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A battle is brewing as landlords unite against the newly enacted Northwest Side Housing Preservation Ordinance, which grants extensive rights to renters and is seen by owners as a threat to private property.
(Above) Humboldt Park, northwest of the Loop. Photo by 606 Vision. 16-Mar-25 – A donnybrook is shaping up on Chicago’s Northwest and West sides as hundreds of “Ma and Pa” rental apartment landlords are organizing to fight the so-called “anti-gentrification” ordinance. Enforcement started on March 1. Now, owners of appreciating rental properties in a six-square-mile area – including Avondale, Hermosa, Humboldt Park, Logan Square, West Town, and part of the Pilsen neighborhood on the Northwest and West sides – are being urged to send opposition emails of disapproval to all Chicago City Council members, said the Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance (NBOA). “This message should be delivered not only to the aldermen who represent the impacted areas, but to all Chicago aldermen so they do not expand the ordinance to their wards,” the NBOA urged.  (Above) Map of Northwest and West side neighborhoods impacted by the ordinance. Mike Glasser, president of NBOA, which represents 11 real estate organizations, said it will be “aligning all affected property owners to communicate updates to advocacy efforts with additional calls for lobbying action.” The NBOA said the organization is developing both legislative and legal strategies to fight implementation of the “Northwest Side Housing Preservation Ordinance.” According to NBOA, Mayor Brandon Johnson – an avowed Democratic Socialist – and his backers in the City Council, through the ordinance, have launched an attack on apartment owners’ private property rights. And that could cost owners money and loss of control over their property.
The ordinance – which allegedly is designed to protect housing in the gentrifying neighborhoods of Avondale, Hermosa, Humboldt Park, Logan Square, West Town, and part of Pilsen – was overwhelmingly approved by the City Council on September 18. The ordinance gives apartment renters in the targeted neighborhoods the right of first refusal on the sale of their building – adding a whopping nine months of transaction delay. A 60-day notice is required before listing the property and tenants may have up to 90 days after receiving an offer to decide to exercise their right of first refusal. “During the process, building owners must turn over detailed information about their operations and finances, and even share their rent rolls,” Glasser said. The legislation seeks to protect renters in two-flats, three-flats, four-flats, and apartment buildings with five units or more from being priced out by higher rents and/or displaced by gentrification by giving tenants a first right to buy the building. Veteran North Side Realtor Sara Benson, president of Benson Stanley Realty, explained that the ordinance especially will impact sales of buildings with five units or more because it gives tenants 120 days to exercise their first-right-of-refusal to buy.
Landlords and managers say that the ordinance was rushed through the City Council with virtually no input from apartment owners and the real estate industry. The ordinance purports to “preserve naturally occurring affordable housing” by requiring owners of rental apartments who wish to sell their buildings to give tenants a right-of-first-refusal to buy. However, the ordinance also allows tenants to “assign this right to outside third parties.” The sweeping ordinance was sponsored by seven alderpersons – Daniel La Spata (1st Ward), Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward), Jessie Fuentes (26th Ward), Ruth Cruz (30th Ward), Felix Cardona (31st Ward), Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd Ward), and Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th Ward).
“Chicago is blessed to have a large quantity of what experts call ‘middle housing,’ especially compared to cities that saw the majority of their residential development happen in the post-automobile era,” he said. Hopkins voted “no” because he had concerns about the challenges that will be placed on owners of buildings, particularly smaller buildings owned by middle-class families. Many of these buildings have been owned by the same families for generations, he said. “At least some of the increase in property values is the result of the buildings being meticulously maintained by those families for decades, and they should not be penalized when it is time to sell,” Hopkins explained. “Furthermore, the greatly lengthened runway now needed to sell a multifamily building in the pilot area, without a requirement of any tenant organization to show evidence of financing to purchase the building, is fundamentally not fair and is government overreach.”
Glasser noted that the restrictive ordinance also significantly increases the demolition surcharge on new multifamily builds to $60,000 from $15,000, providing a disincentive for developers or property owners to replace an aging two-flat with a new single-family home. The ordinance also encourages apartment renters who exercise their right-of-first-refusal to form tenant organizations and work together to place a 5 percent down payment and buy buildings. If the entity purchasing the rental property uses any public funds, they must adhere to a 30-year covenant keeping the rents at or below 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). “Particularly appalling is the provision in the legislation allowing assignments of the tenant’s right-of-first-refusal,” noted Benson. “Allowing assignment opens the flood gates to all kinds of potentially unscrupulous and unethical practices.” Veteran real estate investors believe that gentrification is a natural process that renews inner-city neighborhoods and helps build middle-class family wealth, while expanding the real estate tax base. “This ordinance punishes owners of affordable housing, devalues their property, and makes it harder to invest in neighborhood housing,” said Glasser. “The result is scarcer housing and higher rents. We need to stop this ordinance now, before it hurts us all.” Realty groups fighting anti-gentrification ordinance The Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance (NBOA) represents and advocates for the following Chicagoland neighborhood building owners associations:
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