Mayor's New Housing Regulations Will Push Rents Higher
By Don DeBat
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed “Protecting Renters Ordinance” (PRO) actually will push apartment rents higher, critics say.
An estimated 54% of Chicago’s residents—some 600,000 families-are apartment renters, according to the City of Chicago. So, critics say Mayor Johnson, who is up for reelection next spring against at least a dozen opponents, is pushing his “PRO” Ordinance because he needs votes.
Chicago currently has two so-called “renters protection ordinances” under review by the City Council. Mayor Johnson—an avowed Democratic Socialist—is pushing his PRO ordinance. The other, the “Fair and Accountable Illinois Rental Ordinance” (FAIR) is being promoted by a group of aldermen.
Apartment industry critics say there is a sweeping regulatory movement underway to take away private property rights from landlords, and give excessive protection to renters.
On September 23rd, during the last City Council meeting on the issue, both the PRO and FAIR ordinances were deferred. So, no action was taken on either ordinance, and at the earliest, consideration is delayed until Tuesday, September 29th. Additional compromise negotiations may be attempted before the council takes up either measure.
Chicagoland Apartment Assn. (CAA), one of several landlord-lobbying groups, said it will continue pressing council members to address provisions that create unnecessary costs, uncertainty, and regulatory burdens for housing providers.
Industry lobbyists say the revised PRO Ordinance no longer contains a clause on “just cause” eviction, and landlords being forced to pay for “relocation assistance,” but retains other rental mandates and administrative requirements that CAA strongly opposes.
FAIR, on the other hand, is the product of substantive negotiations between apartment groups and a group of 20 aldermen. While CAA continues to have concerns with portions of the ordinance, this negotiated substitute reflects meaningful changes and a more practical approach to rental regulation.
In addition to never having just cause and relocation assistance, FAIR preserves the ability to use both move-in fees and security deposits, adds important cure periods for providers, and avoids installment requirements and rental registry fees.
Mayor Johnson’s PRO Ordinance seeks to update the city’s 40-year-old “Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance” (RLTO), which oversees the legal rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords.
The truth is the Chicago Assn. of Realtors’ standard apartment lease already is so loaded with renter protections it weighs in at a hefty 37 pages with the 2026 addition of four pages to protect tenants from domestic violence and abuse. Currently, Chicago has one of the most anti-landlord ordinances in the nation.
Taxes & spending the real problems
For both big corporate rental-apartment operators and small “Ma and Pa” owners, experts are not mentioning the real problem. The Tyrannosaurus Rex in the room is soaring property taxes caused by exorbitant governmental over spending in Chicago and Cook County. However, the Mayor doesn’t mention that issue.
In 2025, one Old Town 4-flat owner was hit with a 21% property tax hike, and a 59% increase in fire-insurance premiums. Another landlord in North Lincoln Square was slapped with a 30% tax hike. And, a 3-flat owner in Logan Square is reeling from a 32 % tax hike.
In Chicago, rental owners have to deal with the second highest property taxes in the nation, along with soaring insurance costs.
According to Mayor Johnson’s revised PRO ordinance, which is heavily opposed by apartment managers, owners and investors, the following new restrictions would be added to the already weighty RLTO:
• A ban on hidden, or so-called “junk fees,” such as application and processing fees.
• A “Tenant Bill of Rights” and the requirement that landlords disclose if they’re using algorithmic pricing that is popular in the hotel industry.
• The PRO ordinance would establish a “rental registry,” and create an entirely new bureaucratic administrative body that works with renters and landlords to resolve disputes, among other measures.
The city now has no comprehensive record of its more than 600,000 rental units, nor does it keep a record of who owns the properties and whether they are complying with the law. However, property ownership is a public record available through the Cook County Assessor’s office.
According to the Neighborhood Building Owner’s Alliance (NBOA), a non-profit landlord group, the costly new bureaucracy is proposed at a time when Chicago faces a budget deficit of nearly $1 billion.
The Kiser Group, a North Side apartment management company, said the PRO Ordinance would create “a dense new web of procedural requirements with more than 100 rules, where a single missed filing or paperwork slip can trigger steep fines.”
NBOA and other landlord lobbyists say the PRO Ordinance contains many troubling provisions that could significantly harm Chicago’s multifamily housing industry and hurt affordability.
Some landlords say the rental registry essentially would be a “hit list” that would create another layer of taxes on top of city and Cook County property taxes, which are the wildfire-wind driving rent increases.
The amount of the annual registry fee would be determined by building size and owner occupancy. Owner-occupied, “Ma-and-Pa” two-unit to six-unit buildings and nonprofit affordable housing would be exempt from the fee. Larger building owners would be charged anywhere from $20 to a whopping $60 per unit.
Experts say this arrangement outlined under the PRO Ordinance actually would create two classes of taxation for the same property type. That would entirely breach the principal of uniformity, the basis for all real estate taxation.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to compute the result. Obviously, veteran apartment managers concerned with the bottom line would simply pass on the inflationary registry fees to renters in the form of higher rents.
Experts say higher rents in some fringe neighborhoods could lead to vacancies in larger buildings, adding to the pressure of paying hefty property taxes, and eventually leading to deferred maintenance and foreclosures.
When all of the potential legal and administrative costs are considered, major landlords will be forced to spend tens of thousands of dollars to fight the ordinance. Rental experts estimate the proposed measure is guaranteed to increase average monthly rents on each apartment unit in Chicago by at least $100.
The annual fees, which the city expects could total around $20 million, would help fund the initiatives laid out in the bill, according to Jung Yoon, the mayor’s chief of policy. The funds would go toward improving inspections and enforcement.
The annual fees would also establish the “Bureau of Rental Housing Services,” designed to be the city’s first coordinated hub for rental housing. The bureaucratic organization would administer the rental registry, provide emergency rental and eviction help, provide compliance guidance for landlords and enforce tenant protections.
City officials say the renter-protection ordinance is designed to crack down on slumlords and profit-hungry landlords.
Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) said he believes “shifting costs onto landlords and housing providers will have adverse consequences for renters and increase rent prices.” To keep up with housing demand and rising prices, “the City Council can explore alternative policies that do not shift responsibilities and costs.”
(Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward), left)
The alternative FAIR plan
The “Fair and Accountable Illinois Rental Ordinance” (FAIR), the counterproposal promoted by Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th Ward), one of the architects of FAIR, proposed the following less restrictive renter protections:
• FAIR includes protections against ill-intentioned landlords, illegal lockouts, retaliation for rule enforcement, unsafe living conditions and security deposit abuse.
• FAIR would rely on pre-existing state law requiring fee transparency, with added disclosure requirements, but not go as far in limiting and even outlawing various fees.
(Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th Ward), right)
• FAIR would create a city rental registry, but would make a distinction between large and small landlords.
• FAIR also would create new incentives to encourage building owners to convert non-residential units, such as storefronts, into apartments.
Rental apartment management advocate Michael Glasser, president of NBOA, said: “Although far from perfect, the FAIR Ordinance—sponsored by more than 20 Aldermen—offers measured changes to the RLTO, adding protection to renters without driving up the cost of providing housing.”
(Michael Glasser, Pres, NBOA, left)
The vast majority of landlords and real estate groups are skeptical of the Mayor Johnson’s proposed PRO Ordinance, arguing the measures are burdensome and will drive up the cost of housing and rents.
A review of Mayor Johnson’s PRO plan by Marcus & Millichap, a major apartment manager, said the ordinance could “alter investment behavior” by placing pressure on the apartment industry because of “compliance obligations and restrictions.”
New Illinois Fee Transparency Law
While Chicago landlords are fighting proposed new city renter protection ordinances, effective January 1, 2027, Illinois housing providers will have to comply with a new rental fee transparency law (Public Act 104-0479). The sweeping act bans 11 different rental fees.
It also limits apartment rental application fees to $50, unless certain conditions are met. And, it requires all non-optional fees to be spelled out on the first page of the lease, and in the apartment listing, and identify if utilities are included in the rent.
For more housing news, visit www.dondebat.biz. Don DeBat is co-author of “Escaping Condo Jail,” the ultimate survival guide for condominium living. Visit www.escapingcondojail.com.
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