Will City Council Scale Back Mayor’s Proposed Protections For Renters?

CITY HALL — Alderpeople who helped derail Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed budget and pass an alternative spending plan are now advancing a competing rental ordinance that would scale back several of the mayor’s proposed tenant protections.

Members of the Budget Accountability Coalition introduced the Fair and Accountable Illinois Rental, or FAIR, Ordinance Wednesday in direct response to Johnson’s proposed Protecting Renters Ordinance. The mayor introduced his proposal last month as the first major update to the city’s housing laws since Mayor Harold Washington’s administration in the mid-’80s.

Johnson’s proposal would create a Tenant Bill of Rights, require landlords to provide “just cause” for evictions and lease nonrenewals, and provide relocation assistance to some tenants displaced through no fault of their own. It would also create a citywide rental registry for all units in the city.

The Fair and Accountable Illinois Rental Ordinance would eliminate some of Johnson’s major policy initiatives, including the “just cause” requirement and relocation fees for tenants while creating broader exemptions for small landlords.

Fair and Accountable Illinois Rental Ordinance sponsors — which include 16 of the 31 members of the coalition that blocked Johnson’s budget — argued Johnson’s proposal would increase the cost of owning and developing rental housing, expenses they said would ultimately be passed on to tenants through higher rents. 

Instead, the coalition believes the Fair and Accountable Illinois Rental Ordinance would preserve protections against abusive landlords while eliminating relocation fees and other requirements they believe could discourage building and hurt the city’s housing supply.

Ald. Nicole Lee (11th) said during a press conference Wednesday that she was particularly concerned about small “mom-and-pop” landlords, who she said provide naturally occurring affordable housing.

In Johnson’s ordinance, landlords would be required to pay a relocation fee of five months’ rent or $5,000, whichever is greater, if a tenant is required to move because of owner occupancy, major repairs, demolition or the sale of the unit. The relocation fee can be as high as $10,000, or 10 months of rent, if there’s proof a landlord increased the rent significantly more in one unit than in another, according to the proposed ordinance.

Under the coalition’s proposal, relocation fees are reduced to $3,000 or three months of rent, whichever is greater, for nonprofits and owner-occupied buildings with six units or less.

“I have a big fear right now that the ordinance, as it is introduced, is going to really raise rents,” Lee said. “I have apartment units that are in development currently, and I’ve already talked to people who are building these. You know, the rents are going to be sky high if they have to plan for [$5,000-$10,000]-plus dollars in reserves for these units.”

By eliminating the relocation fees and the just cause eviction clause, Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) said he believes the Fair and Accountable Illinois Rental Ordinance would balance tenant protections with the need to encourage housing development.

“I think it strikes an excellent balance between promoting growth without imposing costly mandates on the exact same community of people we’re looking to create new housing to address this incredible demand in the city of Chicago,” Reilly said.

Johnson criticized the proposal for stripping away the central renter protections in his ordinance while “copying and pasting” much of the rest.

“The key measures that would ultimately protect renters, I’m not seeing that in their proposal,” Johnson said. “Now, what they did do, though, is they took 98 percent of essentially of what I proposed, copied and pasted, but took out key components of what will protect renters, and I’m going to protect renters by any means necessary.”

Johnson’s proposed ordinance bans so-called “junk fees,” including move-in fees and other charges that lack “a documented cost.” Security deposits would be capped at one month’s rent and application fees would be limited to $20. The Fair and Accountable Illinois Rental Ordinance would cap application fees at $50 and allows most fees as long as they are “disclosed in writing, itemized, and reasonably related to an actual cost incurred by the landlord,” according to the ordinance.

Additionally, the Fair and Accountable Illinois Rental Ordinance imposes tougher fines for illegal lockouts. Johnson’s proposal would allow fines of up to $2,500 per violation, while the coalition’s would set fines between $2,500 and $5,000. Both would add a $1,000 fine for each day the lockout continues.

Both proposals would create a city-wide rental registry, but the Fair and Accountable Illinois Rental Ordinance would drop the would-be mandatory registration fees in Johnson’s ordinance, ranging from $20-$60 per unit, depending on the size of the building, while exempting certain owner-occupied, nonprofit and subsidized properties.

It isn’t the first time Johnson has faced a council rebellion. In December, the same coalition bypassed Johnson’s proposed budget, passing its own so-called alternative budget that made its way through City Council despite sharp objections from Johnson and his allies.

When asked Wednesday whether he viewed the Fair and Accountable Illinois Rental Ordinance as an acceptable compromise to passing nothing, Johnson rejected the premise.

“It’s not just about doing something. That’s been the kind of the regular practice in government where we just do something to get it out of the way,” Johnson said. “Don’t treat the people of Chicago like a side chick. Don’t do that.

“We have to prioritize working families in this city, and the best way to do that is to protect the individuals that make up the majority of our city, and those are our renters.”