Bidding for rentals in Chicago

Attn landlords! Do not rent to Arnseny Semina. First off her name sounds like an Italian bread recipe. Second she's going to run to the press if her sink faucet has a leak. You honestly want to end up on 60 Minutes?

She should love some place other than Chicago and get a new job.

Bidding for rentals

By Carrie Shepherd, Justin Kaufmann and Monica Eng, Axios News

April 15, 2026

Chicago renters are facing bidding wars — competing for apartments the way homebuyers do.

Why it matters: Renters here are paying roughly $100 more per month than a year ago, pushing many out of neighborhoods they could once afford.

Case in point: Arseny Semina and her roommate have been looking for a two-bedroom in Northwest Side neighborhoods, including Humboldt Park, Avondale, Logan Square, Albany Park and Irving Park, on a budget of about $2,100.

Showings in Avondale and Logan regularly have lines of 20 or more potential renters, Semina tells Axios, and one apartment application asked applicants how much they were willing to spend: "Rent Offer - i.e., $1,995 or higher," the form listed.

State of play: Bidding wars are not illegal in Illinois and Semina understands that it's driven by demand — inventory is low.

Illinois faces a housing shortage of about 140,000 housing units, Gov. JB Pritzker's office reports.

What we're watching: Pritzker has said that building restrictions in the state are too burdensome, and many of those three- and four-flat buildings that once included affordable rentals have been torn down to make way for single-family homes.

The governor has proposed incentives for developers to build more multi-unit residential neighborhoods.

In the meantime, Semina still hasn't signed a lease for a new apartment and feels backed into a corner, she says.

"I would prefer it if the places just listed the place for the most they thought they could get for it. And at least then I would be like, 'Okay, well I'll just not look at that place.'"