On Wednesday, May 21, numerous supporters descended on Chicago’s City Council Meeting to support the introduction of the Just Cause Eviction Ordinance. The law requires landlords to have a just cause to evict a tenant. It would ban evictions due to retaliation. MTO supports passage of the just cause ordinance as a means of balancing power between landlords and tenants. If Just Cause passes, it would mean landlords would no longer have the power to threaten tenants with eviction for requesting repairs or organizing.
Under the proposed law, landlords must state one of seven reasons why they are evicting a tenant. Reasons include: failure to pay rent, follow the lease rules, refusal to sign a lease, the landlord wishes to no longer rent the unit or rent it to a relative, major rehab of the unit, or convert it to condominiums. If the landlord is terminating the lease for a reason in which the tenant is not at fault, then the tenant would be entitled to relocation assistance. So while the law does not end gentrification, it does begin to move the costs of gentrification to the property owners and developers, as they are the ones who benefit. Finally, the bill would create a registry of landlords and require people who own more than 20% of the building to disclose their interest.
Upon introduction, Alderman Ray Lopez asked that the bill be sent to the rules committee. His goal is to try and bury the tenants’ rights legislation. The Chicago Housing Justice Coalition is working with Council member Desmon Yancy to get the bill out of rules and into the housing committee for a hearing.