June 7, 2026 – Half of Chicago’s residents – some 600,000 people – are apartment renters, so with a slim chance of re-election in 2027, Mayor Brandon Johnson is digging for votes.
Mayor Johnson, an avowed Democratic Socialist, plans to introduce a sweeping ordinance that aims to protect the city’s renters from eviction and predatory practices.
The “Protecting Renters Ordinance” seeks to update the city’s 40-year-old Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance (RLTO) that oversees the legal rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords.
The Chicago Association of Realtors’ standard apartment lease already is so loaded with renter protection it weighs in at a hefty 37 pages with the 2026 addition of four pages to protect tenants from domestic violence and abuse.
For both big corporate rental-apartment operators and small “Ma and Pa” owners, the dinosaur in the room is soaring property taxes caused by exorbitant governmental spending in Chicago and Cook County. However, the Mayor doesn’t mention that issue.
According to an early draft of the proposed ordinance, which likely will receive heavy opposition especially from major apartment managers, owners, and investors, the following 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 requirement that any amounts charged to renters in addition to monthly rent or security deposits reflect actual, documented costs.
- Creation of a “Tenant Bill of Rights” and the requirement that landlords disclose if they’re using algorithmic pricing tools that are popular in the hotel industry.
- The proposed ordinance also would establish a “rental registry,” and create a new administrative body that works with renters and landlords to resolve disputes, among other measures.
The dinosaur in the room is soaring property taxes caused by exorbitant governmental spending... However, the Mayor doesn’t mention that issue.
The city now has no comprehensive record of its more than 500,000 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.
While the proposed ordinance has not yet been released, initial reports suggest it contains many troubling provisions that could significantly harm the multifamily housing industry and make it more difficult to provide quality affordable apartments, according to the Neighborhood Building Owner’s Alliance (NBOA), a non-profit landlord group.
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-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.
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 could lead to vacancies in larger buildings, adding to the pressure of paying hefty property taxes, and eventually leading to deferred maintenance.
When all the potential legal and administrative costs are considered – money that major landlords will be forced to spend to fight the ordinance – rental experts say the proposed measure is guaranteed to increase average monthly rents on each 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 bureau would administer the rental registry, provide emergency rental and eviction help, provide compliance guidance for landlords, and enforce tenant protections.
Housing providers sound the alarm
Chicago’s Department of Housing Commissioner Lissette Castañeda said: “Affordability is at the top of everyone’s concerns. We want to make sure that something that’s been necessary for a long time can finally get done.”
City officials say the renter-protection ordinance – designed to crack down on slumlords and profit-hungry rental landlords – could be introduced in early June.
Most landlords and real estate groups are skeptical of the new proposal, arguing the measures are burdensome and will drive up the cost of housing.
Weinberg also questioned the “Just Cause for Eviction” provision of the proposed ordinance, which in part requires landlords to pay relocation assistance to tenants in a no-fault eviction, such as when rehabbing the property, converting to condominiums, or demolition.
The soaring cost of owning property
Of course, the high cost of apartment rents is not totally the fault of landlords. In Chicago, rental property owners must deal with the second-highest property taxes in the nation, along with soaring insurance costs.
In 2025, one small Old Town four-flat owner was hit with a 21 percent property tax hike, and a 59 percent increase in fire insurance premiums. Another landlord in North Lincoln Square was slapped with a 30 percent tax hike. And a three-flat owner in Logan Square is still reeling from a 31.7 percent tax hike.
According to a new study released by Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, real estate taxes in Chicago and the county have grown at double the rate of inflation over the past three decades.
During those 30 years, local governments in Chicago and Cook County imposed $19.2 billion in property taxes in 2024, up nearly 182 percent from the $6.8 billion taxed in 1995, according to the report.
The Pappas study noted that the Illinois Department of Revenue is working on a comprehensive property tax report, and urges that now is the time for Illinois lawmakers to pass significant tax reform and find ways for local taxing agencies to cut spending.
Experts say the proposed Protecting Renters Ordinance likely is another loophole adding to the tax burden. That’s another reason the “City of Big Shoulders” is gradually becoming the “City of Bad Ideas.”
