CHICAGO ~ Chicago Mayor Introduces Comprehensive Ordinance to Protect Renters

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Department of Housing (DOH) have announced the introduction of a new ordinance aimed at protecting renters in the city. The Protecting Renters Ordinance (PRO) is a comprehensive modernization of the Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO) that aims to combat the affordability crisis facing Chicagoans.

According to Mayor Johnson, every Chicagoan deserves a safe and dependable place to call home. However, rising costs, predatory practices, and corporate consolidation in the housing market have left renters vulnerable. The PRO ordinance aims to address these issues by holding bad landlords accountable, ensuring stable and safe living conditions, and making housing a human right for all Chicagoans.

The PRO ordinance has five major components that aim to strengthen tenant protections, build enforcement infrastructure, and close critical gaps in data, enforcement, and legal access. These components include updating outdated provisions in the RLTO, creating a rental registry for all non-owner-occupied units, establishing a new administrative body within DOH responsible for rental complaint processing and enforcement coordination, codifying legal representation for tenants facing eviction through the Eviction Counsel Program (ECP), and requiring landlords to provide valid reasons for eviction or non-renewal with relocation assistance in certain cases.

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Housing Commissioner Lissette Castañeda believes that PRO's modernization of tenant rights will level the playing field for renters. She sees it as a necessary step in their mission to ensure quality and affordable housing for all Chicagoans.

The rental market in Chicago has changed significantly since the RLTO was first established in 1986. Rising rents, increasing ownership concentration, and persistent habitability issues have made existing tenant protections inadequate. This is due to complaint-based enforcement, limited access to legal representation for tenants, and lack of reliable rental property data.

Monica J. Foucher from the Metropolitan Tenants Organization (MTO) believes that existing laws are not backed by sufficient enforcement and do not go far enough to protect tenants from issues such as no-fault evictions and predatory fees. She urges the City Council to pass the PRO ordinance as soon as possible.

According to data, about 54% of households in Chicago, or approximately 622,000 householders, are renters. Over 40% of these renters are considered cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The proposed ordinance would apply citywide to most non-owner-occupied units.

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Karen Foster, a Housing Justice Team leader at ONE Northside, shared her personal experience with a corporate landlord in Rogers Park who gave her a 120-day lease termination notice. She believes that many members of her community have also been displaced or are living in poor conditions. Foster and others like her are calling for the immediate passage of the PRO ordinance to provide security and safety for renters.

The PRO ordinance is designed to be self-sustaining and budget-neutral. Rental Registry fees will cover oversight, enforcement, and administration costs. The fee structure will be tiered based on property size to ease the impact on small landlords.

If passed, the implementation of PRO will be phased out over 12 to 24 months. This will include staffing for the new administrative body within DOH and coordination across various City departments involved in rental regulation.

Mayor Johnson and DOH hope that the Protecting Renters Ordinance will bring much-needed changes to Chicago's rental market and provide better protection for its residents. With over half of its households being renters, it is crucial for the city to address these issues and ensure that all Chicagoans have access to safe and affordable housing.

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