Mayor Proposes Creating Tenant Bill Of Rights, Other Protections For Renters

CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson said Monday he plans to introduce legislation aimed at protecting renters from eviction and predatory landlord practices, calling it the first major update to the city’s housing laws since Mayor Harold Washington’s administration in the mid-’80s.

The Protecting Renters Ordinance, described by Johnson’s administration as a “comprehensive modernization” of the Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, includes five major components aimed at strengthening tenant protections and improving enforcement.

“We’ve watched as rents continue to skyrocket, while faceless, unaccountable corporations continue to buy up homes and consolidate their influence over the housing market, but we’re done watching,” Johnson said in a news conference Monday. “Chicago housing is a human right. It cannot just be a rallying cry. It must be the reality for every Chicagoan; we must use every tool available to us to keep Chicagoans in their homes and protect the stability that is the lifeblood of our communities.”

The proposal would update the city’s landlord-tenant ordinance by standardizing fees and deposits, strengthening tenant rights and creating a Tenant Bill of Rights. It would also require annual registration of all non-owner-occupied rental units, creating a citywide rental data system that officials say could help guide enforcement and housing policy decisions.

The ordinance would also create a Bureau of Rental Housing Services within the Department of Housing to process rental complaints, investigate violations and coordinate enforcement. It would also require landlords to provide “just cause” for evictions or lease non-renewals.

“Landlords will need to have a just reason before asking a tenant to leave their unit, and if they do not, they will be required to support the tenant with relocation assistance,” Housing Commissioner Lissette Castañeda said at Monday’s press conference.

“Ten thousand tenants in Chicago every year lose their housing through no fault of their own. This provision is to ensure that tenants have the support necessary when their lives are upended and they will no longer have access to the place they have called home.”

The ordinance also bans “junk fees,” including move-in fees and other charges that lack “a documented cost.”

The ordinance, announced at the end of May, is aimed at Chicago renters, who make up 54 percent of the city’s households, or 622,000 units, according to the Mayor’s Office. More than 40 percent of those renters are considered cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent. 

However, the ordinance is already facing pushback from landlord organizations who claim the legislation would make it more expensive to manage rental properties. 

“Over 100 new regulations will raise costs for owners and tenants alike,” Michael Glasser, president of the Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance, said in a statement Monday. “And its just cause eviction provision means housing providers will be forced to renew the leases of people who disturb or harass their neighbors or even engage in criminal activity. None of that makes a single apartment more affordable.”

The Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance represents small and mid-sized independent housing providers across the city.

Johnson acknowledged the pushback his administration will face, calling out “fierce corporate interests” already “mobilizing to defeat” the legislation, but said his administration would “not back down.”

Johnson pushed back on concerns about the ordinance, saying smaller “mom and pop” landlords would be exempt from the rental registry. He also said the proposal is meant to address affordability and prevent families from being forced out of their homes without a valid reason, which he said can destabilize communities and contribute to violence.

“This approach is actually responding to the affordability element that I believe everyone across the city is concerned about,” Johnson said.

The ordinance would need to be approved by the city’s housing committee before heading to a final vote by the full City Council.