Beginning this week, all provisions of the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance (RTLO), legislation which, for the first time, provides protections for the more than 245,000 suburban renter households and their landlords, goes into effect. The RTLO, chiefly sponsored by Commissioner Scott Britton and Commissioner Kevin Morrison, was unanimously approved January 28, 2021. The RTLO is part of the County’s effort to ensure equity in all forms, including and especially ensuring access to and fairness in housing – a basic necessity that has been historically plagued with well-documented racial disparities.

The RTLO is a roadmap of the rights, responsibilities, and remedies for landlords and renters where none existed in most suburban Cook County communities. It focuses on creating a resolution framework for renters in financial crisis who are unable to pay their rent, the conduct of landlords, the conditions of the home and responsibilities and remedies for both the landlord and tenant to ensure safe habitability and protect against property damage. Effective June 1, suburban Cook County landlords also have new safeguards and rights, including protections against unreported bed bugs, a two-business day rights to cure non-health and safety issues, and an affirmative defense against claims of retaliation. To learn more about the RTLO, please visit: www.CookCountyIL.gov/RTL