Chicago’s Tenant Protection Ordinance is Powerful.

In case you missed it, back in January, the City of Chicago passed the Eri’ana Patton Smith and Coleman/Clark Kids Tenant Protection Ordinance.  The Ordinance aims to keep bad landlords from doing more business in the City and establishes new and greater fines for building code scofflaws.  Besides incorporating a number of new tenant protections, and prohibiting problem landlords from getting permits or receiving zoning changes, the most visible result is that the City will now publicize a list of the “worst landlords”.  Beginning next month, the City will have the authority to fine a landlord between $500 and $1000 per day under the new law and “problem landlords” will be ineligible to do business with the City, to obtain business licenses, permits, or zoning changes. 

The City is not joking around here.  They are taking steps to clean up residential housing in the City.  They don’t  want kids to die needlessly in fires in buildings that have routinely failed building inspections.  It is too bad that porch and roof collapses and building fires are what it takes to make the city crack down, but Chicago is a big place and bad building conditions are a big problem.  However, building owners and landlords will be brought to task if they fail to meet their minimum responsibilities.  At the end of the day, this reinforces the proposition that being a landlord in the City of Chicago is not for the faint of heart.  it is for professionals.  Part-time or disinterested landlords will eventually be eaten up by the rules and regulations affecting Chicago landlords.