Landlord Liability on Tenant's Transgressions?

[Bill Leonard]

Here's a stunner at least to me. Last night my associate Todd attended an REIA mtg in Chicagoland. The presenter told the group of a closing halted by the City of Hanover Park that placed an $18K lien on this landlord's property just 19 hours before closing.

The lien was for the unpaid parking tickets of this tenant's son over years - someone who has no relationship whatsoever to the landlord/property owner.

The presenter also stated that she had this happen to her in years past in Carol Stream IL where she was successfully able to have the lien removed after many weeks of effort.

In the current situation, the City of Hanover Park is not even responding to arguments to have the lien removed.

Is this a common occurrence where a landlord is now responsible for the transgressions of a tenant or his family members?  Ridiculous in my book.