CKO REAL ESTATE gave an illegal vacate notice to tenant Nancy Jones, who asked her property manager about the status on a water problem in this building.
Sixty-year-old Nancy Jones is a single mother who served in the Marines. Her son is a pastor in Chicago who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Jones has lived quietly in her apartment in South Shore for eight years as a participant in a CHA program which assists veterans.
Today, Jones faces a 30-day-vacate notice to leave her apartment after she questioned a plumbing repair project that left her without water in her bathroom and no hot water in her kitchen.
The vacate notice she received from her landlord, CKO Real Estate, violates Chicago’s rent ordinance and was not approved by housing officials.
Jones is the neighbor of this Crusader journalist who was also told to move when he asked for answers about the same problem.
The water problem began when CKO Real Estate resumed the gutting of numerous units in three buildings that share the same plumbing system.
CKO Real Estate notified tenants on Tuesday, August 20 that it had to shut off the water for two days to replace old, corroded pipes. Jones and other tenants say they rarely saw workers doing actual work on the plumbing system. Nearly three weeks after the two-day project was scheduled to end, the water problems continue and CKO Real Estate is not being transparent on the status of the project that should have been completed weeks ago.
On Tuesday, August 20, CKO Real Estate Property Manager Bryant Lee posted an announcement on the doors of tenants’ apartments. The announcement said, “On Friday, August 23 through Saturday, August 24 there will be no running water in the building.”
The announcement, printed on CKO Real Estate letterhead, said management “must shut the water off to make necessary repairs to the building” and that water would not come back on until Saturday evening.
The announcement made Jones and I curious. There was nothing wrong with the water and it was unusual for CKO Real Estate to be proactive in addressing a possible problem. There was also the issue of no emergency number being provided by the firm in the event the water did not return on Saturday evening, when the property management office is closed.
But the water returned at 6 p.m. Friday, August 24. Two days later, the water in Jones’ bathroom ran brown before it stopped flowing altogether. She loaded up on bottled water from the supermarket. She boiled water to wash dishes and took a bath manually.
For the next several days, the situation remained the same with her unit as well as mine. Throughout the situation, we kept in touch with each other through text or by phone calls. Efforts to reach the other tenants were not successful, but a maintenance worker told me that at least six tenants lived in the three buildings that have a total of 30 apartment units.
Days went by before Jones called Lee on Wednesday, August 28 at 8:30 a.m. while Lee was en route to work. Jones asked Lee about the status of the water service and informed him that she was unable to bathe and wash normally. Jones said Lee told her that he would call her when he got to CKO Real Estate office.
Jones said when Lee called her back, he told her that she would have to move because the repairs would take a month. Jones said Lee told her that he had contacted CHA for emergency moving papers for her and that he would give her a 30-day-vacate notice.
“I was dismissed,” Jones said. “He said I got to get out. You got to move.”
Jones said hours after the conversation, Lee emailed her the written 30-day-vacate notice. I was not given one.
The letter says “CKO Real Estate must vacate the property immediately due to an unforeseen plumbing issue that prevents us from delivering water to the units.”
The letter said further that CKO cannot determine when the water service will be restored. The next sentence says, “Please contact your Property Manager and return ALL keys.”
Jones is part of CHA’s special veterans’ program which helps those who have served their country get back on their feet.
As a tenant, Jones questioned why CKO Real Estate would go over her head and advise CHA directly, to have her move after she simply asked for the status of the water service.
“And I was told by my rep why would CHA approve this when by law I am supposed to get 120-days to move because I’ve been here more than six years. Something didn’t smell right with this letter.”
Jones is correct. Chicago’s rental ordinance requires landlords to give tenants who have lived in their unit six years or more, at least 120 days to vacate their unit or raise their rent.
It is also illegal for landlords to force tenants to live without hot water, or to take action against them when they complain about unaddressed problems in the building.
Seeking answers, the Crusader asked CHA officials whether they knew about CKO Real Estate serving Jones a 30-day-vacate notice. CHA Spokesperson Matthew Aguilar released the following statement.
“CHA did not approve the issuance of an eviction notice at this address. We did receive a call last week for plumbing issues at the address and a recent inspection failed, which necessitates an emergency move. We are working with the family in identifying temporary housing while the repairs are made and the future of the unit is determined. We have also reached out to other federal agencies for additional assistance and will continue to follow up.”
When the Crusader asked Lee why he sent Jones a letter that CHA did not approve, Lee said “I will have my supervisor call you” before hanging up abruptly.
The Crusader left a message on CKO Real Estate’s voicemail but did not get a response by press time Wednesday for the paper’s print edition.
Tenants say the water was working fine before CKO Real Estate shut it off to replace the pipes. Tenants like myself who work from home never observed anyone working on the plumbing, though there have been many workers with hammers, drills and saws working on vacant units. Lee has not offered to take tenants on a tour to show how much work has been completed in replacing the old water pipes.
Tenants believe the real reason for the water problems is because workers need the water off or partially off, to continue gutting and rehabbing units in three buildings that are attached to one another, and which share the same plumbing system.
On Labor Day, the water was shut off as workers continued gutting units. When this Crusader journalist asked why the water was off, it was turned back on.
With a large rehabbing project ahead, tenants are concerned the water problems will persist indefinitely.
Hopes were high in 2023 when CKO Real Estate purchased the buildings after a string of six previous slumlords neglected the properties and forced many tenants to move out. But since January three CKO Real Estate property managers who oversaw the buildings have quit.
When the hot water went out earlier this year, one property manager (who shall remain unidentified) admitted to a CHA agent that CKO Real Estate, with just six tenants in the buildings, refused to pay a $60,000 heating bill left by the previous slumlord, Catalyst Realty.
When I as a Crusader journalist began asking questions and told property managers that not having hot water was illegal, the hot water returned the same day, and the property manager abruptly quit after being on the job for just two months. Sources told the Crusader stress on the job got the best of the employee.
After identifying myself as a Crusader journalist, a maintenance worker visiting my apartment said Lee tells many lies to tenants in other CKO Real Estate properties. That same maintenance worker said Lee brags about having 40 years in the property management business even though he’s 40 years old.
To date, tenants remain without hot water in the building. Several 311 complaints have been filed with the city and inspectors from the Department of Buildings are scheduled to visit the property this week.
Michael Puccinelli, spokesperson for Chicago Department of Buildings said in an email, “It is the responsibility of the building manager to turn on the appliances including the hot water heater and the boiler system.
“The property is the subject of an active cases (sic) in housing court. The next inspection is planned for September 11 ahead of the next court date which has been scheduled for September 19.”