Three Little Words

Recent events highlighted the existence of “Vacation Rentals” in Chicago.
These are largely unregulated under city ordinance because of a poor choice of wording in the code.

In order to get some control over these, the aldermen of the 42nd and 14th wards have drafted an amendment concerning vacation rentals.

You can read the whole amendment here:

http://www.ward42chicago.com/documents/VacationRentalsOrd._000.pdf

All due respect to Aldermen Reilly and Burke, but their proposed amendment takes 9 pages of legaleze to close a loophole that only requires 3 little words.

The City code, with respect to hotels, is quite specific about the difference between permanent and transient occupancy (31days) and requires that anyone making sleeping rooms available for rent or for hire for transient occupancy by guests, obtain a license to do so.

However it also says,
"The term “guests” does not include members of the owner's family within the meaning of the Chicago Zoning Ordinance; nor does it include persons who have signed a lease to use and occupy residential property."

Because they did not define "lease" they created a loophole.

As written, you could rent your spare rooms to hookers by the half hour as long as they sign a lease.

I sincerely doubt that this was the intention of the lease exception.

Simply changing the sentence to "persons who have signed a lease for permanent occupancy of a residential property." would eliminate the loophole.

These three little words would require every vacation rental to get a license, get insurance, hang fire extinguishers near each sleeping room, and provide clean linens.

Paul K. Dickman