MTM lease termination for Section 8 Tenant

[Justin Carter]

Hello BP Community! I’m coming to you guys for guidance and advice.

In January I closed on a 3 unit property on the South Side of Chicago and the property was partially occupied, with 2 of the units being rented by Section 8 participants.

When I bought the house, the tenants weren’t on leases and so the first thing I did was put the tenants on MTM leases.

Today I gave one of the tenants notice that I will be terminating their MTM lease effective April 30, 2020. That equates to a 60 day notice which is courtesy when considering the minimum amount of time required in the state of Illinois is 30 days. I also told the tenant that as a courtesy I would provide her $200 moving fee to be paid upon her receiving her moving papers and successfully vacating the property.

In the letter I told her that I was terminating her lease so that I could make renovations/much needed repairs.

She sent me a txt that says she doesn’t understand why I’m terminating her lease if she pays her rent. I went on to tell her that I need to make some renovations to the unit that can’t be competed while the unit is occupied. I explained to her that this is a lease termination and not an eviction.. which are two different things.

She is now questioning me asking if I gave any of the other tenants notice and why her unit is the only one that’s getting upgrades. I explained to her that I just bought the house and that her unit needs to most work out of all the units in the building.

Now she’s saying she will have her lawyer give me a call. I doubt she has a lawyer but I don’t want to underestimate anyone. I guess my question is, what should I do? Has anyone experienced anything similar? And how did this shake out for you?

I thought I did everything correctly. I gave her proper notice, and have already provided CHA with the termination letter (as required).

HELP!!!!