In Chicago, a landlord can raise the rent at the end of a lease term provided that advance notice is given -- landlords must give at least 120 days notice to renters who have lived at a residence for three years or more, but renters with shorter tenancies are not entitled to as much advance notice before a rent increase.
Some of Chicago’s aldermen are pushing for a form of rent control (meaning a prohibition on raising the rent for certain units) and rent stabilization (meaning a limitation on the percentage that a landlord can raise the rent) in Chicago, but likely neither can move forward until the Rent Control Preemption Act is repealed.
Unlike many major metropolitan areas in the United States, apartments in Chicago aren't subject to rent control. Chicago landlords appreciate having the flexibility to adjust the rent as the market dictates. But rising rents in rapidly gentrifying areas are pushing out longtime residents and familes. In areas including Logan Square, Uptown, Rogers Park, residents and community activists have been organizing for change, and with success: a group called "Lift the Ban" collected enough signatures to get a non-binding referendum about local rent control on the November 6, 2018 ballot in three wards, and the majority of voters who saw the issue on the ballot endorsed the idea of rent control.
But Chicago does not have any rent control or rent stabilization law. While Chicago’s Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance provides many protections to renters, it does not shield renters from landlords who wish to raise the rent at the termination of the lease (whether annual or month-to-month). In Chicago, a landlord can raise the rent at ...