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  Your Guide to Landlord-Tenant Law
  
  Landlord-Tenant Law
  
  At some time throughout their lives a lot of individuals will be involved with the rental of realty, either as property owner or renter. Laws that impact property owners and occupants can differ significantly from city to city. This pamphlet supplies general information about being a tenant in Illinois. You should consult with a lawyer or your municipality or county as they might offer you with greater security under the law.
  
  Tenancy Agreement
  
  The relationship between property owner and tenant emerges from an agreement, written or oral, by which one party inhabits the property of another with the owner's consent in return for the payment of certain quantity as lease.
  
  Written Agreement: Most tenancies are in writing and are called a lease. No particular words are essential to produce a lease, however normally the regards to a lease include a description of the real estate, the length of the contract, the amount of the lease, and the time of payment. TIP: You need to put your agreement in composing to prevent future misconceptions.
  
  Provisions in a lease agreement that safeguard a property owner from liability for damages to individuals or residential or commercial property triggered by the carelessness of the proprietor are considered as protesting public law and are therefore unenforceable. Certain municipalities and counties have other restrictions and prohibition on specific lease terms, so you need to talk to an attorney or your town or county.
  
  Oral Agreement: If an occupancy contract is not in writing, the regard to the arrangement will, typically, be thought about a month-to-month occupancy. The period is normally figured out 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 hard to determine, a celebration may be bound to the regards to an oral arrangement just as much as a composed one.
  
  Termination of the Lease or Tenancy Agreement
  
  If a lease is not for a specific term, it might be terminated by either party with proper notice.
  
  - For year-to-year occupancies, other than a lease of farmland, either party 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 tenancy might be terminated by either party by giving seven days of written notice to the other celebration.
• Farm leases usually run for one year. Customarily, they begin and end in March of each year. Notice to end need to be given at least four months before the end of the term.
• In all other lease arrangements for a duration of less than one year, a celebration needs to give 1 month of written notice. Any notification offered must require termination on the last day of that rental period.
• The lease may also have actually specified requirements and timeframe for termination of the lease.
• In certain municipalities and counties, property owners are required to provide more than the above specified notification duration for termination. You must seek advice from with an attorney or your municipality or county.
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  If the lease does specify a particular expiration or termination date, no termination notice is essential. Be mindful that your lease might likewise need notification of termination in a specific type or a higher notice duration than the minimum required 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 mentioned in the lease for termination and in writing. You must seek advice from a lawyer or your municipality or county.
  
  Termination of a month-to-month occupancy usually just requires thirty days of notice by renter and a property owner is required to serve a composed notification of termination of occupancy on the tenant (see Service as needed section listed below). In particular municipalities and counties, landlords are needed to provide more than 1 month of notification, so you need to seek advice from with seek advice from a lawyer or your municipality or county.
  
  Renewal of the Lease or Tenancy Agreement, Rental Increases
  
  Generally, a lease might be renewed at any time by oral or written agreement of the parties. If a lease term ends and the proprietor accepts lease following the expiration of the term, the lease term instantly ends up being month-to-month based on the same terms stated in the lease.
  
  The lease might need a specific notice and timeframe for renewing the lease. You ought to review your lease to confirm such requirements. Landlords and tenants should note that no matter what the lease needs or mentions, property managers may also have restrictions on how early they can require renewal of a lease by an occupant and are needed to put such in writing. You need to talk to a lawyer or your municipality or county.
  
  Month-to-month tenancies automatically restore from month to month till terminated by either property manager or renter.
  
  Unless there is a composed lease, a property manager can raise the lease by any amount by providing the occupant notification: Seven days of notification for a week-to-week tenancy, one month of notice for a month-to-month tenancy, and 90 days of notice for mobile home parks. In certain towns and counties, landlords are needed to offer more than 7 or one month of notice of a rental boost, so you must speak with seek advice from 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 need to submit an expulsion to eliminate a renter or resident from the premises.
  
  Five-Day Notice. The most common breach of a lease is for non-payment of lease. In this case the property owner must serve a five-day notification upon the delinquent tenant unless the lease needs more than five days of notice. Five days after such notification is served, the proprietor may commence expulsion procedures against the tenant. If, however, the renter pays the total of rent demanded in the five-day notification within those five days, the proprietor might not continue with an expulsion. The proprietor is not needed, however, to accept rent that is less than the specific amount due. If the landlord accepts a tender of a lesser amount of rent, it might affect the rights to proceed under the notice.
  
  10-Day Notice. If a landlord wants to terminate a lease since of an offense of the lease agreement by the occupant, other than for non-payment of lease, he or she need to serve 10 days of composed notice upon the occupant before expulsion proceedings can start, unless the lease needs more than 10 days of notice. Acceptance of rent after such notification is a waiver by the property owner of the right to end the lease unless the breach grumbled of is a continuing breach.
  
  Holdover. If a renter remains beyond the lease expiration date, usually, a property may file an expulsion without having to very first serve a notification on the occupant. However, the regards to the lease or in specific towns or counties, a property owner is required to supply a notification of non-renewal to the tenant, so you ought to seek advice from with a lawyer or your municipality or county.
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  Service on Demand Notice
  
  The five-day, 10-day, or termination of month-to-month tenancy notices may be served upon tenant by delivering a written or printed copy to the tenant, 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 receipt from the addressee. If nobody remains in the real ownership of the properties, then posting notification on the facilities suffices.
  
  Subletting or Assigning the Lease
  
  Often, composed leases restrict the tenant from subletting the facilities without the written approval of the property manager. Such consent can not be unreasonably kept, but the prohibition is enforceable under the law. If there is no such restriction, then a renter may sublease or designate their lease to another. In such cases, nevertheless, the tenant will stay responsible to the property owner unless the property owner launches the original occupant. A breach of the sublease will not change the initial relationship between the proprietor and renter.
  
  Breach by Landlord, Tenant Remedies
  
  If the proprietor has breached the lease by failing to satisfy their responsibilities under the lease, specific solutions emerge in favor of the occupant:
  
  - The occupant might take legal action against the proprietor for damages sustained as an outcome of the breach.
• If a landlord fails to keep a rented home in a livable condition, the tenant might be able to leave the facilities and terminate the lease under the theory of "useful expulsion."
• The failure of a property owner to maintain a leased residence in a livable condition or comply significantly with regional housing codes may be a breach of the property owner's "indicated warranty of habitability" (independent of any written lease provisions or oral guarantees), which the occupant might assert as a defense to an eviction based on the non-payment of lease or a claim for decrease in the rental worth of the facilities. However, breach by property owner does not immediately entitle a tenant to keep rent or a decrease in the rental value. The commitment to pay lease continues as long as the occupant stays in the leased premises and to assert this defense successfully, the renter will have to reveal that their damages arising from property manager's breach of this "implied service warranty" equivalent or exceed the rent claimed due.
  
  A property owner's breach and occupant's damages may be tough to prove. Because of the limited and technical nature of these rules, tenants need to be very careful in keeping rent and must most likely do so just after consulting a lawyer.
  
  Please note that specific towns or counties attend to specific obligations and requirements that the landlord should carry out. If a property manager fails to comply with such obligations or requirements, the occupant might have additional solutions for such failure. You ought to seek advice from an attorney or your municipality or county.
  
  Breach by the Tenant, Landlord Remedies
  
  In addition to termination for certain breaches by occupant, a proprietor likewise has the following treatments:
  
  If rent is not paid, the landlord may: (1) demand the lease due or to become due in the future and (2) end the lease and collect any previous rent due. Under certain scenarios in case of non-payment of lease the property owner may hold the furnishings and personal residential or commercial property of the renter up until past rent is paid by the occupant.
  
  If a tenant fails to leave the rented premise at the end of the lease term, the tenant may 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 forced out.
  
  If the occupant harms the properties, the landlord may take legal action against for the repair work of such damages.
  
  Please note that certain towns or counties offer specific obligations and requirements that the tenant should fulfill. If a renter fails to adhere to such responsibilities or requirements, the property manager may have additional remedies for such failure. You should seek advice from a lawyer 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 home home, flat, or house against prospective renters who have kids under the age of 14. It is also unlawful for a proprietor to victimize an occupant on the basis of race, faith, sex, nationwide origin, source of earnings, sexual origination, gender identity, or disability.
  
  Security Deposits, Move-in Fee
  
  Down payment. 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 typically referred to as a security deposit. This cash is considered to be security for any damage to the premises or non-payment of lease. The security deposit does not eliminate the occupant of the responsibility to pay the last month's lease or for damage triggered to the facilities. It should be returned to the tenant upon leaving the properties if no damage has actually been done beyond regular wear and tear and the rent is fully paid.
  
  If a proprietor fails to return the down payment without delay, the renter can take legal action against to recover the portion of the security deposit to which the occupant is entitled. In some towns or counties and specific situations under state law, when a property manager wrongfully withholds a tenant's security deposit the occupant may have the ability to recuperate additional damages and attorneys' charges. You should speak with a legal representative.
  
  Generally, a proprietor who receives a down payment might not keep any part of that deposit as payment for residential or commercial property damage unless he furnishes to the tenant, within 30 days of the date the occupant abandons, a declaration of damage presumably triggered by the renter and the approximated or actual expense of repairing or replacing each item on that declaration. If no such statement is furnished within one month, the landlord must return the security deposit in complete within 45 days of the date the renter abandoned.
  
  If a building includes 25 or more residential systems, the property owner should also pay interest on the deposit from the date it was paid, if held more than 67 months. Interest is determined at the rate paid by the biggest bank in Illinois, as determined by total assets, on a passbook security account.
  
  The above statements relating to down payment are based upon state law. However, some towns or counties may enforce extra responsibilities. For instance, Cook County, Evanston, Chicago, and Oak Park all have extra requirements that a landlord need to adhere to when taking security deposits and supply steep charges when a landlord stops working to comply.
  
  Move-in Fee. In addition to or as an alternative to a down payment, a proprietor may charge a move-in charge. Generally, there are no specific limitations on the amount of a move-in cost, however, specific towns or counties do supply restrictions. TIP: A move-in fee must be nonrefundable, otherwise it could be considered to be a security deposit.
  
  Landlord and renter matters can end up being complex. Both proprietor and tenant ought to speak with an attorney for help with particular problems. For more information about your rights and duties as an occupant, including particular landlord-tenant laws in your municipality 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 prepared and published by the Illinois State Bar Association as a public service. Every effort has actually been made to provide accurate info at the time of publication.