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  Your Guide to Landlord-Tenant Law
  
  Landlord-Tenant Law
  
  At some point throughout their lives the majority of individuals will be involved with the leasing of property, either as landlord or renter. Laws that affect property managers and renters can differ significantly from city to city. This pamphlet supplies general details about being an occupant in Illinois. You should speak with an attorney or your town or county as they might provide you with greater defense under the law.
  
  Tenancy Agreement
  
  The relationship in between landlord and occupant occurs from an agreement, written or oral, by which one celebration inhabits the genuine estate of another with the owner's authorization in return for the payment of particular amount as lease.
  
  Written Agreement: Most tenancies remain in writing and are called a lease. No particular words are necessary to produce a lease, however typically the regards to a lease include a description of the realty, the length of the contract, the quantity of the rent, and the time of payment. TIP: You ought to put your contract in composing to prevent future misunderstandings.
  
  Provisions in a lease contract that safeguard a property owner from liability for damages to individuals or residential or commercial property brought on by the negligence of the property manager are deemed being versus public law and are for that reason unenforceable. Certain municipalities and counties have other constraints and restriction on certain lease terms, so you should consult with a lawyer or your municipality or county.
  
  Oral Agreement: If a tenancy arrangement is not in composing, the regard to the agreement will, generally, be thought about a month-to-month tenancy. The period is generally identified 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 may be difficult to figure out, a party may be bound to the regards to 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 ended by either party with correct notification.
  
  - For year-to-year occupancies, aside from a lease of farmland, either party may terminate the lease by providing 60 days of composed notification at any time within the 4 months preceding the last 60 days of the lease.
• A week-to-week occupancy might be terminated by either celebration by giving seven days of composed notice to the other party.
• Farm leases normally run for one year. Customarily, they begin and end in March of each year. Notice to end need to be offered at least 4 months before completion of the term.
• In all other lease contracts for a duration of less than one year, a celebration should offer 30 days of written notification. Any notification offered should require termination on the last day of that rental duration.
• The lease might also have specified requirements and timeframe for termination of the lease.
• In certain towns and counties, property owners are needed to offer more than the above stated notice period for termination. You must speak with an attorney or your municipality or county.
  
  If the lease does specify a specific expiration or termination date, no termination notification is necessary. Be conscious that your lease might also require notification of termination in a specific kind or a greater notification period than the minimum needed by law, if any. Landlords must keep in mind that no matter what the lease requires or mentions, you might be needed to provide more than the notification period stated in the lease for termination and in writing. You must talk to an attorney or your municipality or county.
  
  Termination of a month-to-month tenancy generally only requires 1 month of notification by tenant and a property manager is required to serve a written notice of termination of tenancy on the tenant (see Service on Demand section listed below). In particular towns and counties, property owners are needed to offer more than one month of notice, so you should talk to talk to 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 arrangement of the celebrations. If a lease term expires and the proprietor accepts lease following the expiration of the term, the lease term instantly becomes month-to-month based on the very same terms stated in the lease.
  
  The lease might require a particular notification and timeframe for renewing the lease. You should examine your lease to verify such requirements. Landlords and occupants should keep in mind that no matter what the lease requires or states, landlords may also have restrictions on how early they can require renewal of a lease by a tenant and are required to put such in writing. You need to seek advice from a lawyer or your municipality or county.
  
  Month-to-month tenancies immediately renew from month to month till ended by either property owner or tenant.
  
  Unless there is a composed lease, a property owner can raise the lease by any quantity by providing the renter notification: Seven days of notice for a week-to-week occupancy, 30 days of notification for a month-to-month occupancy, and 90 days of notification for mobile home parks. In particular towns and counties, landlords are needed to offer more than seven or thirty days of notification of a rental boost, so you should consult with speak with an attorney or your municipality or county.
  
  Eviction, Termination of Tenants Right to Possession
  
  In Illinois, a landlord does not have a right to self-help and need to submit an eviction to eliminate a renter or occupant from the properties.
  
  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 notice upon the delinquent occupant unless the lease requires more than 5 days of notice. Five days after such notice is served, the property manager may begin eviction procedures versus the tenant. If, nevertheless, the occupant pays the total of lease demanded in the five-day notification within those 5 days, the proprietor may not continue with an expulsion. The property manager is not required, nevertheless, to accept lease that is less than the specific quantity due. If the property manager accepts a tender of a lesser amount of lease, it may affect the rights to continue under the notification.
  
  10-Day Notice. If a landlord wishes to terminate a lease because of an offense of the lease agreement by the tenant, aside from for non-payment of rent, she or he must serve 10 days of written notification upon the tenant before expulsion proceedings can start, unless the lease needs more than 10 days of notice. Acceptance of rent after such notice is a waiver by the proprietor of the right to terminate the lease unless the breach grumbled of is a continuing breach.
  
  Holdover. If an occupant remains beyond the lease expiration date, generally, a landlord may submit an eviction without having to first serve a notification on the occupant. However, the regards to the lease or in specific municipalities or counties, a property owner is needed to offer a notification of non-renewal to the tenant, so you should talk to an attorney or your municipality or county.
  
  Service on Demand Notice
  
  The five-day, 10-day, or termination of month-to-month occupancy notices may be served upon occupant by delivering a written or printed copy to the occupant, leaving the very same with some individual above the age of 13 years who lives at the celebration's residence, or sending out a copy of the notice to the party by licensed or signed up mail with a return receipt from the addressee. If nobody remains in the actual belongings of the premises, then posting notice on the properties is sufficient.
  
  Subletting or Assigning the Lease
  
  Often, written leases restrict the renter from subletting the premises without the composed approval of the landlord. Such permission can not be unreasonably withheld, but the prohibition is enforceable under the law. If there is no such prohibition, then an occupant may sublease or designate their lease to another. In such cases, however, the occupant will stay responsible to the property owner unless the landlord releases the original renter. A breach of the sublease will not alter the preliminary relationship in between the property owner and occupant.
  
  Breach by Landlord, Tenant Remedies
  
  If the property manager has actually breached the lease by failing to meet their tasks under the lease, specific treatments emerge in favor of the tenant:
  
  - The renter may take legal action against the landlord for damages sustained as an of the breach.
• If a property owner stops working to keep a leased house in a habitable condition, the occupant may have the ability to leave the facilities and end the lease under the theory of "positive expulsion."
• The failure of a landlord to keep a leased house in a habitable condition or comply substantially with local housing codes might be a breach of the landlord's "indicated warranty of habitability" (independent of any written lease arrangements or oral promises), 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 value of the properties. However, breach by property manager does not automatically entitle a tenant to keep lease or a reduction in the rental worth. The obligation to pay lease continues as long as the tenant stays in the leased premises and to assert this defense effectively, the renter will need to reveal that their damages arising from property manager's breach of this "implied warranty" equal or surpass the rent declared due.
  
  A proprietor's breach and tenant's damages might be difficult to show. Because of the minimal and technical nature of these rules, renters should be extremely mindful in withholding lease and must probably do so just after seeking advice from a lawyer.
  
  Please note that particular municipalities or counties offer specific obligations and requirements that the property manager need to perform. If a landlord stops working to adhere to such commitments or requirements, the tenant may have extra solutions for such failure. You should seek advice from with a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  Breach by the Tenant, Landlord Remedies
  
  In addition to termination for particular breaches by occupant, a property owner likewise has the following remedies:
  
  If lease is not paid, the landlord might: (1) take legal action against for the lease due or to become due in the future and (2) end the lease and collect any previous lease due. Under particular circumstances in case of non-payment of lease the landlord may hold the furnishings and personal residential or commercial property of the tenant till previous lease is paid by the tenant.
  
  If a tenant fails to abandon the leased premise at the end of the lease term, the occupant might end up being liable for double lease for the duration of holdover if the holdover is deemed to be willful. The renter can likewise be kicked out.
  
  If the tenant damages the premises, the landlord may sue for the repair of such damages.
  
  Please note that particular municipalities or counties attend to specific commitments and requirements that the occupant should meet. If an occupant fails to adhere to such responsibilities or requirements, the proprietor may have additional remedies for such failure. You should speak with an attorney or your town or county.
  
  Discrimination
  
  Under the federal Fair Housing Act and Illinois law, it is unlawful for a proprietor to discriminate in the leasing of a dwelling home, flat, or house against prospective tenants who have kids under the age of 14. It is also unlawful for a proprietor to victimize an occupant on the basis of race, religious beliefs, sex, nationwide origin, income, sexual origination, gender identity, or impairment.
  
  Down Payment, Move-in Fee
  
  Security Deposit. A renter can be needed to deposit with the property owner a sum of money prior to inhabiting the residential or commercial property. This is generally referred to as a down payment. This cash is deemed to be security for any damage to the premises or non-payment of lease. The down payment does not alleviate the occupant of the duty to pay the last month's lease or for damage caused to the properties. It needs to be gone back to the tenant upon abandoning the properties if no damage has actually been done beyond regular wear and tear and the lease is fully paid.
  
  If a proprietor stops working to return the down payment immediately, the tenant can sue to recover the portion of the down payment to which the tenant is entitled. In some towns or counties and specific scenarios under state law, when a property owner wrongfully withholds an occupant's down payment the renter may have the ability to recuperate additional damages and lawyers' costs. You ought to seek advice from with an attorney.
  
  Generally, a property owner who gets a security deposit might not keep any part of that deposit as payment for residential or commercial property damage unless he furnishes to the renter, within 30 days of the date the renter vacates, a statement of damage supposedly caused by the renter and the estimated or real expense of fixing or changing each product on that declaration. If no such statement is furnished within 30 days, the landlord needs to return the down payment completely within 45 days of the date the tenant vacated.
  
  If a structure contains 25 or more residential systems, the property owner should likewise 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 figured out by overall properties, on a passbook security account.
  
  The above statements regarding down payment are based upon state law. However, some towns or counties might enforce additional obligations. For example, Cook County, Evanston, Chicago, and Oak Park all have extra requirements that a landlord must abide by when taking down payment and offer steep penalties when a landlord stops working to comply.
  
  Move-in Fee. In addition to or as an alternative to a down payment, a proprietor might charge a move-in cost. Generally, there are no specific limitations on the quantity of a move-in fee, nevertheless, specific towns or counties do provide restrictions. TIP: A move-in cost should be nonrefundable, otherwise it might be deemed to be a security deposit.
  
  Landlord and occupant matters can end up being complex. Both proprietor and occupant must seek advice from a lawyer for assistance with particular problems. To learn more about your rights and duties as a renter, consisting of particular landlord-tenant laws in your municipality or county, contact your regional bar association, or check out 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
  saddleback-homes.com
  Prepared by the Illinois State Bar Association's Real Estate Law Section (2024 )
  
  This handout is prepared and published by the Illinois State Bar Association as a civil service. Every effort has actually been made to offer precise information at the time of publication.