Please join the Metropolitan Tenants Organization tonight for a “Crash Course on Tenants Rights: What Chicago- area Renters need to know before the 1st of the month.
Tonight!! Thursday, April 30th 6pm CST live-streamed. Be sure to get your FREE TICKETS here with Eventbrite.
This workshop will review what tenants need to know for May 1st and we will take questions live. We will be discussing what your rights are if you cannot pay your rent, your rights on evictions, and what to do in case of an illegal lockout, and other critical issues for renters.

Panelists will include MTO’s Eviction Prevention Specialist, Philip DeVon & Affordable Housing Preservation Community Organizer, David Wilson.
Get your FREE TICKETS here with Eventbrite or follow https://www.facebook.com/MTOchicago/ to get the notification when the workshop goes live.
Click HERE to support MTO’s critical work today. Share this link https://bit.ly/39y69ey with friends, family, and community who can make a donation for housing justice on Tuesday, May 5th for a global day of giving. #Giving Tuesday Now.
Be well, and be safe. And see you tonight!
I did not pay my rent for July or August. The landlord wants to do maintenance work for the furnace. She gave a five day notice. Do I have to let her in to have the furnace and thermostat serviced? Please respond before Thursday.
Sorry for the delay in responding. You did not say why you are not paying rent. Are you planning to move in the very near future, have you been laid off or cannot pay for some reason, are you mad at the landlord for poor maintenance. You might take different approaches depending on the reason for non payment. It would be best to call our hotline to discuss this problem.
Hi,
i signed lease in Chicago in may and now they said my classes are online. they wont help me terminate my lease. please Advice
Did the landlord attach a summary of the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenants Ordinance to you lease? If not and the owner does not live on site then you could terminate your agreement. Otherwise it is much more difficult to terminate the agreement. Has the landlord offered you any deal to let you out of your lease? You can always try to sublet the unit. The landlord has to take any reasonable subletter. Are there any repairs that need to be done that the landlord has not completed? You could try to pressure the landlord to follow all the rental laws or if they do not to let you out of the lease. Are there any pests? Are there other students in the building that are in the same situation as you? If so maybe you could get together and develop a plan to get the landlord to let you out of the lease. Does anyone you know have a relationship with the owner, maybe they could help you. Let me know if any of these ideas work.
Hello! i know you are very busy but I’m hoping you can help. I left a message a while ago and haven’t heard back. I rent a condo from the owner and my lease is up June 30. She is not allowing me stay because she says she is moving back in. Is this allowed right now? She did give me 30 days notice. Thank you, Sue
Unfortunately, the laws concerning 30 day notices are horrible for tenants. There is little that you can do unless the landlord is retaliating against. The notice needed to be given to a full 30 days ahead of the terminations, which in this case would have been May 31 as the day you receive it does not count. Now if the unit is covered by the CARES act passed by Congress, then the landlord would not be able to evict you until July 25. You can call our hotline 773-292-4988 to find out if your unit is covered. Secondly, if you need more time, it is usually a good idea to communicate with the landlord and let them know. If you are not out by the notice date, then the landlord can start court proceedings against you. The courts are quite backed up currently and in fact Eviction Court in Chicago does not open until July. Only the sheriff when ordered by the court can actually evict you. If you need more time, negotiate with the landlord.
Lastly, MTO and other organizations are working to pass a Just Cause Eviction Order. In your case, under our proposed ordinance, the landlord would have to give you a 90 day notice and would have to provide you with some relocation assistance. Call you alderperson to request the City pass a Just Cause Eviction Ordinance.