Renters in about 120 southeast Evanston apartments will pay less each month after the Quadrel Evanston Tenants Union secured a lease deal with landlord Quadrel Realty Group.

The agreement, signed April 18, covers five buildings on Judson Avenue, Michigan Avenue, and Hinman Avenue that Quadrel purchased from Wirtz Corporation in 2022. Long-term tenants who lived in their units before the sale will receive a 5% rent decrease on their next renewal. Utility costs will be capped and frozen, and tenants can lock in a two-year lease at no extra charge.

The deal also addresses fees the union says exceeded actual operating costs by roughly $90 per unit per month. Those fees will be permanently reduced, and tenants who have lived in their buildings continuously since Jan. 1, 2025, will receive full refunds for what they overpaid.

Jonah Karsh, an organizer with the Metropolitan Tenants Organization who helped negotiate the agreement, estimated the total cost to Quadrel at "probably hundreds of thousands of dollars, between the fee refunds, the rent decreases, the utility cost freezes and the two-year leases."

Ebony Joy, a tenant at 931 Michigan Avenue who moved in four months before Quadrel's 2022 purchase, said the company began raising rents and pushing people out almost immediately. She said the new terms will save tenants like her thousands of dollars a year.

The union formed in March 2025 after residents at 929–935 Michigan Avenue received renewal notices with sharp rent hikes. Organizers used Evanston's Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance as leverage in negotiations. In April 2026, City Council added stricter fines for landlords who violate that ordinance.

Ald. Shawn Iles, whose 3rd Ward includes all but one Quadrel property in Evanston, said adding fines for RLTO violations was "a necessary step to strengthen that ordinance."

The union delayed announcing the deal until June to verify that all tenant renewals matched the agreed terms. Members celebrated at a barbecue June 27.

One Quadrel property remains outside the agreement: 2730 Hampton Parkway on the northeast side, co-owned with North Park Ventures. Quadrel Realty Group did not respond to requests for comment from the Pioneer Press.

Tenants at Hampton Parkway are now pushing for similar refunds and repairs.