New delay, rewrite for renters’ right of first refusal in gentrification zones

The aldermanic sponsors of a new anti-gentrification ordinance are calling for a delay until March for their plan to give renters in fast-gentrifying neighborhoods the right to buy their building instead of letting it get sold to outside investors.

The delay, which Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th, will introduce at a City Council meeting today, comes along with a proposal to insert language into the ordinance with the aim of “continuing to promote homeownership for tenants while at the same time being fair to sellers,” he told Crain’s. 

One of the key provisions in an ordinance the Chicago City Council passed in September gives renters in several fast-changing neighborhoods the right of first refusal when their landlord goes to sell the building they live in. Designed to keep affordable housing from being replaced with new, more expensive homes, the ordinance requires the owner to give renters time to make a bid that’s competitive with an outsider’s bid.

The Northwest Side Housing Preservation Ordinance covers parts of Humboldt Park, West Town, Logan Square, Avondale and, although it’s not on the Northwest Side, Pilsen, all areas where gentrification pressure threatens to displace long-time renters. The ordinance creates a pathway for them or community housing trusts to buy and retain affordable housing. 

While other sections of the ordinance, including higher demolition fees for multi-unit buildings, went into effect as scheduled on Oct. 9, the Department of Housing delayed enforcement of the right of first refusal, also known as the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase, or TOP, until Nov. 29. Today’s proposal pushes it back another three months.

The sponsors propose three primary changes to the ordinance’s TOP section, all of which Ramirez-Rosa and Erika Villegas, president of the Chicago Association of Realtors, said were developed with input from the real estate industry.