Committee on Housing and Real Estate meeting, June 29, 2026
- When: Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 10:00 AM (Chicago time)
- Where: City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
- Status: Scheduled & Published
- Committee: Committee on Housing and Real Estate
- Video: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1204641833
- Transcript: full text (27,815 words, automatic captions)
Meeting notes
AI-written from the transcript. Speakers are inferred from cues in the recording, so treat names as estimates and check the video at the linked time.
The Committee on Housing and Real Estate held a subject matter hearing on the Protecting Renters Ordinance (PRO), a proposed update to the city's Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance; the chair stated that no votes would be taken. Public commenters, including tenants, teachers, tenant organizers, small landlords and real estate industry representatives, spoke for and against the proposal, and invited witnesses testified on tenant experiences, the eviction legal aid program and a rental registry. Department of Housing and Mayor's Office staff presented the package's five parts: a rental registry, a Bureau of Rental Housing Services, just cause for eviction with relocation assistance, a codified eviction counsel program, and RLTO reforms including limits on fees and a Tenant Bill of Rights. Members asked about the registry, relocation assistance amounts, junk fees, the new state fee law, CHA's treatment, engagement with housing providers and the use of direct introduction, and several asked for more time and discussion. The matter was discussed only, and the meeting adjourned.
Topics: Protecting Renters Ordinance, Rental registry, Just cause eviction, Relocation assistance, Junk fees, Right to counsel, Bureau of Rental Housing Services, Small landlords, Security deposits, Public comment
Agenda items discussed
- 25:57 Public comment
- 1:19:03 Subject matter hearing on the Protecting Renters Ordinance (PRO): discussed
- 3:20:06 Motion to adjourn: passed
Alderpersons who spoke
- Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez (alderperson): Described the legislation as long in coming and asked staff to explain the operational value of a citywide rental registry in targeting bad actors. (1:58:52); Described a landlord owning more than 70 buildings in her ward and the 35th Ward who was reachable only briefly each morning, and said a registry is important for renters. (2:00:26); Asked staff to address claims made in public comment that the ordinance amounts to rent control. (2:01:48)
- Anthony J. Quezada (alderperson): Stated support for the ordinance, describing his own experience as a renter whose lease was not renewed and his family's housing instability. (2:06:35); Said building more housing and strengthening renter protections are not competing goals. (2:07:27); Asked staff to confirm landlords can still evict for non-payment of rent or lease violations. (2:07:51)
- Silvana Tabares (alderperson): Asked what the Advisory Committee on Renting Right is and who serves on it. (2:10:26); Asked about the ratio of housing providers to tenant advocacy groups on the advisory committee and whether it is balanced. (2:11:59); Asked whether the ordinance follows models from other US cities and which ones. (2:13:11)
- Gilbert Villegas (alderperson): Asked whether CHA and nonprofit providers are exempt and from what. (2:20:22); Said the ordinance has good elements he wants to support but that housing providers report insufficient engagement, and asked for continued dialogue. (2:22:57); Said he is frustrated by what he called an adversarial approach and wants continued investment, housing and population growth in the city. (2:23:38)
- Daniel La Spata (alderperson): Asked how the ordinance would keep landlords from converting building-wide amenities into optional services with separate fees. (2:27:42); Asked whether tenants should have to request in writing amenities that exist in the building they leased. (2:29:19); Said unverified utility charges are a growing issue in Logan Square and asked how the ordinance would prevent them. (2:30:13)
- Pat Dowell (alderperson): Said she did not find in her packet a two-page resource that a realtors' representative said had been submitted. (1:17:55); Asked where the allowable fees are listed in the legislation. (2:19:33); Called the proposal sweeping legislation that needs more socialization and asked the Law Department how direct introduction under Rule 41 applies when there is no emergency. (2:35:03)
- David H. Moore (alderperson): Asked whether House Bill 3564 had been signed or was awaiting the governor's signature. (2:17:42); Said housing providers he relies on to help residents should have been engaged, and that the matter is not an emergency that could not wait a month. (2:42:19); Said the ordinance has good elements and he wants to get to a yes, but members need time to digest it. (2:44:22)
- Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (alderperson): Asked how the ordinance addresses small landlords' difficulties with the eviction process. (2:54:22); Said her ward is about 65% renters, that she is a renter, and that evictions are hard on landlords and communities. (2:55:54); Said a single point of contact for residents seems very beneficial. (2:59:54)
Exchanges between members
- 2:42:19 Moore said he wanted to echo a point Villegas had raised about engaging housing providers.
- 2:43:45 Moore said he was glad Dowell raised the question of whether the matter was an emergency.
- 3:10:41 Moore followed up on Dowell's relocation assistance question by asking about six months' notice.
- 3:17:36 Moore referred to the situation Dowell asked about in suggesting relocation assistance be tied to length of tenancy.