Rentervention
A free, confidential help pathway for Chicago renters that uses an online assistant (“Renny”) to explain rights, draft landlord letters, connect to brief legal advice, and route tenants to appropriate community resources.
Project Description
Rentervention is a housing-help program from the Law Center for Better Housing (LCBH) designed for Chicago tenants. Through a web-based assistant called Renny, renters can describe common problems—eviction threats, utility shutoffs, security-deposit disputes, habitability/repair issues, or other RLTO-covered situations—and receive plain-language guidance tailored to Chicago law and procedures. Where written notice is required before taking action, the system can generate a customizable letter to the landlord; in eligible cases, it can send the letter by certified mail on the tenant’s behalf and address potential retaliation.
Beyond self-help materials, Rentervention offers limited-scope connections to people: eligible users may be scheduled with a volunteer attorney for brief advice on eviction process and renter protections. When a matter falls outside the program’s scope, the assistant provides referrals to appropriate city services (e.g., 311), social-service partners, or other legal providers. Tenants can use the tool without creating an account, and interactions are positioned as confidential.
Rentervention is operated by LCBH with support from the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois and partner advocates. The service aims to make early, accurate action easier for renters by combining rights education, document generation, and referral pathways in a single entry point—reducing friction for tenants while helping volunteer and staff attorneys focus on higher-need cases.