenant, you have certain rights, and while they vary from state to state, there is a list of standard requirements virtually every landlord in the U.S. must provide:
- Heat (but not air conditioning)
- Running hot and cold water
- Locks and keys
- Smoke detector
- Clean and safe common areas
Landlords can keep security deposits for several reasons. These include:
- Unpaid Rent
- Damage to the Property
- Cleaning Costs
- Unpaid Utilities or Bills
- Breach of Lease Terms
- Abandoned Property
- Repairs Due to Tenant Negligence
If landlords don’t make any necessary repairs, tenants should:
- Review Your Lease or Rental Agreement
- Document the Problem
- Notify Your Landlord in Writing
- Contact Local Housing Authorities
- Repair and Deduct
- Mediation or Legal Action
- Protect Your Rent
LAWLESS LAND
The Chicago woman did not have an official written lease and was charged $900 in monthly rent, per the lawsuit.
Chicago regulations require that security deposits must be returned to a tenant even if a written lease does not exist, Diaz’s attorney Rebecca Guterman told Chicago Sun Times.
The attorney added that landlords must provide a receipt for the security deposit as well as bank information regarding where the money will be kept.
Tenants are entitled to receive their security deposit within 45 days of moving out, per Chicago’s Department of Housing website.
Landlords, however, can legally deduct unpaid rent and damage expenses in an itemized statement issued within 30 days after the renter leaves the unit.
Diaz’s attorney applauded her client for speaking out, saying that her move to pursue legal action was an important step to make laws “more than just a piece of paper.”
It “makes them a tool to hold landlords accountable.”
The housing group Autonomous Tenants Union also defended Diaz, sharing that they had heard from other tenants who had experienced similar situations during the pandemic.
“We are standing with our community and with Sandra, pushing against these landlords who perpetrate housing instability,” said Evelyn Vargas, an organizer with the Autonomous Tenants Union.
Another couple took their landlord to court for $4,400 in back pay and won – they waited over a year for the cash.
Meanwhile, another landlord was left waiting on $200,000 in back rent as the tenant refused to pay for 10 years – the owner can’t even afford their kids’ college.
The Chicago woman filed a lawsuit against her former landlord because she did not want to remain silent[/caption]
