Rental apartment living in Chicago and across the nation may never be the same again a year after COVID-19.
15-Mar-21 – Traditionally, apartment dwellers are always looking for the best rent deal. However, one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, “more space” beats “cheaper rent.”
Many dwellers of cramped apartments are now hunting for better rental digs with open-air amenities and more living space – preferably in the city in which they already reside – according to a new survey of 10,000 prospects who shopped for an apartment on RENTCafe.com. Here are highlights of the survey...
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• Lifestyle improvement is the main motivator for those looking to rent this spring. Forty-one percent of renters surveyed said “open-air amenities” and “more space” were their most essential apartment features in 2021, outranking by far amenities such as “home office” (5 percent) or “good internet connection” (10 percent). Only 4 percent of renters chose to move because they could now be more flexible by working remotely.
• The reasons for moving are within the same spectrum: “looking for better deals” was the top answer for 29 percent of renters, followed by “the need for a change of scenery” (25 percent).
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• When asked how the pandemic affected their apartment selection process, 28 percent of renters said they prefer a place to live by themselves. “Something cheaper” (25 percent) and “something larger” (19 percent) were next on the priority list.
• Ninety percent of renters said they are looking for long-term rentals. Moreover, 48 percent wish to remain in the same city in which they currently reside. This trend shows that improving housing conditions is the goal, not necessarily a drastic change like moving to a different city, noted RENTCafe.
• Many of those who moved in the spring of 2020 seemed to have done so out of need, not because they wanted to.
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“Expiring lease” was the main reason for moving (26 percent) last year, while a significant share of renters was concerned whether they’d be “able to pay rent during this time” (32 percent).
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• Of the survey respondents looking for an apartment to move into now, one-third (34 percent) had moved once before during the past 12 months, and most of them did so because of pandemic-related reasons.
• Looking at those who are just moving now, 33 percent said they did not move earlier because of the pandemic. This means that 67 percent of the renters currently looking for a new apartment may be committed to making this change now, regardless of the COVID-19 situation, said RENTCafe.
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Cook County enacts renter’s ordinance
Inspired by the tough Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, the Cook County Board of Commissioners has enacted a new ordinance that imposes scores of new regulations on landlords and tenants in the suburbs.
The new ordinance takes effect June 1 and draws its inspiration from Chicago’s ordinance, which has been in effect since 1986.
Owner-occupied buildings with six units or less are exempt from the ordinance, in addition to condominium or single-family homes where the housing provider resided in the property for at least one month of the previous 12 months.
Under the suburban Cook County ordinance, move-in fees can be charged only for “reasonably related” costs, and landlords must provide tenants with an itemized list of these costs. Late fees are limited to $10 for the first $1,000 of rent, plus five percent of any amount above that amount.
The suburban ordinance allows landlords to store their personal property in the apartment only until a new tenant moves into the space.
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