The Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance Creates Stability
Just Cause for Eviction is an important ordinance that promotes tenant stability and keep renters in their homes. Under current law, landlords are not required to give a reason for termination or non-renewal as long as proper notice is given that the landlord-tenant relationship is over. It is estimated that, each year, thousands of households face displacement despite fulfilling all requirements of their lease agreement. If a tenant does not move within the time provided in the notice, a court eviction case is filed in court.
The Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance would keep tenants from losing their homes because a landlord decided to:
- occupy the unit or have a close family member do so,
- substantially repair or rehab the unit,
- convert the unit into a condo, or
- demolish or remove the unit from the market.
The Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance would keep tenants from losing their homes because a landlord decided to:
- occupy the unit or have a close family member do so,
- substantially repair or rehab the unit,
- convert the unit into a condo, or
- demolish or remove the unit from the market.
The threat of displacement can take a mental, physical, and financial toll on long-term tenants and their families.
Creating a Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance would help alleviate the burdens that long-term tenants and their families would otherwise face, including:
- loss of community and neighborly support,
- loss of transportation and fresh food accessibility,
- interruptions in school and employment commutes and routines,
- loss of affordable and disability accessible units, and
- potentially prolonged homelessness.
- loss of community and neighborly support,
- loss of transportation and fresh food accessibility,
- interruptions in school and employment commutes and routines,
- loss of affordable and disability accessible units, and
- potentially prolonged homelessness.
Chicago is an amazing city, yet renting here is challenging.
- In Chicago, the legacy of discrimination and segregation endures. The most evicted communities are disproportionately Black and Brown. In addition, majority Black areas have eviction filing rates two to four times higher than majority Latinx or White areas.
- Current price data shows the average price of a one-bedroom in Chicago is $1,560 per month. As of 2018, almost half of all Chicago renters were rent burdened which means they spent more than 30% of their income on rent, yet low-income households represent the largest share of Cook County renter households. The supply of affordable rental units has been dropping at an increased rate in Chicago since 2012.
- In some cases, no-fault eviction has been used as a principle vehicle for escalating displacement and gentrification. People are forced to leave their homes as landlords and property investors sell, rehab and flip old buildings for profit.
- There are over 1 million residents age 65 and older in Chicago, a number expected to increase by 80% as baby boomers age. Seniors are the most vulnerable to rising rents and evictions compared to any other age group.
A Just Cause Ordinance is an important step towards keeping Chicago’s longtime residents in place, so that the communities we know and love today are still here in years to come.
In the fall of 2024, The National Low Income Housing Coalition's (NLIHC) SLI project released a toolkit highlighting just cause protections in detail.
The toolkit provides an overview of this protection and where such protections have been implemented. The toolkit also highlights the core components of such protections, as evidenced by existing just cause protections that have been passed in 11 states and more than 25 localities across the country.
The toolkit provides an overview of this protection and where such protections have been implemented. The toolkit also highlights the core components of such protections, as evidenced by existing just cause protections that have been passed in 11 states and more than 25 localities across the country.
