Ordinance extends protections to more than 200,000 renters

For Immediate Release: June 1, 2021
Contact: Kristin Ginger, Communications Manager, Housing Action Illinois, kristin@housingactionil.org or 312-854-3333

CHICAGO, IL – On June 1, 2021, all provisions of the Cook County Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance (RTLO) will go into effect. The ordinance extends housing protections to renters and landlords in more than 245,000 suburban households.

“Substandard housing can cause an array of serious health conditions,” explains Jenna Prochaska, Health Justice Project at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. “This ordinance creates critical safeguards to help curb dangerous conditions–an important step to protect the health of vulnerable tenants in the Cook County suburbs.”

Renters with low income are more likely to fall into or deeper into financial insecurity as a result of unfair late fees, a landlord’s refusal to return a security deposit, a landlord disguising a security deposit as a move-in fee, or taking a landlord to court.

The RTLO creates consistent countywide rules for tenants and landlords, establishes basic expectations for decent behavior and healthy living conditions, and clarifies rules, making it easier for everyone to follow them.

The Cook County Regional Tenant Landlord Ordinance:

• Bans unlawful lockouts
• Restricts retaliatory conduct and undisclosed landlord entry
• Protects owners against property destruction and abandonment
• Provides consistency on how and when landlords can safely evict renters
• Prohibits lease terms that waive written notices, rights to a trial, and disclosures
• Blocks landlords from charging exorbitant late rent fees
• Improves procedures for completing minor repairs in a timely manner
• Guarantees fair security deposit returns
• Prevents nontransparent move-in charges
• Defends tenants from landlord retaliation
• Allows landlords a two-business day right to cure noncompliance with leases

The Cook County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to pass the ordinance on January 28, 2021. Cook County Commissioners Scott Britton and Kevin Morrison were chief sponsors of the ordinance, which was first introduced in July 2020. The commissioners worked with housing advocates, tenants’ rights and legal aid groups, as well as landlord, realtor and property owners’ groups to build support and consensus for the ordinance, and the final legislation incorporated a series of amendments. Commissioners Brandon Johnson, Larry Suffredin, Bill Lowry, Alma Anaya, Dennis Deer and Deborah Sims co-sponsored the ordinance.

“We applaud the leadership and persistence of Commissioners Scott Britton and Kevin Morrison, who worked long and hard to pass this measure,” says Andrea Juracek of Housing Choice Partners. “We are thankful for the support that the full Cook County Board has shown for the ordinance.”

The Cook County Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance comes decades after the City of Chicago and suburbs such as Evanston and Mount Prospect adopted similar ordinances. A coalition of legal aid organizations and housing advocates are now working with municipalities that have adopted their own ordinances to ensure the various ordinances are consistent, complementary, and all offer robust protections to renters.

“We look forward to working with Cook County, the City of Chicago, and villages throughout suburban Cook County to ensure that all renters in our communities have common housing rights and the support they need to stay secure in their housing,” says Michael Rabbitt of Neighbors for Affordable Housing.

To view the ordinance itself, visit:

To learn more about the campaign to pass the ordinance, visit: housingactionil.org/rtlo

To learn more about renter rights in the ordinance, visit: illinoislegalaid.org/ccrtlo

About the Cook County RTLO Coalition:

A coalition of housing advocacy organizations, legal aid organizations, and renter leaders worked to build support for the RTLO and are now working to raise awareness about the ordinance and support implementation of the ordinance. These organizations include: Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance, Health Justice Project at Loyola University School of Law, Housing Action Illinois, Housing Choice Partners, Illinois Legal Aid, Lawyers Committee for Better Housing, Metropolitan Tenants Organization, The Moran Center, Neighbors for Affordable Housing, North Suburban Legal Aid, PASO West Suburban Action Project, and Progress Center.

For Immediate Release: January 28, 2021
Contact: Kristin Ginger, Communications Manager, Housing Action Illinois, kristin@housingactionil.org or 312-854-3333

SCHAUMBURG, IL – Today, the Cook County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance (RTLO), officially extending basic, fair, and long-overdue protections to renters and landlords in more than 245,000 suburban households. Cook County Commissioners Scott Britton (14th District) and Kevin Morrison (15th District) were chief sponsors of the ordinance, which creates consistent Countywide rules with common sense lease termination notices, basic habitability guidelines, and safeguards for tenants and landlords.

Cook County commissioners unanimously voted to pass the Residential Tenant and Landlord Ordinance on Thursday, January 28, 2021

“I am proud to stand with Commissioners Scott Britton and Kevin Morrison, as well as every Cook County Commissioner who sponsored or supported the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. “Today, we affirmed the rights of renters in suburban Cook County who lacked critical protections against lockouts, excessive move-in and late fees, and exorbitant interest rates on rental arrears. For the hundreds of thousands of renters across Cook County, this will mean that more people will be able to stay in their homes at the time they need support the most.”

“Today, we provided greater equity to suburban Cook County residents,” said Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison. “This ordinance is long overdue. For decades, suburban renters have lived without the same basic protections guaranteed to Chicago, Evanston, and Mount Prospect tenants. That is why I spent months fighting for and writing this ordinance. Renters’ rights are a matter of fairness and equality, and despite heavy opposition, I’m proud my colleagues today stood up for vulnerable and low-income renters during this moment of crisis.”

“Public service at its best helps those who are otherwise unable to access justice and equity – those without lawyers and lobbyists, and those who need help just to make ends meet,” said Cook County Commissioner Scott Britton. “When Mayor Harold Washington ushered the Chicago tenants’ rights ordinance in 1986, he said the legislation was ‘aimed at bringing fairness to this city.’ Then, community organizing was central to their effort. That is as true now as it was then. Suburban Cook County renters have waited 35 years for fairness. I am grateful to our vast coalition of community organizations for their unwavering partnership, including some of those that worked to pass the Chicago ordinance. I also thank my fellow Commissioners and President Preckwinkle for their support and solidarity with those who need us most.”

The Board of Commissioners passed the RTLO 16 to 0. On Tuesday, the Zoning and Building Committee unanimously advanced the ordinance to the full county board, where Commissioners Brandon Johnson, Larry Suffredin, Bill Lowry, Alma Anaya, Dennis Deer and Deborah Sims also signed on as co-sponsors.

Commissioners Britton and Morrison first introduced the RTLO in July 2020. Since then, the Commissioners have worked with housing advocates, tenants’ rights and legal aid groups, as well as landlord, realtor and property owners’ groups, and Cook County Commissioner Peter Silvestri, chairman of the Zoning and Building Committee, to ensure the RTLO protects both tenants and landlords and establishes equitable and uniform rights and responsibilities.

“Housing is a human right. Among other benefits, the RTLO will finally prevent suburban housing providers from charging unjustifiably high security deposits and move in fees that lock countless families out of healthy and safe housing options,” said Michael Chavarria, Community Engagement Manager at Housing Choice Partners.

“Across Suburban Cook County, people with disabilities often have to search for months, if not years, to find a housing unit that meets their needs, is accessible and is affordable,” said Larry Biondi, Manager of Advocacy at Progress Center for Independent Living. “Because housing is such a precious commodity, it is important that we have regulations such as the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance, which helps ensure that people with disabilities have the protections to maintain their housing.”

The RTLO goes into effect June 1; however, the anti-lockout provision takes effect immediately. The RTLO:

• Restricts retaliatory conduct and undisclosed landlord entry
• Protects owners against property destruction and abandonment
• Bans unlawful lockouts
• Provides consistency on how and when landlords can safely evict renters
• Prohibits lease terms that waive written notices, rights to a trial, and disclosures
• Blocks landlords from charging exorbitant late rent fees
• Improves procedures for completing minor repairs in a timely manner
• Guarantees fair security deposit returns
• Prevents nontransparent move-in charges
• Defends tenants from landlord retaliation
• Allows landlords a two-business day right to cure noncompliance with leases

To view the RTLO, visit:

Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance will make rental landscape fairer for suburban renters

For Immediate Release: January 25, 2021
Contact: Kristin Ginger, Communications Manager, Housing Action Illinois, kristin@housingactionil.org or 312-854-3333

CHICAGO – Community-based organizations and tenant leaders are calling on Cook County Commissioners to pass the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance (RTLO) this January, extending basic rights and protections for more than 245,000 suburban households.

The Cook County Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance (RTLO) creates safeguards against extrajudicial and illegal landlord-self-help lockouts and sets out clear guidance so a landlord knows when they can enter a unit. The law articulates which procedures a tenant can follow to remain protected if they must withhold rent until building problems are addressed; prohibits or voids lease provisions that try to waive the state’s procedure for notices of changes to the tenancy; and prevents landlords from charging ineffectual late rent payments that are outrageously high in proportion to the money owed.

“Landlords who foster good working relationships with their tenants are already doing what this requires,” said Sheila Sutton, Housing Policy Organizer at Housing Action Illinois. “They’re ensuring safe living conditions in their units, making repairs, keeping the heat on, and respecting their tenants’ dignity and safety. These are basic expectations.”

The RTLO creates the kind of standards for landlord conduct that have existed for more than 30 years in Chicago, Evanston, and Mount Prospect, which already have local tenant-landlord ordinances.

“As a Chicago resident and victim of retaliatory action by my landlord, I speak up for the suburban Cook County residents whose voices are silenced because they do not have protection from retaliation,” stated Charlotte Starks, tenant/activist. “All county residents deserve safe and habitable housing and protection against retaliation when they advocate for a safe home.”

“People often think that tenants in the suburbs don’t experience problems with their landlords like tenants in the city—but the reverse is true,” said Nareen Kim, Director of Housing Law Practice at North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic. “Tenants in Chicago have an ordinance to protect them, but in the suburbs, tenants have nothing. My office is one of the only housing legal services providers in the area, and we are inundated with calls from tenants whose landlords are denying them basic rights. We need the Cook County RTLO so that suburban tenants and landlords know what the rules are—and landlords face repercussions if they choose not to follow them.”

The Cook County RTLO will a great difference for low-income renters who already face far too many challenges to their housing stability. The majority of renter households in Cook County are low-income—64 percent, according to the 2019 State of Rental Housing in Cook County by the Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University. The economic distress of the pandemic has only made their situations more precarious. These renters are more likely to encounter predatory landlords, and they are the ones for whom exorbitant late fees, the refusal to return a security deposit, disguising a security deposit as a “move-in fee,” or the cost of taking a landlord to court can set off or deepen a spiral of financial insecurity.

The RTLO will also be a step forward for racial equity. Our nation’s long history of structural racism continues to affect housing in our communities, and individuals who are Black, indigenous, and people of color are disproportionately impacted by a lack of regulatory floors for tenant landlord engagement.

More than 60 community organizations have endorsed the proposal, including housing advocates, social service providers, legal aid organizations, tenant rights groups, and disability rights activists. These supporters include Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance, Housing Action Illinois, Housing Choice Partners, Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing, Neighbors for Affordable Housing, North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic, PASO – West Suburban Action Project, Progress Center for Independent Living, and an increasing number of allies, including renter advocates.

The community-based supporters have spent months negotiating over the terms of the legislation with groups representing property rental owners. A December vote on the RTLO was delayed to provide County Commissioners time to review amendments that came out of these conversations. The legislation that the Cook County Commission will vote on during the Zoning & Building Committee meeting on January 26 represents compromise, while still creating strong tenant protections that will bring more fairness and equity to the rental landscape in Cook County.

About Housing Action Illinois
Housing Action Illinois is a statewide coalition that has been leading the movement to protect and expand the availability of quality, affordable housing in Illinois for more than 30 years. Our 140+ member organizations include housing counseling agencies, homeless service providers, developers of affordable housing, and policymakers. We bring everyone together to work toward our vision of an Illinois where everyone has a stable, good home.

By Gianna Baker, Michelle Gilbert, Michael Rabbitt and Sheila Sutton

The proposed Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance (RTLO), which will go to a vote by the Cook County Board of Commissioners this week, is far from revolutionary. It creates basic floors for landlord conduct that have existed for more than 30 years in Chicago, Evanston, and Mount Prospect.

Landlords who foster good working relationships with their tenants are already doing what the ordinance requires: offering fair lease terms, making repairs, respecting tenants’ dignity and privacy, and ensuring safe, healthy living conditions in their units and buildings. For these landlords, the RTLO won’t make a big difference. By clarifying roles and responsibilities and establishing more uniform standards throughout Chicagoland, it will in fact make life simpler.

…continue reading guest commentary published by The Daily Line »

We need your help to pass protections for 245,000+ renter households in Cook County living in communities without a comprehensive tenant-landlord ordinance.

For thirty years, renters living in Chicago, Evanston, and Mount Prospect have benefited from municipal ordinances defining basic tenant-landlord rights and responsibilities. Now, Cook County Commissioners have the opportunity to pass a measure that will protect suburban Cook County renters in additional communities. See our fact sheet for the ordinance » 

We’re planning a week of action to show support for the measure in the week leading up to the vote, which we expect will happen during the week of December 14, 2020.

We hope you’ll Join us!

Monday, December 7: Learn about the RTLO

The proposed ordinance clarifies roles and responsibilities for both renters and landlords—making the rental landscape easier and fairer to navigate for everyone.

What you can do: Get familiar with the RTLO; read about the measure and view our fact sheet. Visit our action portal and see how easy it is to message your commissioner in support of the RTLO »

Tuesday, December 8: Join Us on Facebook Live

Tune into the livestream at Commissioner Kevin B. Morrison’s Facbeook page at 11:00 am CST to hear from Chief Sponsor Commissioners Scott Britton & Kevin Morrison, Commissioner Brandon Johnson, advocates, and renters about why we need the RTLO.

What you can do: Join us! Tune in here »

Wednesday, December 9: Tweet with Us

We’re planning a Twitterstorm to raise awareness and understanding of the ordinance at 11:00 am CST on Wednesday, December 9.

What you can do: Tweet with us »

Thursday, December 10: Email Your Commissioner

Tell your commissioner you’re a constituent who supports this ordinance! The most effective way to reach commissioners is through constituent messages. The more that individuals and organizations pressure elected officials to support this, the better a shot we have at getting tenants real protections county-wide.

What you can do: If you haven’t yet, email your commissioner through our action portal!

If you’ve already sent a message: Spread the word! Ask your neighbors, friends, and family to speak up too.

Friday, December 11: Call Your Commissioner

Commissioners need to hear from us through every kind of communication—and that includes via phone.

What you can do: Pick up the phone and call your commissioner!

Find out who your commissioner is and get their phone number »

Suggested phone message (please personalize):
Hello, my name is ____________, and I’m one of your constituents. I’m calling to express my strong support for the Cook County Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance. I care about this provision because [share reasons why it is important to you*] and I believe we need these protections for all Cook County residents as soon as possible. Please support our community by supporting this ordinance.

* Potential reasons to share:
I believe all renters in Cook County, including suburban renters, should be protected by a tenant-landlord ordinance.
It will increase stability for both renters and landlords by clarifying their roles and responsibilities and making the rental process easier and fairer to navigate.
It will establish a minimum standard of rules and regulations for all residents of Cook County.