Lawmakers in Chicago Introduce Just Cause Eviction Protections for Tenants This Legislative Session

By Nada Hussein, NLIHC Research Analyst, State and Local Innovation 

More than 40 years since the foundational campaign for “just cause” eviction protections launched in the City of Chicago, Illinois, City Council lawmakers are hoping to once again bring to fruition the advancement of such protections for tenants this 2025 legislative session. Introduced by Alderman Desmon Yancy (5th Ward), the city’s proposed just cause eviction ordinance (“Record No. O2025-0017516”) would strengthen tenants’ rights in a concerted way, including by (1) requiring that landlords have just cause, such as nonpayment of rent or violation of the rental agreement, to evict a tenant or refuse to renew a tenant’s lease; (2) requiring that landlords provide tenants with relocation assistance if the tenancy is terminated through no fault of the tenant, or if the rent is increased by more than 10%; and (3) requiring property owners to register their rental units in a citywide registry in order to increase transparency in the private rental market. If enacted, the City of Chicago would join 11 states and more than 25 localities (including the District of Columbia) to have enacted just cause protections for tenants. 

Commonly known as “good cause” or “for cause” eviction standards, “just cause” eviction protections require landlords and property owners to provide sufficient reasoning and scope when moving to levy a forcible detainer proceeding—or eviction—against a tenant. By instituting a set of verifiable reasons or circumstances for which a landlord can evict a tenant, including nonpayment of rent, criminal activity, or a documented case of a lease violation, tenants are given a clear understanding—and justification—as to why they are being evicted, especially if the tenant is not in violation of any laws or of their lease agreement, which are generally known in practice as “no-cause” or “no-fault” evictions. By requiring that tenants are given notice as to the cause of their eviction filing, the enactment of just cause laws work to ensure that renter households are protected against arbitrary, discriminatory, and retaliatory eviction practices that cause undue roadblocks for tenants remaining stably housed both over the short- and long-term and ensure that tenants can remain in, or access, housing opportunities without the presence of a wrongful eviction filing on their public record. 

In addition to offering tenants respite in knowing that they cannot be evicted—or forcibly displaced—from their residence without sufficient justification, just cause eviction laws also rein in the practice of informal and illegal evictions or those that occur outside a court of law. Given that informal evictions can include threatening and intimidating behavior or harassment, they are often difficult to quantify. Through qualitative stories and data points highlighting the disparate impact of informal evictions collected by housing advocates, legal aid service providers, and tenants impacted by informal eviction practices, the presence of these illegal eviction practices can create fear, prohibit tenants from asserting their rights in a court of law, and can cause a tenant to leave their place of residence before an eviction has even been levied against a tenant. According to a report on informal eviction practices published by New America in 2022, the weaponization of informal eviction practices can create uncertainty for tenants, making it seem as though a tenant is at the will of their landlord and can be evicted with impunity.  

In Chicago, housing advocates in favor of just cause eviction protections for renters have noted that informal evictions are commonplace in the city. According to the Chicago Housing Justice Coalition, which is leading efforts to enact just cause protections through a cross-sector, multi-faceted coalition of more than 100 organizations in support of the proposed ordinance and broader just cause platform, informal evictions, which include lease non-renewals and untenable rent increases, are reportedly in the thousands.  

In Chicago, the Law Center for Better Housing reports that between 2010 and 2019, the city saw an annual average eviction filing rate of more than 22,500 evictions yearly—about 1 in 25 renters face eviction each year. To make matters worse, as recently as 2021, six out of 10 neighborhoods reporting the highest rates of eviction were in areas where the population concentration was at least 80% Black. As such, the compounding effect of both informal and formal eviction filings in the city has precipitated a clear need for legal interventions that protect tenants against harmful housing practices. 

Indeed, when tenants are evicted from their homes, the swift consequences of an eviction can result in diminished access to safe, stable, and affordable housing of their choosing—especially in an unpredictable rental market. According to NLIHC’s “The Gap: a Shortage of Affordable Homes” report for 2024, the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metropolitan area is comprised of more than 318,000 extremely low-income renters, with just 88,984 available and affordable rental homes for those with the lowest incomes.  

Under the proposed just cause ordinance introduced in the City of Chicago, there are several components in which the law seeks to benefit tenants at all stages of the eviction process. As proposed, landlords and property owners must provide just cause for evicting a tenant. As written, the applicable just causes for eviction include nonpayment of rent, material noncompliance with the rental agreement, occupancy by the owner or another qualified relative, a condominium conversion, significant repair work needed, or removal or demolition of the property.  

The law also establishes a relocation assistance model for tenants who are displaced from their residences under circumstances beyond their control, including when the property owner wants to move in, the unit is demolished or converted, or the unit undergoes renovations. Tenants who are terminated from their tenancy due to one of the causes listed are entitled to receive relocation assistance in the amount equal to five times the median monthly rent in the city for a unit with the same number of bedrooms. However, some provisions would allow landlords and property owners to enter into a written agreement that would enable a payment plan for the relocation assistance fee, either in whole or in part, through a reduction in rent, rental forgiveness, or even waiving rent altogether. The proposed ordinance allows for partial reimbursement of relocation assistance payments for all small landlords and total reimbursement for small landlords aged 55 or older. 

Finally, the law would also require landlords and property owners to participate in a city-run rental registry program that would increase transparency in the rental market. By January 15 of each year, the proposed law would require landlords to submit their contact information to the registry. For property owners/landlords not residing in the Chicago area, a designated local contact must be submitted. Moreover, under the rental registry, owners would be required to pay an annual registration fee of $100, with fee exemptions for the Chicago Housing Authority, small landlords, and residences owned by non-profit organizations. 

Advocacy for Chicago’s proposed just cause law is tenant-centered and tenant-focused. Leading the advocacy for the enactment of the ordinance is the Chicago Housing Justice Coalition (CHJC). The CHJC is a broad-based, multi-sector advocacy coalition focused on housing justice in the city. The coalition includes members from the education sector, national advocacy and research organizations, and tenant union groups. Speaking to the proposed ordinance, Seven Benjamin, a Basebuilding Organizer for CHJC, noted “Chicago tenants can’t wait any longer for housing stability.” 

More information on Chicago’s just cause ordinance, as introduced, can be found here.