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  Your Guide to Landlord-Tenant Law
  
  Landlord-Tenant Law
  
  Eventually throughout their lives many people will be included with the leasing of property, either as proprietor or occupant. Laws that affect property owners and renters can vary considerably from city to city. This handout supplies basic details about being an occupant in Illinois. You should speak with a lawyer or your municipality or county as they may offer you with higher security under the law.
  
  Tenancy Agreement
  
  The relationship between property manager and occupant arises from an arrangement, composed or oral, by which one party inhabits the realty of another with the owner's approval in return for the payment of particular quantity as rent.
  
  Written Agreement: Most tenancies are in writing and are called a lease. No specific words are required to create a lease, however generally the regards to a lease include a description of the property, the length of the agreement, the quantity of the rent, and the time of payment. TIP: You need to put your agreement in writing to prevent future misunderstandings.
  
  Provisions in a lease contract that secure a property owner from liability for damages to persons or residential or commercial property brought on by the negligence of the property owner are deemed protesting public policy and are for that reason unenforceable. Certain towns and counties have other constraints and restriction on specific lease terms, so you ought to speak with a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  Oral Agreement: If an occupancy contract is not in writing, the regard to the contract will, typically, be thought about a month-to-month occupancy. The duration is normally determined by the frequency of the rental payments. For instance: week to week, month to month, or year to year. Although the regards to an oral lease might be tough to determine, a party may be bound to the terms of an oral contract simply as much as a composed one.
  
  Termination of the Lease or Tenancy Agreement
  
  If a lease is not for a specific term, it may be terminated by either party with correct notice.
  
  - For year-to-year tenancies, other than a lease of farmland, either celebration might terminate the lease by providing 60 days of written notification at any time within the 4 months preceding the last 60 days of the lease.
• A week-to-week occupancy might be ended by either party by offering 7 days of written notification to the other celebration.
• Farm leases usually run for one year. Customarily, they start and end in March of each year. Notice to terminate must be provided at least four months before completion of the term.
• In all other lease agreements for a period of less than one year, a celebration should provide 1 month of composed notice. Any notification offered must call for termination on the last day of that rental period.
• The lease may likewise have stated requirements and timeframe for termination of the lease.
• In specific towns and counties, property owners are required to provide more than the above specified notification duration for termination. You need to speak with an attorney or your town or county.
  
  If the lease does mention a particular expiration or termination date, no termination notification is needed. Be conscious that your lease may likewise need notice of termination in a particular type or a greater notification duration than the minimum needed by law, if any. Landlords should keep in mind that no matter what the lease requires or specifies, you might be required to give more than the notification period specified in the lease for termination and in writing. You should seek advice from an attorney or your town or county.
  
  Termination of a month-to-month tenancy usually just needs 1 month of notification by tenant and a proprietor is needed to serve a composed notification of termination of occupancy on the occupant (see Service on Demand area below). In specific towns and counties, proprietors are required to give more than 30 days of notice, so you should seek advice from talk to a lawyer or your municipality or county.
  
  Renewal of the Lease or Tenancy Agreement, Rental Increases
  
  Generally, a lease may be renewed at any time by oral or written arrangement of the parties. If a lease term expires and the proprietor accepts rent following the expiration of the term, the lease term automatically ends up being month-to-month based on the same terms set forth in the lease.
  
  The lease may require a particular notification and timeframe for restoring the lease. You must examine your lease to verify such requirements. Landlords and renters ought to note that no matter what the lease requires or mentions, landlords may likewise have constraints on how early they can require renewal of a lease by a tenant and are needed to put such in writing. You must speak with a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  Month-to-month occupancies automatically renew from month to month till terminated by either proprietor or tenant.
  
  Unless there is a written lease, a property owner can raise the lease by any quantity by giving the renter notice: Seven days of notice 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 particular towns and counties, landlords are needed to provide more than 7 or one month of notice of a rental boost, so you ought to consult with seek advice from an attorney or your town or county.
  
  Eviction, Termination of Tenants Right to Possession
  
  In Illinois, a proprietor does not have a right to self-help and must file an expulsion to get rid of a tenant or occupant from the facilities.
  
  Five-Day Notice. The most typical breach of a lease is for non-payment of lease. In this case the landlord must serve a five-day notice upon the overdue occupant unless the lease needs more than 5 days of notice. Five days after such notification is served, the proprietor may begin eviction proceedings versus the tenant. If, nevertheless, the occupant pays the full amount of rent demanded in the five-day notice within those five days, the property manager might not proceed with an expulsion. The property manager is not required, however, to accept rent that is less than the exact quantity due. If the property manager accepts a tender of a lesser amount of rent, it may impact the rights to continue under the notice.
  
  10-Day Notice. If a property owner wants to end a lease due to the fact that of an infraction of the lease agreement by the tenant, besides for non-payment of lease, she or he need to serve 10 days of composed notice upon the occupant before eviction procedures can start, unless the lease requires more than 10 days of notification. Acceptance of rent after such notice is a waiver by the property manager of the right to terminate the lease unless the breach grumbled of is a continuing breach.
  
  Holdover. If a renter remains beyond the lease expiration date, typically, a property manager might submit an expulsion without needing to first serve a notification on the occupant. However, the regards to the lease or in particular towns or counties, a proprietor is required to supply a notice of non-renewal to the occupant, so you should seek advice from with an attorney or your municipality or county.
  
  Service as needed Notice
  
  The five-day, 10-day, or termination of month-to-month occupancy notifications might be served upon renter by providing a written or printed copy to the tenant, leaving the exact same with some individual above the age of 13 years who lives at the party's house, or sending out a copy of the notification to the celebration by certified or registered mail with a return receipt from the addressee. If no one remains in the actual belongings of the properties, then posting notification on the facilities is adequate.
  
  Subletting or Assigning the Lease
  
  Often, written leases restrict the occupant from subletting the facilities without the written authorization of the property owner. Such consent can not be unreasonably withheld, however the prohibition is enforceable under the law. If there is no such restriction, then a renter might sublease or assign their lease to another. In such cases, nevertheless, the renter will remain accountable to the property owner unless the property owner releases the original renter. A breach of the sublease will not change the initial relationship between the landlord and renter.
  
  Breach by Landlord, Tenant Remedies
  
  If the property owner has actually breached the lease by stopping working to satisfy their duties under the lease, certain treatments develop in favor of the renter:
  
  - The tenant might sue the landlord for damages sustained as a result of the breach.
• If a proprietor stops working to keep a rented house in a livable condition, the renter might have the ability to abandon the facilities and end the lease under the theory of "constructive expulsion."
• The failure of a property manager to keep a leased house in a habitable condition or comply substantially with regional housing codes may be a breach of the property owner's "suggested warranty of habitability" (independent of any written lease arrangements or oral promises), which the tenant may assert as a defense to an eviction based upon the non-payment of rent or a claim for decrease in the rental value of the premises. However, breach by property manager does not immediately entitle an occupant to withhold rent or a decrease in the rental value. The responsibility to pay rent continues as long as the tenant stays in the leased properties and to assert this defense successfully, the tenant will have to reveal that their damages arising from property owner's breach of this "implied service warranty" equal or exceed the lease declared due.
  
  A property owner's breach and tenant's damages might be challenging to show. Because of the restricted and technical nature of these rules, renters should be very mindful in withholding lease and ought to probably do so only after seeking advice from a lawyer.
  
  Please note that certain towns or counties offer certain obligations and requirements that the proprietor need to perform. If a property owner stops working to comply with such commitments or requirements, the tenant might have additional solutions for such failure. You need to seek advice from a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  Breach by the Tenant, Landlord Remedies
  
  In addition to termination for particular breaches by tenant, a proprietor also has the following solutions:
  
  If lease is not paid, the landlord may: (1) sue for the rent due or to become due in the future and (2) terminate the lease and any previous lease due. Under particular situations in case of non-payment of rent the proprietor may hold the furnishings and personal residential or commercial property of the renter till previous rent is paid by the tenant.
  
  If a tenant fails to abandon the leased facility at the end of the lease term, the renter might end up being accountable for double rent for the duration of holdover if the holdover is deemed to be willful. The tenant can likewise be forced out.
  
  If the occupant harms the premises, the property manager may demand the repair work of such damages.
  
  Please note that particular municipalities or counties offer specific commitments and requirements that the tenant need to meet. If a tenant fails to adhere to such commitments or requirements, the proprietor might have additional solutions for such failure. You should seek advice from a lawyer or your municipality or county.
  
  Discrimination
  
  Under the federal Fair Housing Act and Illinois law, it is illegal for a proprietor to discriminate in the leasing of a home house, flat, or apartment or condo against potential occupants who have kids under the age of 14. It is likewise unlawful for a property owner to discriminate versus a tenant on the basis of race, religious beliefs, sex, nationwide origin, source of earnings, sexual origination, gender identity, or impairment.
  
  Down Payment, Move-in Fee
  
  Down payment. A tenant can be needed to deposit with the property manager a sum of money prior to occupying the residential or commercial property. This is normally referred to as a security deposit. This cash is considered to be security for any damage to the facilities or non-payment of rent. The down payment does not relieve the tenant of the responsibility to pay the last month's rent or for damage caused to the facilities. It must be gone back to the tenant upon abandoning the properties if no damage has been done beyond typical wear and tear and the lease is completely paid.
  
  If a landlord stops working to return the down payment immediately, the renter can take legal action against to recuperate the part of the down payment to which the tenant is entitled. In some municipalities or counties and particular scenarios under state law, when a landlord wrongfully withholds a tenant's security deposit the renter might be able to recover additional damages and attorneys' charges. You need to seek advice from with a legal representative.
  
  Generally, a landlord who receives a security deposit might not keep any part of that deposit as payment for residential or commercial property damage unless he furnishes to the occupant, within thirty days of the date the renter leaves, a statement of damage allegedly triggered by the tenant and the estimated or real expense of fixing or replacing each item on that statement. If no such statement is furnished within 30 days, the landlord needs to return the security deposit completely within 45 days of the date the renter abandoned.
  
  If a structure consists of 25 or more residential systems, the property manager needs to 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 largest bank in Illinois, as identified by overall properties, on a passbook security account.
  
  The above statements regarding down payment are based upon state law. However, some municipalities or counties may impose extra obligations. For example, Cook County, Evanston, Chicago, and Oak Park all have additional requirements that a property owner must comply with when taking security deposits and provide high charges when a property manager fails to comply.
  
  Move-in Fee. In addition to or as an alternative to a down payment, a property owner may charge a move-in fee. Generally, there are no particular constraints on the quantity of a move-in fee, however, certain municipalities or counties do provide limitations. TIP: A move-in charge needs to be nonrefundable, otherwise it could be deemed to be a security deposit.
  
  Landlord and tenant matters can become complex. Both proprietor and occupant need to consult a lawyer for assistance with specific problems. To learn more about your rights and duties as an occupant, including specific landlord-tenant laws in your municipality or county, call your regional 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 handout is ready and released by the Illinois State Bar Association as a civil service. Every effort has actually been made to provide accurate details at the time of publication.
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