Rival Renters' Rights Ordinances Advance to Chicago City Council

The Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance and other landlord groups have argued for months that Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed Protecting Renters Ordinance would force property owners to pay $10,000 relocation fees and strip their ability to end leases. But the version of the ordinance that actually advanced out of the Chicago City Council’s Housing Committee on Wednesday stripped both of those provisions entirely, setting up a September 23, 2026, showdown against a rival, landlord-backed measure that passed the Zoning Committee a day later. The two competing bills represent the first major overhaul of Chicago's residential housing rules in 40 years, offering starkly different compliance roadmaps for the city's property owners and tenants.[1][4][5]

The mayor's revised Protecting Renters Ordinance (PRO) cleared the Committee on Housing and Real Estate in a 12-9 vote. To secure that advancement, Johnson's administration removed the "just cause" eviction mandate, which would have required landlords to pay up to 10 months' rent to tenants forced to move over unconscionable rent increases or no-fault lease non-renewals. The surviving text focuses heavily on administrative enforcement, establishing a 28-employee Bureau of Rental Housing Services within the Department of Housing.[1][4]

Funding for that new bureau would come directly from property owners. The PRO legislation imposes a $20 per-unit fee on most landlords, a mechanism the mayor's policy director, Jung Yoon, expects to raise $22 million annually. The ordinance exempts owner-occupied buildings with six or fewer units from the fee, provided the owner lives in one of the apartments. The bureau would be tasked with stepping up enforcement against landlords accused of violating city codes and providing legal navigation assistance to tenants facing eviction.[1][2]

Less than 24 hours after PRO advanced, the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards voted 12-6 to advance the Fair and Accountable Illinois Rental (FAIR) Ordinance. Sponsored by Alderman Gilbert Villegas of the 36th Ward, the FAIR measure is explicitly designed as a less costly alternative for housing providers. It creates a citywide rental registry but does not charge landlords registration fees, and it places enforcement under a new Office of Rental Housing within the existing Department of Buildings rather than creating a standalone bureau.[1][4]

"Because I have an ordinance with FAIR, which is going to be our version of protecting renters, putting forward a roadmap for landlords to having the ability to be good landlords," Villegas said following the committee vote. The FAIR proposal includes updated protections against illegal lockouts and security deposit abuse, but avoids the sweeping "tenant bill of rights" and fee structures that define the mayor's package.[4]

Property owner associations maintain that even the scaled-back PRO legislation will drive up housing costs. Michael Glasser, president of the Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance, criticized the mayor's revised bill following the committee vote. "This vote represented a mistaken impulse to layer costs and burdens on the buildings that house the working families of Chicago's neighborhoods," Glasser said, arguing that the administrative expenses will inevitably be passed down to renters.[1]

The Chicago Association of REALTORS similarly mobilized its members to oppose PRO, testifying at the September 16 hearing that the ordinance introduces severe unintended consequences for the multifamily market. While the association acknowledged that the substitute ordinance removed the most harmful elements—specifically the just-cause eviction requirements—they continue to back the FAIR ordinance as the more sustainable regulatory framework for the city's housing supply.[5]

The legislative clash arrives as Chicago renters face sustained pricing pressure. The average rent in the city reached $1,956 a month at the end of 2025, representing a 9.5 percent increase since 2023. With both ordinances now heading to the full 50-member City Council on September 23, the final policy will dictate exactly what fees landlords can charge, how security deposits are managed, and what legal recourse tenants have when disputes arise.[1]