The Protecting Renters Ordinance (PRO)
1. The basics
Chicago City Council is weighing the biggest rewrite of the city's tenant protection laws in forty years, and the outcome will shape what renters can expect from their landlords for a generation. Two competing ordinances are moving through committee right now. This article covers the first: the Protecting Renters Ordinance (PRO), introduced by Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Department of Housing on June 29, 2026.
PRO is pitched as the first comprehensive update to the Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO) since Mayor Harold Washington's administration in the mid-1980s. About 54% of Chicago households rent, roughly 622,000 households, and over 40% of those renters are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of income on rent.
2. What PRO would do
- A citywide rental registry. Chicago currently has no comprehensive record of its more than 500,000 rental units or who owns them. Owners frequently operate behind LLCs, making it difficult for tenants or the city to identify who is actually responsible for a building. PRO would require landlords to register with the city, pay an annual fee, and disclose who is behind any LLC or trust that holds title.
- Just cause protections. Landlords would need to provide a legally recognized reason before declining to renew a lease. Right now, a landlord can simply choose not to renew without giving any reason, including to rehab a unit, convert it to condos, or demolish the building. Under PRO, a no-fault non-renewal would trigger a required relocation payment, generally estimated in the $3,000 to $5,000 range for most landlords under the current draft.
- A ban on junk fees. Hidden or unexplained administrative fees outside of rent and security deposit would be prohibited.
- Right to counsel. Free legal defense would be formally guaranteed for income-eligible tenants facing eviction filings.
- New enforcement infrastructure. PRO would create a new Bureau of Rental Housing Services to administer the registry and enforce the ordinance, since tenants currently rely mostly on 311 calls and lawsuits, with no single city department dedicated to enforcement.
- Exemption threshold. Owner-occupied buildings with six units or fewer would remain largely exempt, matching how the RLTO already treats small owner-occupied buildings today.
3. Where the politicians stand
Mayor Brandon Johnson
Introduced PRO, June 29, 2026
The driving force behind PRO. Johnson has said he intends to keep pushing for its core pieces, including just cause protections, relocation payments, and the junk fee ban, even as the competing FAIR ordinance gains support in council. His administration is aiming to move PRO through committee by September 2026.
Ald. Anthony Quezada (35th Ward)
City Council
One of the most vocal council supporters of PRO. Quezada has publicly criticized the competing FAIR ordinance alongside tenant advocates, arguing it would move renter protections backward.
Tenant advocacy groups
Metropolitan Tenants Organization, Belden Sawyer Tenants Association, Law Center for Better Housing, Palenque LSNA
These groups back PRO and have organized public pressure campaigns in support of it. Monica Foucher, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization, has urged council to pass PRO, arguing existing law lacks the enforcement teeth to stop no-fault evictions and predatory fees.
Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th Ward)
Leads the Budget Accountability Coalition; chairs the Zoning Committee
Villegas leads the roughly 23-member coalition backing the competing FAIR ordinance, introduced in direct response to PRO. He has argued PRO amounts to "more red tape" and said the real fix for high rents is more construction, not additional regulation. He has also proposed using existing technology and AI tools to manage a registry rather than creating a new city bureau, preferring registry administration stay with the Department of Buildings.
Budget Accountability Coalition
Roughly 23 of the council's ~30 more moderate and conservative members
Most of this bloc previously opposed Johnson's corporate tax proposal and helped pass an alternative city budget. They introduced the competing FAIR ordinance in direct response to PRO.
4. Why it matters for renters
The core disagreement is about how much protection a Chicago tenant should have when their landlord decides not to renew a lease, and how visible landlord ownership should be to the public. PRO's registry would be the first tool giving renters a way to identify who actually owns their building, even when ownership is routed through a corporate entity. Whether that provision survives committee negotiations is one of the clearest things to watch as PRO and FAIR are reconciled in the months ahead.
5. Related articles
6. FAQ
What is the Protecting Renters Ordinance (PRO)?
PRO is a proposal from Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Department of Housing to overhaul Chicago's Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance for the first time since the mid-1980s. It would create a rental registry, require just cause for lease non-renewals, ban junk fees, and guarantee legal counsel for eligible tenants facing eviction.
Would PRO apply to my building?
PRO would apply citywide to most non-owner-occupied rental units. Owner-occupied buildings with six units or fewer would remain largely exempt.
Who supports and opposes PRO?
Mayor Brandon Johnson introduced PRO and continues to push for it. Ald. Anthony Quezada (35th) and tenant advocacy groups including the Metropolitan Tenants Organization back it. A coalition of roughly 23 alderpersons, led by Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th), introduced a competing ordinance called FAIR in response.