With her family crammed into the only bedroom in their Albany Park apartment, Eva Jaramillo squirmed on the edge of her daughters’ bed as she spoke about what she believed to be her family’s looming eviction. And despite her attempt to appear strong for her three little girls, she could barely camouflage her fear.
“How are you supposed to explain to your kids that the place and neighborhood they call home will no longer be their home?” Jaramillo said through a translator.
Jaramillo joined a frustrated group of residents living in two separate Albany Park apartment buildings who formed a tenants union in response to both their landlord’s abrupt decision to oust longtime tenants who say they consistently paid rent and what they described as the landlord’s failure to maintain the units adequately.
Jaramillo, whose family never missed a rent payment in 16 years — something her landlord confirmed — and other organizers of the newly established Sunnyside Kedzie Tenants Union said they fear these sudden evictions are the result of tenants complaining about the building’s conditions and tenants lodging complaints with the city of Chicago.
George Triff, the property landlord, vehemently denied the allegations, saying that his decision to terminate Jaramillo’s tenancy had “absolutely nothing to do with” her recent complaints.
Instead, Triff said he’s ending their lease because he wants to do renovations and does not want to work with the current tenants.
“I really don’t have to give an explanation,” Triff said. “What I’m doing is legal.”
A city building inspector determined that the “radiators need servicing” and the “heating system was off” during the March 27 inspection, according to the city’s citation.
Triff was fined $575 after a city inspector discovered Jaramillo’s apartment was only 61 degrees, 7 degrees colder than the minimum requirement mandated by city law, city records show.
Two months after Jaramillo filed a complaint with the city alleging her basement apartment was not appropriately heated, Triff issued her family a written notice terminating their tenancy. He then filed for eviction June 25 in Cook County Court.
Under city ordinance, landlords can lawfully terminate a month-to-month lease as long as the tenant is notified in writing at least 30 days in advance. Landlords are not required to provide a reason for ending the agreement.
“It’s really a loophole in the law that allows landlords to get rid of you for no specific reason,” said Philip DeVon, eviction prevention specialist with the Metropolitan Tenants Organization. “A landlord can simply not like the way your face looks.”
But the law does prohibit landlords from retaliating against tenants who complain about code violations.
When tenants first sign a lease, most times it’s a one- or two-year agreement. But after the original lease expires, if the tenant doesn’t renew or sign another agreement, their lease automatically defaults to a month-to-month lease.
“The average person doesn’t know that,” DeVon said. “Most long-term renters aren’t even aware they’re currently in a month-to-month lease.”
Jaramillo’s experience represents what happens to many families whose leases are terminated with short notice. In a moment’s notice, a landlord can uproot a family, forcing them to quickly find housing.
“That is simply an impossible task for some people,” DeVon said.
Jaramillo and her husband, Abdon Benitez, moved to the United States from Mexico 16 years ago. And their Albany Park apartment building is the only place here they have ever called home. Having to move would take a toll on their daughters, Jaramillo said.
Their 10- and 14-year-old daughters are comfortable at their schools. The family can walk to their church, Our Lady of Mercy, where they conduct Mass in Spanish. The family also enjoys going to a nearby Mexican grocery store, Lindo Michoacan, where they purchase menudo, a Mexican soup, and pre-made tamales.
But more importantly, if Jaramillo and her family were forced to move, it would likely disrupt her 1-month-old daughter’s weekly home therapy sessions.
Across parts of Chicago, tenants have unionized to try to give themselves extra protection against their landlords.
“The voice of many is stronger than the voice of one,” DeVon said.
The Sunnyside Kedzie Union has the support of Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez, 33rd, who wrote a letter to Triff asking him to negotiate with the union.
“These people have organized to improve their living conditions, and some of them are being evicted, and it appears to be retaliation,” Rodriguez-Sanchez said. “Because these families are paying low rent doesn’t justify the conditions they’re living in.”
Tenants are calling on Triff to provide better security in the building after a series of break-ins. Among the victims was Jaramillo, whose apartment was burglarized last year, according to a police report.
Blanca Correa, who also is being evicted despite not missing a rent payment, said she has had issues since moving into the building in 2014.
“There have always been cockroaches,” she said through a translator. “You can hear the rats in the walls. There are leaks from the heater and the ceiling.”
Triff disputed all the allegations. He said if he receives a complaint, he immediately sends out an exterminator. He also said the building is secure and all the doors are locked.
Jaramillo’s building alone has 52 units, according to Triff.
Rodriguez-Sanchez said the 33rd Ward is already in the throes of gentrification, with 5,000 Latinos having left since 2013. And she’s particularly concerned about what she sees as the continued displacement of Latinos like Jaramillo and her family who are comfortable in their neighborhood.
“It’s incredibly important when you’re talking about … parents being able to communicate with school staff,” Rodriguez-Sanchez said.
Jaramillo said it’s stressful being uncertain of her family’s future.
The walls in the apartment are now barren. Jaramillo said she took down the family photos just in case they were kicked out. But a picture of Pope Francis still hangs above their daughter’s bedroom.
Jaramillo said she understands it’s Triff’s property and only wants to come to a resolution that would allow her family to continue living in the building.
“No matter what happens, we’ll stick together as a family,” she said.
jaanderson@chicagotribune.com
