Know Your Rights: Understanding Chicago's Fair Notice Ordinance for Tenants and Landlords

What is the Chicago Fair Notice Ordinance?

The Chicago Fair Notice Ordinance creates rights and responsibilities for tenants and landlords in Chicago. 

Landlords must give tenants a certain amount of notice to (1) terminate the lease by non-renewal or (2) raise the tenant's rent. It does not matter if the tenant has a written year-long lease or a verbal month-to-month lease. 

Under the ordinance, the following notice is required:

• 30 days if you've lived in the rental unit less than 6 months
• 60 days if you've lived in the unit between 6 months - 3 years
• 120 days if you've lived in the unit more than 3 years

If the landlord gave the wrong amount of notice, then the tenant can (1) stay in the unit until the full notice period ends or (2) pay the same rent for the required notice period. 

Tenants can read a flyer with their rights in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, and Polish.

Who is excluded?

The Fair Notice Ordinance does not apply to the following tenants:

• If the landlord already started the eviction process by giving the tenant a 5-day notice for nonpayment of rent, 10-day notice for a lease violation, or a 60-day notice for disturbing other tenants;
• If the tenant lives in a temporary shelter, hotel, or motel for more than 32 days;
• If the tenant lives in housing affiliated with a school;
• If the tenant is renting-to-own;
• If the tenant is an employee of the landlord;
• If the tenant lives in a co-op; 
• If the tenant lives in suburban Cook County (the Cook County Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance may offer protections when the landlord chooses not to renew your lease. Visit our other article on the topic by using this link); or
• If the tenant lives outside Chicago and Cook County (visit our other article on the topic by using this link).

What if the Chicago Fair Notice Ordinance applies and the landlord violated the law?

If the landlord gave a tenant insufficient notice, a tenant can send a written communication to the landlord about their rights and how much time the landlord should give under the Fair Notice Ordinance. Click on these links for examples and sample letters for 30, 60, and 120 days of notice.