Evanston, IL — landlord and rental rules

The Rent Control Preemption Act bars any Illinois municipality from enacting rent control. No local ordinance can impose a cap while it stands.

Dormant, not dead: repeal bill HB1118 died in committee in January 2025 and was absent from the 2026 session. A long hold should treat preemption as a policy that can be withdrawn, not as a property right.

An eviction in Cook County runs roughly 5 to 7 months, against about 10 weeks in neighbouring DuPage County.

The county line, not the state line, is where this changes. Two otherwise identical buildings a few miles apart carry materially different downside on a non-paying tenant.

Typical duration

5–7 months

Cook County reassesses on a triennial cycle that puts the City of Chicago in 2027, and the assessor treats a recent purchase price as evidence of market value.

From tax year 2026 the assessor applies a 'loaded cap rate' — taxes are added as a load rather than deducted as an expense — which raises assessed value on income-approach properties. Underwrite the post-2027 bill, not the seller's current one.

Next chicago reassessment

2027

Evanston is a separate jurisdiction with its own landlord-tenant ordinance and a rule limiting occupancy to three unrelated persons per dwelling unit.

A four-bedroom near Northwestern cannot lawfully be let to four unrelated students, so a by-the-room pro forma for this market is not merely optimistic — it is unenforceable.

Max unrelated occupants

3

Composite tax rate

7.10%