Chicago, IL Public Health Rules: Bed-Bug Rules (2026)

Chicago's Municipal Code declares bed bugs a public nuisance and puts the extermination duty on the landlord, not the tenant. Once an infestation is found or reasonably suspected in a rental unit, the landlord must hire a licensed Pest Management Professional and keep treating until no evidence of bed bugs remains, and must start service within 10 days of a bed bug being found or of written tenant notice. In multi-unit buildings, treatment must extend to the units on either side and directly above and below the affected unit. Landlords must keep pest-control reports and receipts for three years, open to city health and buildings inspectors. Tenants have their own 5-day notice duty and must cooperate with inspections, and the code separately bars landlords from retaliating (eviction, rent hikes, non-renewal) against a tenant who reports an infestation.