Supporters of Mayor Brandon Johnson's proposal gathered outside City Hall on Monday to advocate for legislation that would establish "just cause" requirements before landlords can evict tenants. The proposal would also require landlords to provide relocation assistance of up to $10,000, depending on the reason a tenant is being asked to move.
"Chicago landlords filed 20,000 evictions last year," said Devon Carson of the Belden Sawyer Tenant Association.
Housing advocates said the proposal is intended to help protect tenants from displacement and rising housing costs.
"It's a tool to try to help with gentrification and displacement," said Michelle Gilbert of the Law Center for Better Housing.
Gilbert said the measure could help address situations in which "a landlord has decided that Morgan Park is the next cool neighborhood; so, I'm going to raise your rent by double."
The mayor's proposal faces opposition from a coalition of aldermen, including 36th Ward Alderman Gilbert Villegas, who last week introduced a competing ordinance.
Villegas said the relocation assistance requirement could increase costs for renters.
"The relocation fees is something that is ultimately going to end up being passed down to the renters," Villegas said.
The competing proposal would eliminate the "just cause" provision and instead allow lease nonrenewals with required notice periods ranging from 30 to 120 days, depending on the reason for the nonrenewal.
It would also redefine small landlords by increasing the number of units they can own from six to 12 and removing the requirement that they live in the building they rent.
"There are smaller housing providers that have an owner-occupied unit that may want to purchase another one," Villegas said.
Opponents of the proposal argue the changes would weaken protections for renters.
"You could be somebody in Florida organized as an LLC and own 12 condos in Chicago, and you would no longer be covered by basic provisions of existing law," Gilbert said.
The debate remains in its early stages. With the City Council scheduled to go on break after this week's meeting, consideration of both proposals will be delayed until at least September.