?Chicago’s Residential Landlord & Tenant Ordinance - Subleases (Mun. Code ch. 5-12-120)

[Danny Duran]

BP Chicago Folks—in preparation for my upcoming “landlordom,” I’ve been researching the Chicago Landlord-Tenant Ordinance, “Subleasing” pasted below.

• The landlord must accept a reasonable subtenant offered by the tenant without charging additional fees.
• If a tenant moves prior to the end of the rental agreement, the landlord must make a good faith effort to find a new tenant at a fair rent.
• If the landlord is unsuccessful in re-renting the unit, the tenant remains liable for the rent under the rental agreement, as well as the landlords cost of advertising.

Do you put the sublease agreement in writing and have it reviewed by an attorney? What is a “reasonable” subtenant and who decides? I know that Chicago is very tenant friendly, so, I'm trying to understand this through actual war stories. Chicago landlords, please comment on your good, bad, and ugly experiences with tenant subleasing in your Cook County rental units. Based on experience, what coaching would you give tenants to make this subleasing process as smooth as possible?