Do you rent an apartment in the city? The Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO), first approved in 1986, outlines the legal rights and responsibilities for landlords and tenants in the city.
What does the RLTO apply to?
The ordinance applies to most rental properties located in Chicago, including units operated under subsidy programs from the Chicago Housing Authority and the Illinois Housing Development Authority. Notable exceptions to the RLTO include units in owner-occupied buildings with six or fewer units and most units in hotels and motels, dorms, and shelters.
Cook County has its own version of the RLTO, which applies to apartments, including mobile homes and subsidized units, in suburban Cook County. It does not apply to units in Chicago, Evanston, or Mount Prospect.
Chicago’s ordinance requires that a summary copy be given to prospective tenants. It should be attached to written lease agreements or given to tenants with oral rental agreements.
What are the tenant’s rights and duties under the RLTO?
Tenants are responsible for testing and installing batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, notifying building owners in writing of maintenance needs, and keeping the unit safe and clean.
If your landlord fails to respond to a maintenance request within 14 days, you can withhold money from your rent payment that “reasonably reflects the reduced value of the unit,” beginning on the 15th day and continuing until repairs are completed. You can also have the repairs completed yourself and deduct up to $500 from that month’s rent or file a lawsuit in court.
You have the right to terminate your lease at the end of the 14-day period when a serious issue renders your unit uninhabitable. In these cases, your landlord must return any prepaid rent and security deposits plus interest. In cases of fire, tenants can move out immediately, provided they notify the landlord within 14 days, or stay in the unit with reduced rent.
If a tenant wishes to move prior to the end of a lease, the landlord must make an effort to find a new tenant at a fair rent. But tenants are ultimately responsible for rent and the landlord’s cost of advertising.
Tenants should not change the locks on their units without first notifying their landlord. If they do change the locks, tenants are required to provide their landlord with a new key.
What are the landlord’s rights and duties under the RLTO?
Landlords are required to inform tenants of the property owner or manager’s name, address, and telephone number; alert tenants in writing to impending foreclosure proceedings; tell tenants about any code violations that occurred within the last year; and generally maintain the rental property.
Landlords must also give two days’ notice that they plan to enter your unit for maintenance, except in cases of emergency.
If you’ve lived in your apartment for fewer than six months, your landlord must give 30 days’ notice before they terminate month-to-month tenancy, decline to renew your lease, or raise your rent. If you’ve lived in your home between six months and three years, your landlord is required to provide 60 days’ notice. And tenants who’ve lived in a unit for longer than three years are guaranteed 120 days’ notice under the RLTO.
At the end of your lease, your landlord is required to provide an itemized statement of any damages before deducting money from your security deposit. Any remaining portion of the security deposit and accrued interest must be returned within 45 days of moving out or within seven days in the event of a fire.
Landlords may charge a monthly late fee of $10 on rents under $500, plus an additional 5 percent per month on the part of rent that exceeds $500. Before terminating a lease for failure to pay rent, property owners must notify tenants in writing and give them five days to pay back any rent. You cannot be evicted without a court order or if your landlord accepts any form of late rent payment.
Your lease can only be terminated for purported violations after your landlord has notified you in writing of the specific actions that violated city law or the rental agreement and given you ten days to remedy the situation.
It’s also illegal for landlords to lock out tenants under any circumstance. Landlords are subject to fines between $200 and $500 for each day a lockout continues.
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