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Notes from DePaul:

  • Education about BCH and what it would do is permissible
  • Urging votes on the referendum one way or the other is not permissible per 501(c)(3) guidelines on lobbying.
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Wondering About the Chicago
Real Estate Transfer Tax Referendum?

About Bring Chicago Home

Learn More & Get Involved

In March 2024, a ballot referendum to address homelessness in Chicago will be put forth to voters. Here's what you need to know.

Bring Chicago Home is a nonpartisan, grassroots movement that proposes an ordinance to create a dedicated annual city budget line for affordable housing and support services for unhoused Chicagoans. The ordinance proposes to change the existing Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT), a one-time tax paid by Chicago property buyers.

Under the proposed ordinance, the RETT on the property sale value below $1 million will decrease, and the RETT on the sale value of $1 million and above will increase. The Bring Chicago Home ordinance will generate an estimated $100 million in revenue annually for solutions to homelessness.

Current RETT

  • Paid by the property buyer as part of closing costs
  • Regressive flat tax; the tax rate is the same regardless of the property sale price
  • 0.75% of property sale price

Proposed RETT

  • Paid by the property buyer as part of closing costs
  • Progressive tax; the tax rate is lower on less expensive properties and higher on more expensive properties
  • Marginal tax increase; the tax rate will only increase on the amount of sale price greater than $999,999
  • The tax uniquely affects three sales price tiers:
  • Properties sold at $999,999 or less will pay a decreased RETT of 0.6%
  • Properties sold between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000 will pay an RETT of 0.6% on the first $999,999 of the sale price and 2.0% on the remaining amount
  • Properties sold above $1,500,000 will pay an RETT of 0.6% on the first $999,999 of the sale price, 2.0% on the next $500,000, and 3.0% on the remaining amount
Read the Resolution

See how the proposed Real Estate Transfer Tax will affect your future property purchase in Chicago

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Frequently Asked Questions

Launched in 2018, Bring Chicago Home is a coalition of dedicated individuals who have experienced homelessness firsthand, along with community-based organizations and policy experts. Together, they are working tirelessly to tackle the deeply ingrained issue of homelessness in Chicago. Their goal is to get to the root causes of homelessness by increasing city resources towards permanent affordable housing and supportive services for those in need.

Thanks to their unwavering determination and partnership with the City of Chicago, Bring Chicago Home has introduced a plan to restructure the Real Estate Transfer Tax, ensuring tax dollars are wisely and effectively allocated towards addressing homelessness in Chicago. This coalition continues to fight for progress, with the Bring Chicago Home resolution being passed by the Chicago City Council to be put forth to voters as a referendum on the March 2024 ballot. 

Through the proposed RETT restructuring, about 95% of property sales will see a decrease in their RETT compared to the current rate.

The vast majority of current homeowners can rest assured that the new RETT will not negatively impact the sale value of their property. Rather, the reduced RETT on properties less than $1 million will make it easier for the typical buyer to access the real estate market.

Landlords may threaten that Bring Chicago Home will force them to raise rents, but we know from history that landlords will raise the rent no matter what. Bring Chicago Home leader Anthony Perkins clearly described the issues in a Crains Chicago Business opinion piece.

Read the Article

The Bring Chicago Home coalition will keep a close eye on the administration of the funding for homelessness services. In fact, a 15-person Advisory Board comprising people with lived experience of homelessness, direct service providers, and advocacy organizations will be involved in deciding how the funds will be allocated toward solutions to homelessness.

The status quo system involves piecing together various and inconsistent sources of local and federal funding for homeless services in the annual city budget. Oftentimes, the funding is used for services, such as shelters, that do not address the root cause of homelessness.

Bring Chicago Home will ensure there is a substantial annual budget line dedicated to permanent, affordable housing solutions.

The referendum will read as follows

Shall the City of Chicago impose:

  1. a real estate transfer tax decrease of 20% to establish a new transfer tax rate of $3 for every $500 of the transfer price, or fraction thereof, for that part of the transfer price under $1,000,000 to be paid by the buyer of the real estate transferred unless the buyer is exempt from the tax solely by operation of state law, in which case the tax is to be paid by the seller; AND
  2. a real estate transfer tax increase of 166.67% to establish a new transfer tax rate of $10 for every $500 of the transfer price or fraction thereof, for that part of the transfer price between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000 (inclusive) to be paid by the buyer of the real estate transferred unless the buyer is exempt from the tax solely by operation of state law, in which case the tax is to be paid by the seller; AND
  3. a real estate transfer tax increase of 300% to establish a new transfer tax rate of $15 for every $500 of the transfer price, or fraction thereof, for that part of the transfer price exceeding $1,500,000 to be paid by the buyer of the real estate transferred unless the buyer is exempt from the tax solely by operation of state law, in which case the tax is to be paid by the seller?


The current rate of the real estate transfer tax is $3.75 per $500 of the entire transfer price, or fraction thereof, and the revenue is used for general corporate purposes. The revenue from the increase (the difference between revenue generated under the increased rate and the current rate) is to be used for the purpose of addressing homelessness, including providing permanent affordable housing and the services necessary to obtain and maintain permanent housing in the City of Chicago.

□ Yes

□ No

Don't forget to register to vote!

Chicago Board of Elections

Key Dates

@HARCLab

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Contact

DePaul University
Department of Psychology
2219 N. Kenmore Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614
773-325-7148
harclab@depaul.edu

DePaul University

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