The last straw came early last winter, when a small fire swept through the basement of a large courtyard building in Rogers Park.
“I’m the guy who comes in just when things are coming apart,” says Larry Schwartz, a receiver for several north-side buildings. “I preserve and restore housing under the jurisdiction of a local court. That’s all I can do. A lot of times it’s frustrating, because people expect so much more.”
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There are several reasons why property–including stately, once-sturdy courtyard buildings–falls apart in poor neighborhoods. Many landlords, who themselves complain about abusive, uncooperative tenants, insist that they can’t afford to maintain housing for the poor–that the rents that low-income tenants can afford won’t cover maintenance.
Beyond that are a host of scams fast-buck landlords might perpetrate. “We have seen situations where one landlord sells his building to another guy on a private contract, which means no bank is involved,” says Scott. “The new landlord collects rent, but he doesn’t make any repairs and he doesn’t even pay the utility bills. The building winds up in court because the new owner didn’t pay the property taxes. Everybody profits except the tenants, and of course the city, which has lost all of that money in property taxes.”
“There’s very little consistency in prosecuting housing-court cases,” says Lyon. “You have a turnover with the prosecutors or judges, and a smart lawyer can manipulate the system for dozens of continuances. Also, the principle of housing court is compliance, not punishment. Most judges there don’t believe in fines. They’d rather see landlords put their money into their building.”
Usually the building has gone so far downhill that a sale is highly improbable, however. When Schwartz and Scott got involved with the drug-infested courtyard building in Rogers Park, they found a situation that was too far-gone.
“Worst of all, that building had druggies in it. Druggies are real bad. You’re trying to take money from them that they need to buy drugs. With druggies you have to have patience. If they won’t pay the rent, you’ve got to go to court and hope the judge will start the process to have them evicted. It takes a long time.”
