Just Cause Ordinance Chicago

[Sean McKee]

Hello BP,

This post is mainly for my fellow Chicago investors.  I've heard about a just cause ordinance that is being proposed.  I took a very high level look at it and the proposal is quite ridiculous. For example, the landlord would have to pay up to 5 times the median rent if terminating without a just cause. The median rent would be set by the city. Yet the landlord can still increase rents up to 19% a year and not pay anything. So I'm not sure what this ordinance would accomplish, other than slowing down the inevitable and causing more headaches for landlords.

Has anyone heard any updates about this?  Is this likely to pass? With all the recent changes to the housing laws in Cook County, it would not shock me.

[Henry Lazerow]

The whole idea of it is pretty much a way for a select few politicians to get more votes from uneducated voters. All you would need to do to have Just Cause would be tell the tenant they can stay but rents goes up 10x at end of lease or at next month of a month to month lease, of course they can leave if do not agree to new price. Since rent control is illegal under IL state law nothing can change a landlords ability to do that.