Author: Kay Cleaves

Housing affordability surveys are largely based on the assumption that no person in the US should spend more than 30% of their income on rent. Every year a lot of doom and gloom reports come out saying that housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable as more and more renters pay up to 50% of their income to their landlord. I'm not here to debate whether or not the rising rent rates are a good thing or bad thing. At this point they are unavoidable. There will probably come a time when you as a renter will have to decide whether you're willing to exceed that 30% limit. When that time comes, here are a few things to consider.

The 30% benchmark is an 80 year old arbitrary figure.

30% was a number set by the architects of the New Deal after the Great Depression of the 1930s. It was used to determine how much government support would be given to people who needed help with housing. Since then experts and government agencies have latched onto it as a set-in-stone number not to be exceeded for any reason.

30% is a suggestion. You need to do your own math.

It's your own responsibility to figure out how much you can really afford to pay in rent. For some of you it might be more than others. You need to look at your own current situation and decide what's best. A lot of financial planning sites will tell you to split your costs between the things you need and the things you want. I would say there's actually needs, wants and shoulds.

When you're making enough money to be comfortable, the shoulds become needs. When you're not earning enough to make ends meet the shoulds become wants. Continue reading Can we throw out the 30% rule of affordable housing already?

Many renters panic when they find out their building is for sale. Even worse, many others only learn about the sale after it's already done! Now that the housing market is starting to recover from the crash of 2008, there will be a lot more apartment buildings up for sale. It's important for Chicago renters to know what to expect.

Note: today I'll be talking only about when one private landlord sells the building to another private landlord. I won't be dealing with what happens when a bank takes over a foreclosed building just yet, that's a very different matter in Chicago and will take a separate article of its own. I also won't be dealing with what happens when your landlord passes away, but I have addressed this matter in the past.

Your lease is not over.

Your lease is for a unit in the building regardless of who owns it. Continue to pay rent to the old owner as you've always done until you are notified in writing of the new owner's address. Then pay to the new address. Continue reading So Your Building Was Sold to a New Owner! Now What?!

A sunny summer evening in Chicago is usually full of the smoke from barbecue grills. There is no end to the city's love of open-air cooking. When it comes to grilling in apartment buildings though, you might have to make your burger with a side of yellow mustard... and red tape. Continue reading Is Your Grill Legal?

Renters in bad apartments – or any rented housing for that matter – always have the option to break their lease and move out. However, if you have a fixed term lease (e.g., not month-to-month) you're usually required to either find a subletter or pay a reletting fee to your landlord. If you just up and leave in the middle of the night without notice or finding a replacement, your landlord can come after you for unpaid rent and lease break fees.

However, in Chicago there are six situations where you can actually break a lease without worrying about being penalized or fined by your landlord. They are very specific and require you to follow precise methods in order to legally take advantage of them. In this article we will cover each situation.

Note that this article deals only with Chicago, and should not be interpreted as legal advice in Chicago or anywhere else.

1. You've got proof that you have been assaulted, stalked or threatened in your apartment.

If you live in private rental housing or have a Section 8 voucher, you are covered by the Illinois Safe Homes Act. Residents in public housing projects are not covered.

Victims of domestic violence including dating violence, child abuse, elder abuse, and stalking are allowed to break their lease with 3 days notice before or after they move out. Some restrictions apply...