Chicago-Area Sheriff's Office To Safeguard Against Illegal Foreclosure Evictions By Implementing New Procedure

In Cook County, Illinois, the Daily Herald reports:

• [A]bout 40 to 45 Cook County Sheriff's deputies are learning a new eviction procedure that should at least give innocent tenants a few weeks to make a more orderly transition to new digs, said Kevin G. Connelly, first assistant chief deputy for sheriff Tom Dart.

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• By law, the sheriff can evict only people whose names are on the order.(1) If deputies find a tenant in the building who can show proof of residency - a driver's license, a lease, or even a piece of mail - the sheriff won't evict them if they're not named in the court order. Instead, the sheriff's office tells the mortgage company the name of the tenant and the company must then go back to a judge to try to get the judge to add the tenant to the eviction notice.

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• To provide a little more notice, sheriff's deputies will begin posting eviction notices, starting [this week], at rental property a week in advance. The notice will tell tenants that if they're not listed in the order, they can forestall eviction by getting proof of residency to the sheriff before the eviction date. Given the slow pace of the courts, adding those new names to the eviction notice means tenants will have some time to either get legal representation or arrange for new housing. "You're talking a couple of months," said Connelly, who noted that this still means tenants will eventually be forced out, just not without notice and not without a few weeks to make future arrangements.

For the story, see New rules gives tenants of foreclosed buildings some breathing room.

For a story on the problem of illegal foreclosure evictions in Cook County, Illinois, see The Chicago Reporter: A Renter's Nightmare.

For other posts involving the problems tenants face in rented homes in foreclosure, go here, go here, go here, and go here.

(1) In a case involving a family of six, I wonder if all six occupants (including any minor children) need to be named in the order. Or in the case of a 4-unit foreclosed home averaging 3 occupants per unit, do all 12 occupants need to be named in the eviction order? TenantRentSkimmingAlpha