Victory!
The Chicago Healthy Homes Working Group Ordinance Passes City Council!
March 18, 2026 - Today, Chicago's City Council voted to approve the passage of the Proactive Rental Inspection Working Group Ordinance. This victory comes after the unanimous approval of the Ordinance by the Housing and Real Estate Committee last week.
The Working Group will bring together City departments involved in the current complaint-based rental inspection system, as well as tenants, landlords and experts to:
- seek public input via community outreach meetings,
- generate a report of proposed recommendations, and
- inform next steps toward establishing a proactive, citywide rental inspections program.
The Coalition is grateful to all Chicagoans who shared their stories, to our members and organizers who worked so hard to get to this important step, and to Ordinance sponsor Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd Ward) and her staff, who have been champions of the Coalition’s work.
"Every person deserves a healthy place to call home, yet our children remain in constant danger because so much of our housing stock is outdated and falling into disrepair.”
- Ald. Rodriguez-Sanchez
¡Sí se pudo!
¡La Ordenanza del Grupo de Trabajo de Viviendas Saludables de Chicago fue aprobada por el Consejo Municipal de Chicago!
18 de marzo de 2026 - Hoy, el Consejo Municipal de Chicago aprobó la Ordenanza del Grupo de Trabajo para la Inspección Proactiva de Alquileres. Esta victoria se produce tras la aprobación unánime de la Ordenanza por parte del Comité de Vivienda y Bienes Raíces la semana pasada.
El Grupo de Trabajo reunirá a los departamentos municipales involucrados en el sistema actual de inspección de alquileres basado en quejas, así como a inquilinos, propietarios y expertos para:
- buscar la opinión pública mediante reuniones comunitarias,
- elaborar un reporte con las recomendaciones propuestas, y
- definir los próximos pasos para establecer un programa proactivo de inspecciones de alquileres en toda la ciudad.
​
La Coalición agradece a todos los inquilinos de Chicago que compartieron sus historias, a nuestros miembros y organizadores que trabajaron muy duro para llegar a este paso tan importante, y a la patrocinadora de la Ordenanza, la concejal Rossana Rodríguez-Sánchez (distrito 33) y su personal, quienes han sido defensores del trabajo de la Coalición.
"Toda persona merece un hogar saludable; sin embargo, nuestros hijos corren peligro constante porque gran parte de nuestras viviendas están en mal estado." -
Concejal Rodríguez-Sánchez
Health Impacts of Hazardous Housing Conditions
According to the Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University, a little over half of all Chicagoans are renters. In 2019 renters made more than 30,000 complaints for occupied blight and other habitability issues, with most complaints coming from the South and West Sides. The National Center for Healthy Housing reports that compared to renters in other cities, Chicagoans face higher-than-average rates of hazardous housing conditions such as water leaks, HVAC and plumbing equipment breakdowns, sewage issues, and broken plaster or peeling paint problems. The lack of a rental property registration system exacerbates Chicago's housing crisis and puts families at risk. ​
Proactive Rental Inspections
Chicago renters should not get sick or die because of preventable health hazards. Unlike other major cities, Chicago does not regularly inspect buildings for health or safety issues. Homes are only inspected when there is a complaint, and there is currently a huge backlog. Meanwhile, Chicago families continue to live in unsafe housing or are being forced to move out.
The Chicago Healthy Homes Ordinance (CHHO) is a citywide proactive rental housing inspection program that would:​
-
Improve the health of Chicago families
-
Create a citywide building registry for all rental homes
-
Begin as a 5-year pilot phase in 4 wards
-
Institute fair and regular inspections every 3 years
Major cities across the country are adopting proactive rental inspection programs to address issues such as absent, negligent owners. Programs require owners to register properties. Cyclical inspections occur to ensure compliance with existing building codes. The following cities have already implemented proactive inspection programs and we hope to see Chicago on this list soon!
Los Angeles, CA • Sacramento, CA • Boulder, CO • Cedar Falls, IA • Des Moines, IA
Iowa City, IA • Bloomington, IL • Mount Prospect, IL • Peoria, IL • Waukegan, IL
West Chicago, IL • Ann Arbor, MI • Grand Rapids, MI • Lansing, MI • Port Huron, MI
Minneapolis, MN • Easton, PA • Philadelphia, PA • Portsmouth, VA • Seattle, WA
La Crosse, WI • Milwaukee, WI
Excess Moisture and Leaks
Environmental issues like dust mites, mold, and poor ventilation can cause allergic reactions in tenants. They can also trigger asthma and other respiratory illnesses. In Chicago, 16% of families have a child with asthma. In 2022, Chicago residents visited the emergency room as a result of asthma more than 12,000 times – with 92% of these visits made by Black and Brown Chicagoans.
Poor Maintenance
Poor maintenance of rental units leads to fire hazards, pest infestations, and chronic health problems. Between 2014 and 2019, 140 fires killed 62 Chicagoans. Nearly half of those fires involved buildings without a working smoke detector. An investigation found more than two dozen cases in which safety conditions played a role in the fires. Records showed the buildings had not been inspected for 5 or more years.
Lead Paint and Other Contaminants
Over 77% of Chicago’s housing stock was built before the federal ban on lead-based paint in 1978. Most units in these buildings likely contain lead based paint. For children under the age of 6, lead poisoning can cause irreversible damage to the brain and nervous system. In In many communities of color, the childhood lead poisoning rates are 2-3 times higher than the citywide rate.​
No amount of lead exposure is considered safe for children under the age of six, but the Bolins’ home contained 58 times the allowable limit.​​​ Read more about the Bolin family's situation.
Actions to take today!
Support the Chicago Healthy Home Ordinance. Sign the petition to show your support and share this petition with neighbors, family and friends.
Organizations: Request a Training • Endorse the Campaign • List of Endorsers
Tenants: Join the Campaign • Share Your Story • Report a Housing Issue
Landlords: Join the Campaign • Share Your Story
Members of the Chicago Healthy Homes Coalition
For years, the Chicago Healthy Homes Coalition has been advocating for the passage of the Chicago Healthy Homes Ordinance (CHHO), a proactive rental inspection program that moves away from the current complaint-driven inspections toward a more targeted proactive program that works to ensure health and safety standards. The Chicago Healthy Homes Coalition is a group of community organizations, health workers, and housing advocates who believe that housing is a key social determinant of health. Chicago’s legacy of residential segregation, poor rental housing conditions, and high rental costs have a disparate impact on the health, stability, safety, and success of Black and Latine and low-income households. The Coalition seeks to transform the City’s current complaint-based rental housing inspection system – which puts renters at risk and focuses on landlord compliance – into one that is transparent, proactive, and centered on renter health and well-being.
Liptrot, Michaelity. Council Passes ‘Healthy Homes’ Ordinance, Taking First Step Toward Proactive Rental Inspections. Block Club Chicago, March 19, 2026.