Chicago would make every condo owner who rents register and pay per unit
Chicago would make every condo owner who rents register and pay per unit
2026-09-10 · Illinois · Regulation · Pending — not yet law
What happened. Ordinance O2026-0026554, the Protecting Renters Ordinance, is a comprehensive rewrite of Chicago's roughly forty-year-old Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance at Municipal Code Chapter 5-12. It was introduced directly to the Committee on Housing and Real Estate on June 25, 2026, with a subject-matter hearing on June 29, and a committee vote scheduled for September 16, 2026.1
It is not law. It affects more than 600,000 renter households, and it reaches Chicago condominium owners who lease their units.
The rental registry
Annual registration of all non-owner-occupied rental units, covering 500,000-plus units, at:
- $20 per unit for buildings of 1–4 units;
- $40 per unit for 5–49 units;
- $60 per unit for 50 or more units.
Projected to raise about $20 million annually, administered by a new Bureau of Rental Housing Services inside the Department of Housing, which would process and investigate complaints, provide emergency rental and eviction assistance, and coordinate enforcement.
The rest of the package
A ban on hidden “junk” fees, with application and processing charges eliminated and all fees required to reflect actual documented costs. Algorithmic pricing disclosure — landlords must disclose use of rent-setting tools. Security deposits capped at one month's rent and move-in fees effectively prohibited. Notice periods extended to as much as 180 days depending on tenancy length. A Tenant Bill of Rights.
Just cause, and the provision aimed squarely at condominiums
Just cause for eviction, with relocation assistance for no-fault non-renewals expressly including property rehab, condo conversion, and demolition.
The original draft set relocation at up to 10 times monthly rent or $10,000 per tenant, whichever is greater. A September 2026 revision reduced it to $4,000 to $7,500 depending on the reason, applying only after the first 12 months of tenancy.
Exemptions, and the one that will not help condo owners
Owner-occupied buildings of six units or fewer (narrowed to a limited exemption in the September revision), and non-profit affordable housing.
Small non-resident owners remain subject to most PRO requirements. That is the provision with the sharpest edge for condominiums, because the typical Chicago condo landlord is exactly that: one person who owns one unit and does not live in it.
What it would mean for a Chicago condo owner who rents
The RLTO already reaches condominium units. PRO would newly require each leasing owner to register annually and pay per unit, cap the deposit at one month, and — the exposure most owners will not see coming — expose an owner who wants the unit back for their own use to a four-figure relocation payment.
An owner planning to move into their own investment unit in a few years should understand that as a real cost.
What it would mean for a board
Something boards may find useful. The registry would create a citywide dataset of which units in a building are rented — directly relevant to enforcing a leasing cap, and to the owner-occupancy ratios that determine FHA and Fannie Mae project eligibility.
Associations currently police leasing caps by asking owners, which works poorly. A public registry changes that.
The state-law interaction
Illinois has just enacted its own rental-fee statute. Public Act 104-0479 requires all non-optional fees on the first page of the lease, bans eleven specific charges, and caps application fees at $50 — and it expressly permits a home-rule unit to regulate tenant fees provided it is at least as restrictive.
PRO is drafted to be more restrictive, which is what the state statute contemplates. An owner leasing a Chicago condo unit would have to satisfy both, along with the separate first-page requirement of the Summary of Rights for Safer Homes Act.
Who is fighting it
The Chicago Association of REALTORS and landlord groups are actively opposing. The relocation-payment reduction in the September revision is the visible result of that pressure.
What to do now
Nothing is required — this is not law. The September 16 committee vote is the next step for owners who lease units in Chicago, and whether to use registry data, if it materialises, for leasing-cap enforcement is a board's choice.
What to watch next
The committee vote, and whether the exemption for owner-occupied buildings of six units or fewer is narrowed further — that boundary determines how many Chicago two- and three-flat condominium owners are swept in.
Related Illinois HOA Topics
Stay on top of Illinois HOA law
Every week: new Illinois legislation, court rulings, and regulatory developments affecting condos, planned communities, and property managers. Free.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.