Understanding the Amended Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO)
Most landlords in Chicago are required to comply with the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO). Violations of certain strict liability sections of the RLTO can lead to significant penalties for which a landlord rarely has a defense.
Keeping Tenants Informed About the RLTO
One such section of the RLTO requires landlords to provide tenants with a written summary of the RLTO, which is posted on the City of Chicago website. This summary was recently amended to include reference to, among other things, revisions to the RLTO that went into effect in 2020. Landlords subject to the RLTO are required to provide tenants with a summary of the RLTO but must now provide tenants with the new summary.
Protections Under the RLTO
The RLTO provides tenants with various protections, including burdensome rules regarding the handling of tenant security deposits by landlords. Many Chicago landlords no longer request security deposits as a result of these rules since the penalty for failing to comply with the RLTO’s security deposit provisions is two times the amount of the security deposit plus, if applicable, the tenant’s attorneys’ fees and costs.
Penalties for Failing to Comply with the RLTO
The penalty for failing to give a tenant the RLTO summary is $100. However, if a landlord does not give the tenant the summary, the tenant may terminate the lease by written notice specifying the date of termination no later than 30 days from the date of the written notice. In other words, a tenant can terminate the lease with as little as a day’s notice. Pursuant to the RLTO, a copy of the summary “shall be attached to each written rental agreement when any such agreement is initially offered to any tenant or prospective tenant by or on behalf of the landlord and whether such agreement is for a new rental or renewal thereof. Where there is an oral agreement, the landlord shall give to the tenant a copy of the summary.” If the landlord gives a tenant a copy of the old summary instead of the new one, the landlord could be at risk of their tenant abruptly terminating their lease.
Residential landlords in Chicago should familiarize themselves with the Residential Tenant and Landlord Ordinance (RLTO) and its many intricacies since the penalties for lack of compliance can be draconian. Among other things, provisions of the RLTO relate to evictions, raising rent, notifying tenants if a landlord will not be renewing their lease, and security deposits.
Jonathan Weis represents clients in Levin Ginsburg’s Litigation Practice and has extensive experience with commercial and residential landlord-tenant litigation. If you have any questions about these topics, please contact Jonathan through our website.
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