Housing

If you’re reaching out about a request regarding housing issues like a tenant-landlord dispute, emergency housing request, or affordable housing, your request will likely be referred to a social services agency, legal resource, or community organization. If you’re seeking subsidized housing, you may want to be connected to the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA). We can help make the connection to an organization that best fits your request. Click on the type of request that most matches your request:

 

Tenant Issues

Tenants in Chicago have a number of protections that are outlined in the Chicago Landlord Tenant Rights Ordinance. If your unit is not being property maintained, you lack heat or water, there are frequent bug infestations, you may have protections.

Steps

  1. Reach out to our office at info@aldermanmartin.com and include any documentation of your issue. We’ll do our best to connect with an organization that can help. Be prepared to let us or an organization know what your ideal outcome is. For example if you believe the rental unit is uninhabitable, we may ask if you want to leave the apartment or would you like it repaired.

Additional resources

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Emergency Housing

If you or someone you know is seeking emergency housing, you can call our office at 773-868-4747, and we can talk through options. If you’re concerned about an individual who you believe is homeless, feel free to contact our office at info@aldermanmartin.com. Please note that we do not call the police on homeless individuals unless absolutely necessary. Instead, we’ve found more success with connecting individuals with services and community organizations. Please know that this approach may take more time while agencies build a relationship with the individual, but the long-term results tend to be much more positive.

Steps

  1. [IF SEEKING EMERGENCY HOUSING] Call 311 to request emergency shelter. During this call, you may be asked to provide information about your current location and demographic information. If you are experiencing domestic violence, you can also call the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-877.863.6338 (Voice) 1-877.863.6339 (TTY). They will be able to provide information about availability at shelters best-equipped to support domestic violence survivors and victims.

  2. [IF CONCERNED ABOUT INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS] Email us at info@aldermanmartin.com. We will request the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) dispatch an outreach worker. It is helpful if you can provide information about where and when outreach workers are most likely to find the individual.

Additional resources

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Affordable Housing and Permanent Supportive Housing

If you or someone you know is homeless and looking for permanent housing, you may be able to receive permanent housing through the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA), a sister agency of the City of Chicago that offers affordable and supportive housing. CHA Project Based Voucher (PBV) housing is reserved for those with the most need economically, so you may be eligible if you are registered as homeless with the City of Chicago and your income does not exceed 30% of the local median income (around $9,000 for an individual) or the poverty level, whichever is lower. You can check your income eligibility here. Due to the high demand for affordable housing, the timeline for securing housing through the CHA PBV system is long, ranging from 6 months to 2 years or longer depending on your individual circumstances and housing availability. 

Steps

  1. Register as homeless at the Department of Human Services Office (10 S. Kedzie Ave).

  2. Fill out an application for Project Based Voucher (PBV). It is important that you or the person you are helping has registered as homeless before filling out the project based voucher application, or the application will be denied. 

  3. If you are looking for disability-conscious housing, you will likely have to obtain a certificate from your doctor confirming your disability in order to receive disability-conscious housing through CHA. If you are uninsured, you can visit one of the Community Health Centers (CHC) in or near the 47th ward below. CHCs provide healthcare regardless of ability to pay and service homeless individuals. 

    • Howard Brown Sheridan: 4025 N Sheridan Rd — 773.388.1600.

    • Sunnyside Health Center: 4501 N Sheridan Rd — 773.878.6767

    • Heartland Health Center Wilson: 845 W Wilson Ave — 773.506.4283

    • Heartland Health Center-Lincoln Square: 2645 W Lawrence Ave — 773-275-1680

Additional resources

  • Privately managed affordable housing units. This list does not include vacancy information, but does have information for the housing provider.

  • Common Pantry: 3744 N Damen Ave — 773.327.0553

  • The Friendship Center: 2711 W Lawrence Ave — 773.907.6388

  • Lakeview Pantry: 3945 N Sheridan Rd — 773.525.1777

  • Ravenswood Community Services: 4550 N Hermitage Ave — 773.769.0282

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Have a suggestion about how to improve services?

We always welcome suggestions on how to improve city services, so we can pass the feedback along to the Department and the Mayor’s office. Please send feedback and suggestions to info@aldermanmartin.com. It’s important to know that our city budget plays a significant role in determining the quality and timeliness of service that departments can provide. You can sign up for updates about the budget process and our town halls here.

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