What is Happening with the 2025 Chicago Rent Strikes? 

As rent prices climb across Chicago, a wave of tenant-led rent strikes has started, dubbed the 2025 Chicago Rent Strike, reflecting growing resistance to displacement, aggressive redevelopment, and corporate landlords. Organized across neighborhoods like Logan Square, Uptown, and Rogers Park, tenant unions have mobilized to protest rent spikes, lease non-renewals, and what they say is ‘targeted retaliation’ against lower-income renters.

These coordinated rent strikes, spearheaded by the All-Chicago Tenant Alliance (ACTA) and neighborhood unions like the Belden Sawyer Tenant Association (BSTA), mark one of the most significant tenant movements Chicago has seen in years. With landlord-tenant disputes mounting, legal protections evolving, and growing community pressure, the 2025 Chicago rent strike is reshaping the conversation about housing justice, tenant power, and what ‘affordable housing’ means.

What Sparked the 2025 Chicago Rent Strikes?

The first 2025 Chicago rent strike began earlier this year when several buildings were purchased by private equity-backed owners and management firms. Current tenants say they were then met with sudden lease terminations, rent increases of several hundred dollars, or building conditions that remained poor despite promises of improvement.

At the core of this year’s rent strikes is a shared frustration with abrupt rent increases and perceived efforts to displace long-standing tenants in favor of higher-income residents. In neighborhoods already facing these gentrification pressures, the strikes have become a tool for tenants to fight back.

Logan Square Rent Strike: A Flashpoint with Belden Sawyer Tenant Association

The first major strike of 2025 began at 2634–2642 N. Sawyer Avenue in Logan Square, where tenants formed the Belden Sawyer Tenant Association (BSTA). The buildings were purchased by Concord Capital Partners, a firm with ties to real estate investor Drew Millard and managed by 33 Realty. Shortly after the acquisition, tenants were notified their leases would not be renewed.

Rather than leave quietly, tenants organized. Backed by ACTA, they launched a rent strike on March 1, 2025. Their demands included:

• Withdrawal of all eviction filings
• One-year lease renewals for all current tenants
• A commitment not to initiate costly renovations that would justify higher rent
• A formal sit-down negotiation with ownership and management

What began with one building quickly expanded, with support from other tenant groups and housing advocates citywide, snowballing into a larger movement.

Uptown Rent Strike: Fuerzas Inquilinos de Broadway y Cuyler Joins the Fight

In April, tenants in Uptown joined the strike under a new union: Fuerzas Inquilinos de Broadway y Cuyler. Their buildings, also owned by Drew Millard and managed by 33 Realty, faced similar conditions, including rent hikes, non-renewals, and alleged retaliation for organizing a union.

Tenants filed a lawsuit against the landlord, accusing him of harassment, discrimination, and illegal evictions. The lawsuit, supported by the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing and community organizations, has drawn attention to what tenant union groups are calling a ‘coordinated push’ to remove lower-income tenants under the guise of investment.

The strike has continued through the summer, drawing more support and attention every day. City of Chicago officials have started to take notice, and press coverage has brought increased scrutiny to both 33 Realty and other large-scale landlords following similar practices.

Rogers Park Rent Strike: Five Buildings, One Tenant Union

Recently, in August, the movement expanded again, this time further north to Rogers Park. Tenants in five buildings managed by Ark Management Solutions formed a new union, Fuerzas Activas de la Damen, after being hit with rent increases of up to $500 per month.

Many of the tenants are working-class families who have lived in the area for decades and are struggling to adjust to this sudden increase. Organizers say the drastic increases were an attempt to displace them without formally evicting anyone.

The union has not yet initiated a full rent strike, but is actively negotiating with Ark Management and has stated that withholding rent remains an option if demands are not met. This growing front in the city’s North Side shows how quickly tenant momentum is spreading, with growing potential for the movement to spread to other affected neighborhoods.

A Movement Gaining Ground

These strikes are not isolated incidents; they’re part of a larger tenant movement in Chicagoland that is continuing to gain traction and draw support, reshaping how tenants in Chicago see their role in local housing policy.

One of the most visible protests took place in August, when Logan Square and Uptown tenants picketed outside 33 Realty’s River North headquarters. The message was clear: tenant unions will not quietly accept displacement disguised as development.

New Protections in Place

The 2025 Illinois Landlord Retaliation Act, which went into effect on January 1st, prevents landlords from taking adverse actions against tenants who have engaged in protected activities, such as reporting code violations, requesting repairs, or joining a tenant union. The law was designed to close loopholes that had previously allowed landlords to claim “business necessity” even when it was clear tenants were being penalized for organizing.

While the law is still being tested in court, many believe it has emboldened tenant unions to take stronger stances and push for accountability, something very rarely seen in the past.

What’s Next for the Chicago Rent Strikes?

As Fall starts to settle in, it remains unclear how many of these strikes will result in actual agreements with owners or policy changes downstate. Regardless of the outcomes of the 2025 rent strikes, we are at a turning point for tenant rights in Chicago.

With more buildings under threat of redevelopment and additional tenant groups organizing across neighborhoods, rent strikes may become a more frequent tool in the months to come, with the potential to see a 2026 Chicago Rent Strike. With legal protections strengthening, landlords may find themselves forced to negotiate with organized tenant bodies in ways they haven’t before.

If you’re a landlord or property owner looking for guidance on how to navigate potential tenant issues, the best way to stop problems before they start is with a trusted Chicago property management company. Our sister company, PRG Management, provides full-service property management services to residential and commercial properties all across Chicagoland. 

If you’re a tenant looking for a new rental and better management, our leasing division and rental real estate experts can help you find the right space. Start searching all rentals in Chicago and reach out to a Chicago leasing expert with any questions.