A Call for Action (CFA) issued jointly by Illinois REALTORS® and the Chicago Association of REALTORS® helped eliminate a $2,500 relocation fee from the “Fair Notice Ordinance” approved by the Chicago City Council after the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the city.

“The CFA highlighted the unintended consequences of the proposal and nearly 23 percent of REALTORS® contacted responded,” said Illinois REALTORS® local Governmental Affairs Director Adriann Murawski. “Nearly 3,500 REALTORS® – that’s phenomenal.”

As originally proposed by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration, the ordinance included a relocation fee of $2,500 and a 90-day tenant notification period for lease changes. However, the final version of the proposal eliminated the tenant relocation fee and provided three categories for non-lease renewals. Tenants who live longer than three years in their units must receive 120-day notice from housing providers for rent increases or the leases will not renew. Tenants who reside in units between six months and three years must be notified 60 days in advance, and those in units less than six months will get 30-day notices.

Additionally, the Chicago City Council approved a one-time tenant “right to cure” non-rent payments. Prior to the issuance of possession or eviction orders, tenants may pay the full amount of rent due along with filing fees and costs paid by the housing provider. Attorney fees are not included in the right to cure provision.

City council members, sensitive to the needs of smaller landlords, excluded owner-occupied buildings with six or fewer units from the Fair Notice Ordinance. The changes amended the existing law in Chicago, known as the Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance (RLTO). REALTORS® anticipate more proposals that will impact landlord-tenant relationships in Chicago and in Cook County.