youtube.com
Need Legal Help? Legal Information Judicial Information Civics Education

• Site Search
  brightcall.ai
  Your Guide to Landlord-Tenant Law
  
  Landlord-Tenant Law
  
  Eventually during their lives the majority of individuals will be involved with the rental of realty, either as property owner or tenant. Laws that impact proprietors and occupants can vary significantly from city to city. This handout offers general information about being a renter in Illinois. You need to speak with an attorney or your municipality or county as they may provide you with higher protection under the law.
  
  Tenancy Agreement
  
  The relationship between property manager and tenant occurs from an agreement, composed or oral, by which one celebration inhabits the property of another with the owner's permission in return for the payment of particular quantity as lease.
  
  Written Agreement: Most occupancies are in composing and are called a lease. No particular words are required to produce a lease, but normally the regards to a lease include a description of the realty, the length of the agreement, the amount of the rent, and the time of payment. TIP: You must put your arrangement in writing to avoid future misunderstandings.
  
  Provisions in a lease agreement that safeguard a proprietor from liability for damages to individuals or residential or commercial property brought on by the carelessness of the proprietor are deemed protesting public law and are for that reason unenforceable. Certain municipalities and counties have other limitations and prohibition on particular lease terms, so you must seek advice from with a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  Oral Agreement: If an occupancy agreement is not in writing, the term of the contract will, normally, be considered a month-to-month tenancy. The duration is normally determined by the frequency of the rental payments. For example: week to week, month to month, or year to year. Although the terms of an oral lease may be to identify, a celebration may be bound to the regards to an oral contract just as much as a written one.
  
  Termination of the Lease or Tenancy Agreement
  
  If a lease is not for a particular term, it might be ended by either celebration with correct notice.
  
  - For year-to-year tenancies, aside from a lease of farmland, either party may end the lease by offering 60 days of written notification at any time within the 4 months preceding the last 60 days of the lease.
• A week-to-week tenancy might be terminated by either celebration by providing seven days of composed notice to the other celebration.
• Farm leases normally run for one year. Customarily, they start and end in March of each year. Notice to end must be given at least 4 months before completion of the term.
• In all other lease arrangements for a duration of less than one year, a celebration needs to give 30 days of composed notification. Any notification given should require termination on the last day of that rental period.
• The lease may also have actually mentioned requirements and timeframe for termination of the lease.
• In particular municipalities and counties, landlords are needed to give more than the above specified notification duration for termination. You should consult with a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  If the lease does mention a specific expiration or termination date, no termination notification is essential. Be aware that your lease may also require notice of termination in a specific kind or a higher notice period than the minimum needed by law, if any. Landlords must note that no matter what the lease needs or states, you might be needed to offer more than the notice duration stated in the lease for termination and in composing. You ought to talk to a lawyer or your municipality or county.
  
  Termination of a month-to-month occupancy generally only needs 1 month of notice by renter and a property owner is needed to serve a written notice of termination of occupancy on the occupant (see Service as needed section listed below). In specific towns and counties, proprietors are needed to provide more than one month of notification, so you must consult with consult with a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  Renewal of the Lease or Tenancy Agreement, Rental Increases
  
  Generally, a lease might be renewed at any time by oral or written contract of the celebrations. If a lease term ends and the landlord accepts rent following the expiration of the term, the lease term immediately becomes month-to-month based upon the exact same terms set forth in the lease.
  
  The lease might require a particular notification and timeframe for renewing the lease. You must evaluate your lease to confirm such requirements. Landlords and occupants ought to note that no matter what the lease needs or states, proprietors might also have limitations on how early they can require renewal of a lease by a renter and are needed to put such in composing. You need to seek advice from a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  Month-to-month tenancies immediately renew from month to month up until ended by either property owner or tenant.
  
  Unless there is a written lease, a property owner can raise the rent by any quantity by offering the tenant notification: Seven days of notification for a week-to-week occupancy, 30 days of notice for a month-to-month occupancy, and 90 days of notice for mobile home parks. In specific towns and counties, property managers are required to offer more than 7 or 1 month of notice of a rental boost, so you should speak with talk to an attorney or your municipality or county.
  
  Eviction, Termination of Tenants Right to Possession
  
  In Illinois, a property manager does not have a right to self-help and should file an eviction to remove a renter or occupant from the premises.
  
  Five-Day Notice. The most typical breach of a lease is for non-payment of rent. In this case the property owner need to serve a five-day notification upon the overdue renter unless the lease requires more than five days of notification. Five days after such notification is served, the property owner might commence expulsion proceedings versus the tenant. If, however, the occupant pays the total of rent required in the five-day notification within those 5 days, the landlord might not proceed with an eviction. The property manager is not needed, nevertheless, to accept rent that is less than the exact quantity due. If the proprietor accepts a tender of a lower quantity of rent, it might impact the rights to continue under the notification.
  
  10-Day Notice. If a landlord wishes to terminate a lease since of an offense of the lease agreement by the renter, besides for non-payment of rent, he or she must serve 10 days of composed notification upon the occupant before expulsion procedures can start, unless the lease needs more than 10 days of notification. Acceptance of lease after such notice is a waiver by the proprietor of the right to end the lease unless the breach complained of is a continuing breach.
  
  Holdover. If a renter stays beyond the lease expiration date, usually, a property owner may file an eviction without having to very first serve a notice on the renter. However, the terms of the lease or in particular municipalities or counties, a proprietor is needed to provide a notice of non-renewal to the occupant, so you must speak with a lawyer or your municipality or county.
  
  Service on Demand Notice
  
  The five-day, 10-day, or termination of month-to-month tenancy notifications might be served upon tenant by providing a composed or printed copy to the renter, leaving the very same with some person above the age of 13 years who lives at the celebration's house, or sending out a copy of the notification to the party by certified or registered mail with a return invoice from the addressee. If no one remains in the actual possession of the facilities, then posting notice on the facilities is sufficient.
  
  Subletting or Assigning the Lease
  
  Often, written leases forbid the occupant from subletting the facilities without the written consent of the proprietor. Such authorization can not be unreasonably kept, but the prohibition is enforceable under the law. If there is no such prohibition, then a renter may sublease or designate their lease to another. In such cases, however, the renter will remain accountable to the landlord unless the proprietor releases the initial renter. A breach of the sublease will not alter the preliminary relationship in between the proprietor and tenant.
  
  Breach by Landlord, Tenant Remedies
  
  If the property manager has breached the lease by failing to satisfy their responsibilities under the lease, particular remedies occur in favor of the occupant:
  
  - The renter may take legal action against the property owner for damages sustained as an outcome of the breach.
• If a property owner fails to preserve a rented home in a livable condition, the renter may be able to leave the properties and end the lease under the theory of "useful eviction."
• The failure of a proprietor to maintain a rented home in a habitable condition or comply substantially with local housing codes might be a breach of the proprietor's "indicated service warranty of habitability" (independent of any composed lease arrangements or oral promises), which the renter may assert as a defense to an eviction based on the non-payment of lease or a claim for reduction in the rental worth of the facilities. However, breach by landlord does not instantly entitle a renter to keep rent or a reduction in the rental worth. The obligation to pay lease continues as long as the renter remains in the leased facilities and to assert this defense successfully, the occupant will need to show that their damages arising from proprietor's breach of this "implied warranty" equal or surpass the rent claimed due.
  
  A proprietor's breach and renter's damages might be challenging to show. Because of the restricted and technical nature of these rules, occupants ought to be extremely careful in keeping lease and ought to probably do so only after seeking advice from a lawyer.
  
  Please note that particular towns or counties attend to specific commitments and requirements that the proprietor must perform. If a property owner fails to adhere to such responsibilities or requirements, the renter might have extra treatments for such failure. You must consult with a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  Breach by the Tenant, Landlord Remedies
  
  In addition to termination for certain breaches by tenant, a property owner likewise has the following solutions:
  
  If rent is not paid, the proprietor might: (1) sue for the rent due or to end up being due in the future and (2) end the lease and gather any past rent due. Under certain scenarios in case of non-payment of rent the landlord may hold the furniture and individual residential or commercial property of the tenant until previous rent is paid by the occupant.
  
  If a tenant fails to leave the leased property at the end of the lease term, the tenant might end up being responsible for double rent for the duration of holdover if the holdover is deemed to be willful. The tenant can also be kicked out.
  
  If the occupant damages the premises, the property owner might sue for the repair work of such damages.
  
  Please note that particular municipalities or counties attend to certain responsibilities and requirements that the tenant should fulfill. If an occupant fails to abide by such commitments or requirements, the landlord might have extra treatments for such failure. You need to consult with an attorney or your town or county.
  
  Discrimination
  
  Under the federal Fair Housing Act and Illinois law, it is unlawful for a property owner to discriminate in the leasing of a residence house, flat, or apartment against potential tenants who have children under the age of 14. It is likewise illegal for a landlord to discriminate against a renter on the basis of race, religious beliefs, sex, nationwide origin, income source, sexual origination, gender identity, or impairment.
  
  Security Deposits, Move-in Fee
  
  Security Deposit. An occupant can be needed to deposit with the property owner a sum of money prior to occupying the residential or commercial property. This is usually described as a down payment. This cash is considered to be security for any damage to the premises or non-payment of lease. The down payment does not ease the tenant of the task to pay the last month's rent or for damage triggered to the facilities. It must be gone back to the renter upon abandoning the premises if no damage has actually been done beyond normal wear and tear and the lease is fully paid.
  
  If a landlord stops working to return the down payment promptly, the occupant can take legal action against to recover the part of the security deposit to which the occupant is entitled. In some towns or counties and particular circumstances under state law, when a property manager wrongfully keeps a renter's down payment the renter might have the ability to recuperate extra damages and attorneys' costs. You must speak with a lawyer.
  
  Generally, a landlord who gets a down payment may not withhold any part of that deposit as settlement for residential or commercial property damage unless he furnishes to the tenant, within 1 month of the date the renter abandons, a declaration of damage allegedly brought on by the tenant and the estimated or actual expense of repairing or replacing each item on that declaration. If no such statement is furnished within 1 month, the property owner should return the down payment in full within 45 days of the date the occupant vacated.
  
  If a structure includes 25 or more property systems, the proprietor should also pay interest on the deposit from the date it was paid, if held more than 67 months. Interest is calculated at the rate paid by the biggest bank in Illinois, as determined by total possessions, on a passbook security account.
  
  The above declarations regarding down payment are based upon state law. However, some towns or counties may enforce additional responsibilities. For example, Cook County, Evanston, Chicago, and Oak Park all have additional requirements that a landlord need to abide by when taking security deposits and supply steep penalties when a proprietor fails to comply.
  
  Move-in Fee. In addition to or as an option to a security deposit, a property owner may charge a move-in fee. Generally, there are no particular limitations on the amount of a move-in charge, nevertheless, particular municipalities or counties do supply limitations. TIP: A move-in cost ought to be nonrefundable, otherwise it might be deemed to be a down payment.
  
  Landlord and occupant matters can become complex. Both property owner and occupant ought to consult a lawyer for help with specific issues. For more info about your rights and obligations as an occupant, including specific landlord-tenant laws in your town or county, contact your local bar association, or visit the Illinois Tenants Union at www.tenant.org.
  
  Additional Resources
  
  - Illinois Lawyer Finder: isba.org/public/illinoislawyerfinder
• Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO): illinoislegalaid.org
• Illinois Standardized Court Forms: illinoiscourts.gov/ approved-forms.
• Illinois Court Help: ilcourthelp.gov.
• Illinois Free Legal Answers: il.freelegalanswers.org
  
  Prepared by the Illinois State Bar Association's Real Estate Law Section (2024 )
  
  This pamphlet is ready and published by the Illinois State Bar Association as a civil service. Every effort has been made to offer precise details at the time of publication.