When I lived in Chicago, there was a standard residential apartment lease that to my understanding was written by the city. If you were leasing residential property in the city, you had to use that lease, and you could not change it.

I won't swear that this is correct, or that it still works that way, but that was my impression.

I'm also sure that a lot of people still rented apartments on handshake, unwritten, or under-the-table deals for a variety of reasons.