Crime Free Housing Frequently Asked Questions

Oak Park’s Crime-Free Housing Program gives rental property owners and managers a powerful tool to help reduce the chances of criminal activity in individual rented units. The cornerstone of the program is a lease addendum that puts potential tenants on notice that they are liable for any criminal activity within their units. And if criminal activity does occur, the lease can be terminated and eviction action initiated.

The lease addendum, which is provided by the Village, clearly spells out the tenant’s responsibility to control activity within the unit, defines types of illegal activity and provides notice that a violation may result in lease termination and possible eviction. Proof of a violation does not require a criminal conviction, but a determination by the Police Department that illegal activity likely occurred.

All rental units first must be licensed by the Village. The property’s owner or manager then must participate in an anual seminar hosted by the Village. In addition, to an explanation of the Crime-Free Housing Program and lease addendum, the seminar offers information on screening applicants, actively working with the Police, crime prevention through environmental design(CPTED) and a discussion of rental issues, inspections and related local laws and regulations.

Yes. All rental units, including condominiums and single-family homes, must be licensed by the Village, and their owners or managers must attend a seminar.

Yes. All owners and managers of rental property in Oak Park are required to license their properties, participate in a training seminar and include in their leases the crime-free provisions contained in the lease addendum provided by the Village.

Yes. The annual license fee remains $20 per unit in buildings of four or more units. The license fee for buildings of three or fewer rental units is $10. Condominium owners who rent their units also are required to pay a $10 annual license fee.

To help accommodate busy schedules, several sessions are held throughout the year.

If you live out of state, your local representative who manages matters related to the rental property in Oak Park can attend on your behalf.

Rental property owners, managers or designees need attend only one training seminar per year, regardless of the number of rental units owned or operated in the Village.

Oak Park’s Crime-Free Housing Program can help a property owner/manager discourage potentially problem tenants and be ready to deal with problems quickly and effectively should they occur. Many times, a property owner or manager may suspect criminal activity, but feel powerless to do anything about it other than call the Police when an incident occurred. Under the Crime-Free Housing Program, landlords who have included the addendum with their leases will have a legal basis to force a bad tenant to move based on evidence of criminal activity even if no one has been officially charged with or convicted of a crime.

No. Although thorough applicant screening is recommended and discussed at the seminar, the ordinance does not require criminal background checks.

No. However, the program does require using the crime-free lease addendum or similar language in the body of the lease stating that criminal activity is a cause for eviction. Eviction based on illegal activity is not required. The program provides rental property owners and managers with a powerful tool to deal with a problem.

No. The Federal Fair Housing Act, which is discussed during the seminar, contains seven protected classes – race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability. A person’s behavior is not a protected class. The program is intended to deal with the behavior of a tenant, members of the household, friends, associates and guests whose behavior is affecting the health, safety or quality of life in a neighborhood regardless of the tenant’s race, ethnic background or income status. The lease addendum was developed by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is part of leases used by federally subsidized housing management authorities. Evictions based on this concept have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

A rental property, regardless of size, is a business operation. Just as the Village has the power to declare certain businesses a nuisance, it also has the right and responsibility to do the same for troublesome rental properties. The ordinance that created the Crime-Free Housing Program was designed to provide rental property owners and managers with the tools and information to help them reduce the chances of renting to a potentially problematic tenant and to quickly and effectively deal with a tenant when problems do arise. This program not only will help protect quality of life in neighborhoods, but also protect rental property owners and managers from a protracted eviction process and costly repairs to damaged units.

No. The Village will not automatically suspend or revoke a rental license for illegal or nuisance activity. Rental property owners and managers who work actively with the Police to resolve a problem should have no concerns.

Yes! Problem properties around the country have seen dramatic decreases in calls for police service after crime-free housing programs were implemented. For example, the Village of Schaumburg saw a 12-percent decrease in calls for police service at their 18 major rental properties over the first five years of the program. In Mount Prospect, calls for service at rental properties have dropped by 20 percent since a crime-free housing program was launched in 2007.

Contact Oak Park’s Crime-Free Program Coordinator. Just call 708.386.3800 or email police@oak-park.us. You also can contact the Housing & CDBG Programs Division at 708.358.5410 or housing@oak-park.us.