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An Ordinance Amending Chapter 12 (“Housing”), Article 2 (“Residential Rental License”) And Article 6 (“Residential Tenant And Landlord Ordinance”), Section 4 (“Rental Agreements”) And Section 11 (“Security Deposits”) And Amending Chapter 13 (“Human Rights”), Article 5 (“Unlawful Management Practices”), Section 1 (“Unlawful Management Practices; Regulations”) as reviewed by the Village Board at its June 17, 2025 study session.
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Introduction
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To further implement recommendations from the 2024 HOPE Fair Housing Study, staff developed the attached ordinance that amends the Village’s existing requirements for rental licensing by requiring a local property manager or agent, changing the manner in which the annual property owner management seminars are conducted, adding a section for the suspension and revocation of a rental license, and adding a section for the responsibilities of the property owners.
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Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the Board adopt the ordinance.
Prior Board Action
The Board has taken the following prior action(s):
• ID 25-392: A Study Session On An Ordinance Amending Chapter 12 ("Housing"), Article 2 ("Residential Rental License") And Amending Chapter 12 ("Housing"), Article 6 ("Residential Tenant And Landlord Ordinance"), Section 4 ("Rental Agreements") And Amending Chapter 12 ("Housing"), Article 6 ("Residential Tenant And Landlord Ordinance"), Section 11 ("Security Deposits") And Amending Chapter 13 ("Human Rights"), Article 5 ("Unlawful Management Practices"), Section 1 ("Unlawful Management Practices; Regulations")
• RES 25-125: A Resolution to Approve an Agreement with Hope Fair Housing for Fair Housing Testing and Education
• ID 24-447: A Presentation and Discussion of the Village’s Fair Housing Testing Project
• ORD 22-45: An Ordinance Amending Chapter 12 (“Housing”), Article 2 (“Residential Rental License”), Section 12-2-12 (“Crime Free Housing”) and Chapter 16 (“Nuisances”) Article 3 (“Criminal Nuisance Abatement”), Section 16-3-6 (“Abatement - Administrative Hearing; Relief; Fines”) and Section 16-3-7 (“Alternative Enforcement”) of the Oak Park Village Code on June 6, 2022, the Village Board amended the regulation to the residential rental licenses by repealing the Crime-Free Housing Program section.
• ORD 16-095: An Ordinance Amending Chapter 12 (“Housing”), Article 2 (“Residential Rental License”), Section 12-2-1 (“License Required”) And Chapter 13 (“Human Rights”) Of The Oak Park Village Code
• ORD 16-088: Second Reading and Adoption of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 12 (“Housing”) and Chapter 13 (“Human Rights”) of the Oak Park Village Code for the Purpose of Implementing Performance Based Multi-Family Rental Licensing and Inspections
Background
On October 1, 2024, the Village Board heard about work completed by HOPE Fair Housing on a fair housing testing project. HOPE made four recommendations, including one that housing providers needed more training regarding source of income protections, housing choice voucher policies, and the Just Housing Amendment. Staff are pursuing additional education for housing providers through the Hope Fair Housing Testing and Education contract, which was approved at the February 4, 2025, meeting.
Beyond that education, staff also identified needed changes in the Section 12-2 Residential Rental License of the Village Code based on the recommendations made by HOPE. The proposed ordinance clarifies the requirement for fair housing education by housing providers.
- Changes the requirements for who must attend the annual property owner management seminars (property owners, property managers, and agents).
- Requires housing providers to provide fair housing training to all other staff.
- Formalizes the process for suspending and revoking a rental license.
It also amends the current ordinance to clarify content and add important elements.
- Requires the use of a local property manager or agent when an owner is located 45 miles or more from Oak Park.
- Formalizes the responsibilities of the rental property owners.
- Adds definitions and content to clarify the types of licenses.
- Adds definitions and content to clarify the roles of property owners, property managers, and agents.
On June 17, 2025, the Village Board participated in a study session about the proposed ordinance and made recommendations to clarify issues regarding a security deposit and move-in fee along with clarity to when foreclosure information assistance would be provided. These suggestions were incorporated in the proposed ordinance being presented.
Timing Considerations
Staff are amid our 2025 licensing cycle for housing providers. To ensure a smooth transition from the current system (renewals at the start of each year) to the new system (renewals throughout the year), staff are proposing for the ordinance to be effective January 1, aligning the start of the new year and the new licensing cycle.
Budget Impact
The primary impact of this ordinance is the approach to surveying tenants outlined in 12-2-3. Based on the Board’s feedback in June, staff contacted local universities to understand the tradeoffs between frequency, approach, content, and method.
The primary cost of surveying is distribution to ensure an adequate response rate. The proposed ordinance requires housing providers to help the Village distribute the survey. Staff would also help distribute the survey. That said, due to the level of engagement needed, the Village will need to invest in other distribution methods such as involving tenant and community groups or providing monetary incentives to participate.
Both survey length and survey frequency impact response rate. Survey too frequently and people will not respond. Make the survey too long and people will not respond. Survey too infrequently and people are unfamiliar with the survey and do not respond due to lack of trust. If the survey is too short, the survey looks suspicious.
Balancing these tradeoffs, experts estimated that the first year of undertaking such a survey would cost between $45,000 and $60,000 depending on the exact scope and geography covered. The cost of the survey could decrease in future years as the approach is finalized and most of the costs provided to community partners to help distribute the survey. The Village could gain more value for this cost by including other topics in the survey that would benefit our work in health, engagement, fair housing, and many other topics. We could also align the timing of the surveys to align with the decennial census, activating the engagement paths used during the renter survey to increase the local response rate to the US Census.
Given this, staff felt that the best balance was achieved by surveying each even year. If the proposed ordinance is approved, staff would include the cost for this survey in the proposed 2026 budget.
Staffing Impact
The primary staffing impact from the proposed ordinance is to ECHO staff. The Village generates about 250 5- and 10-day eviction notices each year. ECHO staff responding to these notices would take significant time for the team and could impact future responsiveness to other issues. Additionally, if the Board decided to move forward with the survey concept as proposed but asked that staff facilitate the survey (vs. hiring a consultant), the staffing burden could impact the Neighborhood Programs team’s ability to process housing support applications and rental licenses
DEI Impact
The recommended changes to the rental licensing ordinance come from recommendations made during the last round of fair housing testing. Moving forward with these changes will further the Village’s goal of ensuring equitable treatment for tenants by increasing fair housing training for housing providers. The changes also allow for additional enforcement by the Village regarding housing providers that are not meeting ordinance requirements. This change will benefit local renters whose housing is provided by rental property owners who are not meeting ordinance requirements.
Community Input
On November 12, 2024, staff met with a group of local multi-family rental property owners to discuss and solicit feedback on the amended ordinance and the impact it would have on them. As a result of this meeting, several changes were made to the draft ordinance to lessen the burden on rental property owners. In early May 2025, staff provided a draft of the ordinance to several multi-family rental property owners for feedback on the ordinance. This feedback resulted in the further refinement of the ordinance.
On January 15, 2025, the draft ordinance was presented to the Housing Programs Advisory Committee, which was supportive of the changes being made to the rental licensing program and the annual property owner management seminar.
On June 18, 2025, the Housing Programs Advisory Committee discussed the Study Session presentation to the Board on the draft ordinance. They were supportive of the changes recommended by the Board.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends the Board of Trustees approve the ordinance, which includes feedback from the Board at the June 17, 2025 Study Session. The ordinance addresses issues identified in the HOPE report, as well as other technical and operational clean-up items.
Advantages:
• Requires the use of a local property manager or agent when an owner is located 45 miles or more from Oak Park.
• Changes the requirements for who must attend the annual property owner management seminars (property owners, property managers, and agents).
• Requires housing providers to provide fair housing training to all other staff.
• Formalizes the process for suspending and revoking a rental license.
• Formalizes the responsibilities of the rental property owners.
• Adds definitions and content to clarify the types of licenses.
• Adds definitions and content to clarify the roles of property owners, property managers, and agents.
Disadvantages:
• This action potentially burdens housing providers by increasing the number of employees who receive fair housing training.
Alternatives
The Board can choose not to adopt the proposed ordinance.
Advantages:
• The burdens and benefits of the existing ordinance would remain in place, providing consistency to housing providers.
Disadvantages:
• Changes will not be made to the existing rental residential licensing code, thereby leaving elements of the HOPE report unaddressed.
• Changes will not be made to address existing opportunities to clarify the ordinance.
Anticipated Future Actions
Staff will implement the ordinance changes, as well as education and outreach.
Prepared By: Jeffrey J. Prior, Neighborhood Services Programs Manager
Reviewed By: Jonathan Burch, Assistant Village Manager/Neighborhood Services Director
Approved By: Kevin J. Jackson, Village Manager
Attachment(s):
1. Draft Ordinance