SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — A State Democratic plan to ban move in fees barely passed the House floor Tuesday.
The bill would ban move in fees and require application fees to be no higher than $20. It would also change late fee’s to 1% of the total rent. So, if a renter pays their $1000 rent too late, they would be charged $10. Security deposits would not be banned under the plan.
State Rep. Nabeela Syed (D-Palatine) said she hasn’t found a good reason to have move in fees when there are already security deposits.
"There are times where a landlord may not want to refund someone’s security deposit they are required to refund," Syed said. "What they do to bypass this is that they rely on move in fees that have absolutely no regulation in our state."
GOP lawmakers were opposed to the proposal, who said the state shouldn’t get involved with private contracts.
Some Democrats also showed some opposition on the floor. State Rep. Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan) had a problem with the late fees. Mayfield said as a landlord she has renters who are "habitually late."
"[The late fees] are not punitive enough to force anyone to pay their rent on time," Mayfield said. We have a lot of problems with individuals who don’t want to pay their rent and having the ability to charge a late daily fee actually spurs them to pay their rent."
Mayfield did not vote on the proposal due to a conflict of interest.
For a bill to pass the House it needs 60 votes. This plan received 61. It will now head to the Senate floor for further debate.
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