Village Rental Registrations in Illinois

DO YOU KNOW YOUR REQUIREMENTS AS A LANDLORD?

Villages in Illinois are on their own in establishing rental registrations requirements that landlords and tenants must abide by in order to meet Village requirements. While the Villages must be “HOME RULE” communities, once home rule, there can be some interesting regulations in place that landlords will need to abide by without violating the Village regulations.

WHY ARE RENTAL REQUIREMENTS IN PLACE?

While most Villages don’t have any requirements in place for landlords, the idea for those that do require rental requirements is for landlords to make their properties as safe and habitable for tenants as possible.  At the same time, Villages may want confirmation that you performed necessary due diligence in confirmation that your tenant does not have previous felony activity (which is being challenged for discriminatory reasons).

HOW DOES A LANDLORD LEARN IF THEIR VILLAGE HAS RENTAL REQUIREMENTS?

While the Illinois Realtors had a great resource page, at one time, they have since destroyed the webpage that broke down each individual qualifying Village.  So, your best bet to learn more about rental requirements is to call the Village that harbors your rental property and simply ask.

For now, check out this handy brochure that the Illinois Realtors assembled on becoming a landlord and property management.

Illinois Realtors also put together a general overview for landlords to review.

WHY DOES PROPERTY MANAGEMENT MAKE SENSE WHEN A VILLAGE HAS RENTAL REQUIREMENTS IN PLACE?

Most Villages, that have rental requirements, have inspections.  When this is the case, it is a fantastic opportunity to utilize the services of a property management company to better leverage your time and investment. Your property management team can attend the Village Inspection, on your behalf, and inform you or any safety or habitability concerns the Village may have.

Furthermore, some Villages wish to see criminal background checks and may have a Village Addendum involved to abate criminal activity.

Again, finding this information is as simple as a phone call to the Village Property Standards department to make sure you comply accordingly.

SHOULD A LANDLORD INVEST IN A COMMUNITY THAT HAS RENTAL REQUIREMENTS IN PLACE?

Well, it all comes down to the financials…right?  If you can yield as much, or more, in profit in that Village as you can can in neighboring communities…then, it makes sense.  However, you have to weigh your time, availability, and opportunity to meet the Village requirements to make it happen.

We have found that Villages that have rental requirements for properties tend to flush out bad tenants, but, hold landlords accountable for safety and habitability issues. So, if you plan on being a slumlord, a Village operating under rental requirements won’t make sense for you!

HOW CAN I LEARN MORE AS A LANDLORD?

Well, feel free to contact us through this website or leave us a detailed comment with your thoughts on this subject. This is an evolving topic, so, we are always interested in learning more about what you have learned!