Chicago Building Code RE: Pests
CHICAGO BUILDING CODE RE: PESTS
13-196-630 Residential buildings – Responsibilities of owner or operator.
Every owner or operator must:
(a) Comply with the requirements imposed on him by this chapter;
(b) Maintain in a clean, sanitary and safe condition the shared or public areas of the dwelling or premises, and maintain and repair any equipment of a type specified in this Code which he supplies or is required to supply;
(c) Exterminate any insects, rodents or other pests in any family unit, if infestation is caused by the failure of the owner or operator to maintain the dwelling in a ratproof or reasonable insect-proof condition, and he must exterminate such pests in any family unit in the dwelling, regardless of the cause of infestation, if infestation exists in two or more of the family units in the dwelling or in the shared or public parts of any dwelling containing two or more family units; and
(d) Supply and maintain the facilities for refuse disposal which are required of him by Section 7-28-220.
Learn more about tenant remedies for pest infestation here: http://www.tenants-rights.org/apartment-conditions-and-repairs-faq/
July 16,2010
My son has mice and the mouse drippings are all over the place. He has incessantly complained to the landlord and they no absolutely nothing about it. He has bought various things to get rid of them and the mice still persist.
Sincerely,
Ms. Lynette M.Grossman
In Chicago there are laws that allow people to use their rent to hire an exterminator. The law allows you to spend the greater of $500 or one half months rent to correct the problem. That may be sufficient to fix your problem. The is process starts with a letter to the landlord. There are sample letters on our be page please follow the link http://www.tenants-rights.org/apartment-conditions-repair-repair-and-deduct-sample-letter/.
I have bedbugs in my building. More than two of us have complained with very little response. They spray a little, and that’s the end of it. I have been living there since April, am a senior citizen, and think we deserve better. I know how to get rid of them and so do they, I know that it is a comprehensive approach with spraying, steaming, and caulking the crevices in the wall. I had someone in the alderman’s office talk to the property manager, and the next day a staff member came up with a little steamer and steamed my couch. He did a really nice job and it lasted a few weeks because in spite of me vacuuming and spending $50 a month on vacuum bags, doing laundry every day, they did not steam the carpet or any of the rest of the steps that you have to take, so I am being bitten up again. I want to deduct a portion of my rent, as I can not afford to move, and I have done this before, but I can’t find a sample of the letter that you send to the property manager. Can you help me?
Here is a link to some sample letters regarding repairs. http://www.tenants-rights.org/category/landlord-tenant-faq/apartment-conditions-repair/
I live in an apartment in the chicago northwest suburbs. Do these same laws and codes apply to the suburbs as well?
Unfortunately the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenants Ordinance only covers Chicago renters. Neither Cook County nor most of the the surrounding municipalities have any significant tenant protections with the exception of Evanston and Mount Prospect. If you are interested in helping to pass such laws in suburban areas let us know.
I am renting a house that is rat infested, i informed the landlord of the problem and they do nothing about it.I only been living there for a month,& they claimid the place was rodent free before i moved in. Can I sue them for all my money back(security,rent,moving costs etc… ???
Hi Jerome,
You can certainly consult an attorney to see if you could win those damages. If you have a good attorney and the infestation is the result of landlord negligence, you may have a case, but only an attorney would be able to tell you for sure.
If you are covered under the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance, then you have remedies you can put into place without having to work with an attorney. Write a letter to your landlord explaining the problem in detail, give him/her 14 days to fix the problem, and then you explain what you’ll do if he doesn’t fix it in 14 days. The three options are explained here: http://www.tenants-rights.org/apartment-conditions-and-repairs-faq/
Make copies of the letters you write and mail them certified mail to your landlord so you can prove that (s)he received it.
Hello,
I’ve recently discovered that in my 3 bdrm apartment we have a little mouse running around. My roommate and I together have 2 dogs so I was a bit surprised at this. We live on the top floor of a 2 story flat and we told the landlord about the discovery. She handed us a mouse trap and said “That’s what happens when it gets cold outside.” Just out of curiousity, is this all the landlord is required to do by law or do they have an obligation to do more? Thanks!
Does your landlord live in the apartment building? If (s)he does, then your rights are not as expansive as they would be if you were covered under the Chicago RLTO. http://www.tenants-rights.org/residential-landlord-tenant-ordinance/
If you are covered, you may write a letter asking the landlord to fix the root cause of the problem – somewhere a mouse was able to enter your apartment from outside of it. If you are covered, you may either do a repair and deduct or a rent reduction to reflect the reduced value of your apartment. You can learn more about those options and find links to the sample letters here. http://www.tenants-rights.org/apartment-conditions-and-repairs-faq/
If you are not covered (because you live in a 2 flat and the landlord lives in the building,) then I still recommend writing the letter & sending it by certified mail to your landlord. If you are not covered under the RLTO, the law does not explicitly give you the right to pay less rent so if you choose to do so, it’ll be at your own risk. But sometimes just writing a letter demanding repairs shows the landlord that you are serious about not tolerating intolerable conditions like rodent infestations.
I am a case manager for limited English speaking clients in Chicago. One of our clients has bed bugs in their apartment. It is almost certainly their fault (they have been bringing furniture from the alley)- or, put otherwise, they have been taking actions that would lead to bed bugs, even if they arrived in the unit via other means.
The building manager is discussing them needing to pay for extermination.
Is a landlord able to oblige a renter to pay for an exterminator? They (the building manager) are obviously concerned about spread to other units, to the point that logical discussions (spraying the one apartment won’t necessarily end the infestation; it’s Rogers Park, many buildings have bed bugs; trashing the mattresses wont’ end the infestation, etc.)
Thanks,
Peter
This is a very tricky topic and bed bugs are a growing problem. First it is very difficult to assign blame. Bed bugs can come from many places. Certainly bringing in furniture form the alley is a risky venture. I do not know what you mean by other risky actions. Bed bugs really do not have anything to do with how clean you may keep your unit. Some could say that staying in hotels is risky. Did your client know that bringing furniture in from the alley was dangerous and could result in a bed bug infestation.
When it comes to who should pay for the extermination there are many factors involved such as do other units have bed bugs, did the client realize that bringing used furniture into the unit could lead to the infestation, did the client refuse to cooperate with apartment policies regarding bed bugs, were the policies known, did the client know that the furniture had bed bugs, etc. Before paying for a costly extermination process I would talk with an attorney.
Finally there may be ways to save the furniture. One owner on a cold clear night moved furniture to roof of the apartment because very cold temperatures like those we have been experiencing will kill bed bugs. Before takiing action regarding extermination you should talk with an expert.
I have pigeons roosting on the window ledge in the gangway of my multi-unit apartment building. In addition to leaving unsanitary bird droppings on the sill, they coo very loudly in the early morning, making it extremely difficult to sleep. I have asked the management company to fix the problem. They said they came by and looked, but that there was nothing they could do. I would like to send them a registered letter asking them to get rid of the pigeons within 14 days, otherwise I will hire a company to come with ladders (I live on the 3rd floor) to install pigeon-deterrent spikes. Do you think this falls within my rights as a tenant (“repair and deduct”)?
I don’t know that this is a violation of the building code. You should only use one of the remedies available to Chicago RLTO renters, including the repair and deduct, if you are certain that this is a building code violation. You may want to contact your alderman or Chicago’s Streets & Sanitation department. Streets & Sanitation does work to mitigate rats; they may be a good place to inquire about your issue. You can also call 311 to see if this is something that can be cited by an inspector.
If you discover that this is not a building code violation, which I suspect, and you still want to hire a company to install the spikes, it’s in your best interest to first get written permission from your landlord. Although it sounds like pretty minor work, your landlord could argue that installation of these spikes is a violation of the terms of your lease.
Hello—-
I was informed by a tenant living on the 4th floor of my 22story building that she has an infestation if bed bugs. I live on the 16th floor. Management has not yet informed all tenants of this occurrence. Are they required by the renter ordinance to do so?? Trying to research this topic before confronting management. Any information and/or referrals to resources would be greatly appreciated.
Currently, there are no laws that require a landlord to disclose the presence of bed bugs in a building. Bed bugs are not like other pests. They migrate much slower so hopefully the landlord is working to resolve the problem. Many tenants want the landlord to spray the entire building though this is not necessary nor advisable. The eradication procedures on work on direct contact with the pests. So if there are no pests it does no good to spray in a unit that does not have them. It will not prevent the bugs from migrating there in the future.
I moved into my apartment 1 and 1/2 months ago. I brought all furniture with me, and have bought nothing new. There is some sort of bug infestation in my apartment; I have not seen any bedbugs, but it is a possibility. I have been bitten multiple times, and have had to see three different doctors for the severe reaction to these bites. I am fairly certain the bugs were in the apartment before I moved in (I live in an older, not exactly well kept building). What are my rights and next steps in terms of extermination in my unit? Does this give me a right to break my lease – if I moved into a uninhabitable building, it seems my renter is at fault – although, my concern is that they will say I brought the infestation with me (which I am sure I did not. There were no bugs or bites at my old apartment).
The law is not so clear on the issue. A first step might be to see if other tenants are having any problems with pests. If you think it might be be bugs I would examine your bedroom and especially the bed very thoroughly. After this you can then document your concerns by writing a letter to your landlord. As for terminating the lease. The law does not make exceptions for bed bugs. The law for terminating a lease states the tenant can terminate the lease if after providing the landlord with written notification and waiting at least 14 days for the landlord to fix the problem. The law also states the problem must make the unit not reasonably fit and habitable.
so i have been living in this aprt in cicero since november 1st. i have been getting multiple bug bites, we found out early december it was bed bugs. I called my landlord and the next day she sent an exterminator. we are going on two weeks now since the exterminator showed up but we still keep getting bit. i know this was a problem that was already here because the people on the first floor have had the problem for some time now but just never informed the landlord. i have a 5 month old baby and a 2 year old son. What can i do or how do i break my lease without getting penalized or have to spend more money than i should. Even if the problem gets fixed i dont feel comfortable living here anymore.
There are no laws specifically about bed bugs. They would be same as any other pest. Unfortunately, Cicero has few laws that cover this situation. My suggestion would be to start by calling the Cicero City Hall and see if they have any inspectors that look for bed bugs or other pests. Have you asked the landlord about breaking your lease? If the landlord agrees then the problem is solved, though you need to get the agreement in writing, including what happens to your security deposit.