Chicago City Council weighs rival rental rules
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City Council is considering two competing plans Wednesday to rewrite the rental rules — the first major overhaul in decades.
Why it matters: The dueling plans could reshape both tenant and landlord protections and costs in a city with more than 600,000 renters.
- Rent continues to increase in a city with more than 600,000 renters, and Chicago's rental prices are higher than the national average.
Context: South Side neighborhoods like Douglas, Fuller Park and Riverdale have some of the highest concentrations of renters, according to the Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University.
- The institute identifies neighborhoods such as Avondale, Irving Park, Lincoln Square, Near South Side and Hyde Park as areas with rising housing costs, making residents more vulnerable to displacement.
State of play: Tenants' rights groups and affordable housing advocates generally back Mayor Brandon Johnson's Protecting Renters Ordinance (PRO).
- Landlords and the Chicago Association of Realtors support the Fair and Accountable Illinois Rental Ordinance (FAIR), which was proposed by alders who regularly oppose the mayor.
Zoom in: PRO would create a rental registry for all building owners, a new city-run Bureau of Rental Housing Services, a tenant bill of rights and a ban on excessive moving fees.
- Johnson's administration expects the rental registry to make more than $22 million in annual revenue and help fund the new bureau.
- FAIR supporters argue Johnson's plan places more financial burden on building owners who say they'll pass those costs on to renters. The ordinance allows landlords to collect move-in fees but requires transparency in how they communicate these fees to renters.
- FAIR supports the registry but does not require a fee for building owners to register.
Zoom out: PRO supporters say Chicago lags behind other major cities without a rental registry. In addition to a revenue source, they say it will allow the city to go after bad actors or absentee landlords by knowing who owns each property.
- Alds. Jessie Fuentes of Humboldt Park and Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth of Uptown both shared stories at a committee meeting last week about constituents facing significant housing problems, such as roach infestations and no utilities.
- The alders said their offices couldn't find contact information or get in touch with the landlords of those buildings to get tenants any help.
The latest: City Council's housing committee voted last week to advance Johnson's ordinance, with a provision: It no longer requires landlords to give just cause for all evictions, nor does it require landlords to pay relocation fees if a tenant is not allowed to renew or if rent increases.
- City Council's zoning committee advanced FAIR the next day, which also included amendments, such as a cap on certain fees like multiple pet fees.
Friction point: The competing ordinances disagree on who should enforce the requirements of a new renters ordinance. PRO wants it under the Department of Housing while FAIR wants it under the Department of Buildings.
Flashback: The Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO), the legislation the new ordinances seek to revise, was first passed in 1986 under Mayor Harold Washington.
- Its most recent revision was in 2023.
Reality check: Whichever ordinance passes, Chicago's lack of affordable housing looms large.
- A study earlier this year estimated that Chicago was short more than 220,000 affordable housing units, with about 31 affordable homes available for every 100 extremely low-income renters.
Yes, but: FAIR does propose that the building commissioner put forth legislation in the next three months to increase the city's housing supply.
What's next: Either proposal needs 26 votes from the full City Council to pass. FAIR would need 34 votes to survive a veto from the mayor.
- City Council meets Wednesday at 10am.