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  Your Guide to Landlord-Tenant Law
  
  Landlord-Tenant Law
  
  At some point throughout their lives many people will be involved with the rental of realty, either as proprietor or occupant. Laws that impact landlords and renters can differ considerably from city to city. This handout supplies general info about being an occupant in Illinois. You ought to talk to an attorney or your town or county as they might offer you with greater protection under the law.
  
  Tenancy Agreement
  
  The relationship between proprietor and renter occurs from an arrangement, composed or oral, by which one celebration occupies the genuine estate of another with the owner's permission in return for the payment of certain amount as lease.
  
  Written Agreement: Most tenancies are in composing and are called a lease. No specific words are necessary to produce a lease, but typically the terms of a lease consist of a description of the property, the length of the agreement, the quantity of the lease, and the time of payment. TIP: You ought to put your contract in writing to avoid future misconceptions.
  
  Provisions in a lease contract that secure a property owner from liability for damages to individuals or residential or commercial property brought on by the neglect of the property manager are seen as protesting public policy and are therefore unenforceable. Certain towns and counties have other restrictions and restriction on specific lease terms, so you need to speak with a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  Oral Agreement: If a tenancy contract is not in composing, the regard to the arrangement will, generally, be thought about a month-to-month occupancy. The duration is typically identified by the frequency of the rental payments. For instance: week to week, month to month, or year to year. Although the terms of an oral lease may be difficult to determine, a party may be bound to the terms of an oral arrangement simply 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 ended by either celebration with proper notice.
  
  - For year-to-year tenancies, aside from a lease of farmland, either celebration might end the lease by offering 60 days of composed notification at any time within the four 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 party.
• 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 4 months before completion of the term.
• In all other lease arrangements for a period of less than one year, a party must give 30 days of written notice. Any notification offered ought to call for termination on the last day of that rental period.
• The lease might likewise have stated requirements and timeframe for termination of the lease.
• In particular towns and counties, property managers are needed to offer more than the above specified notice period for termination. You need to seek advice from a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  If the lease does mention a specific expiration or termination date, no termination notification is required. Understand that your lease may likewise need notice of termination in a specific form or a greater notice period than the minimum required by law, if any. Landlords need to note that no matter what the lease needs or states, you might be required to give more than the notice period stated in the lease for termination and in writing. You need to speak with a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  Termination of a month-to-month tenancy normally only needs 30 days of notification by occupant and a property manager is needed to serve a composed notice of termination of tenancy on the renter (see Service as needed area listed below). In particular municipalities and counties, property managers are required to provide more than 1 month of notice, so you should consult with speak with an attorney or your municipality or county.
  
  Renewal of the Lease or Tenancy Agreement, Rental Increases
  
  Generally, a lease may be restored at any time by oral or written agreement of the celebrations. If a lease term expires and the property owner accepts lease following the expiration of the term, the lease term automatically becomes month-to-month based on the very same terms stated in the lease.
  
  The lease might require a specific notification and timeframe for restoring the lease. You need to examine your lease to verify such requirements. Landlords and renters need to keep in mind that no matter what the lease requires or mentions, property owners may also have constraints on how early they can require renewal of a lease by an occupant and are required to put such in composing. You should seek advice from with a lawyer or your municipality or county.
  
  Month-to-month occupancies automatically restore from month to month until ended by either property manager or renter.
  
  Unless there is a written lease, a landlord can raise the rent by any quantity by giving the tenant notice: Seven days of notification for a week-to-week tenancy, 30 days of notification for a month-to-month occupancy, and 90 days of notification for mobile home parks. In particular towns and counties, property managers are needed to offer more than 7 or 1 month of notice of a rental boost, so you ought to talk to talk to 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 remove a renter or occupant from the properties.
  
  Five-Day Notice. The most typical breach of a lease is for non-payment of lease. In this case the property manager must serve a five-day notification upon the delinquent occupant unless the lease requires more than five days of notice. Five days after such notice is served, the property manager may start expulsion procedures versus the renter. If, however, the occupant pays the total of rent required in the five-day notice within those 5 days, the property manager might not proceed with an eviction. The property owner is not required, however, to accept rent that is less than the precise amount due. If the property owner 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 wants to end a lease since of a violation of the lease contract by the occupant, besides for non-payment of lease, he or she should serve 10 days of written notification upon the renter before expulsion proceedings can start, unless the lease needs more than 10 days of notification. Acceptance of lease after such notification is a waiver by the landlord of the right to terminate the lease unless the breach suffered is a continuing breach.
  
  Holdover. If a tenant remains beyond the lease expiration date, usually, a proprietor might file an expulsion without having to first serve a notification on the occupant. However, the terms of the lease or in particular municipalities or counties, a landlord is required to supply a notice of non-renewal to the occupant, so you need to seek advice from a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  Service on Demand Notice
  
  The five-day, 10-day, or termination of month-to-month tenancy notifications might be served upon occupant by providing a composed or printed copy to the renter, 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 licensed or signed up mail with a return invoice from the addressee. If nobody is in the actual belongings of the properties, then posting notice on the properties suffices.
  
  Subletting or Assigning the Lease
  
  Often, composed leases prohibit the tenant from subletting the facilities without the written permission of the property manager. Such authorization can not be unreasonably withheld, however the restriction is enforceable under the law. If there is no such restriction, then a renter might sublease or appoint their lease to another. In such cases, however, the renter will stay accountable to the proprietor unless the property owner releases the original occupant. A breach of the sublease will not alter the preliminary relationship between the property manager and tenant.
  
  Breach by Landlord, Tenant Remedies
  
  If the property manager has breached the lease by stopping working to fulfill their responsibilities under the lease, certain treatments arise in favor of the occupant:
  
  - The occupant might take legal action against the property manager for damages sustained as a result of the breach.
• If a property owner fails to keep a leased residence in a habitable condition, the tenant may be able to vacate the properties and end the lease under the theory of "useful eviction."
• The failure of a proprietor to maintain a leased residence in a habitable condition or comply substantially with regional housing codes might be a breach of the proprietor's "implied guarantee of habitability" (independent of any composed lease provisions or oral guarantees), which the occupant might assert as a defense to an eviction based on the non-payment of rent or a claim for decrease in the rental worth of the properties. However, breach by proprietor does not instantly entitle a renter to withhold lease or a reduction in the rental worth. The commitment to pay lease continues as long as the occupant stays in the leased properties and to assert this defense effectively, the tenant will need to show that their damages resulting from proprietor's breach of this "implied guarantee" equivalent or go beyond the lease declared due.
  
  A landlord's breach and tenant's damages might be difficult to show. Because of the minimal and technical nature of these rules, renters should be exceptionally mindful in keeping rent and should probably do so only after consulting an attorney.
  
  Please note that particular towns or counties attend to certain responsibilities and requirements that the property owner must carry out. If a property manager fails to abide by such commitments or requirements, the renter may have additional treatments for such failure. You should seek advice from an attorney 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 treatments:
  
  If rent is not paid, the property owner might: (1) sue for the rent due or to end up being due in the future and (2) terminate the lease and gather any past rent due. Under specific situations in case of non-payment of lease the proprietor might hold the furniture and personal residential or commercial property of the occupant till previous rent is paid by the renter.
  
  If a renter fails to leave the rented facility at the end of the lease term, the renter might become responsible for double rent for the duration of holdover if the holdover is deemed to be willful. The renter can likewise be evicted.
  
  If the occupant damages the properties, the property owner might demand the repair of such damages.
  
  Please note that particular towns or counties offer particular responsibilities and requirements that the tenant need to satisfy. If a tenant fails to abide by such responsibilities or requirements, the proprietor may have extra remedies for such failure. You must speak with a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  Discrimination
  
  Under the federal Fair Housing Act and Illinois law, it is illegal for a property manager to discriminate in the leasing of a dwelling home, flat, or apartment or condo against potential tenants who have kids under the age of 14. It is also illegal for a landlord 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
  
  Down payment. An occupant can be needed to deposit with the proprietor an amount of cash prior to inhabiting the residential or commercial property. This is normally described as a security deposit. This money is considered to be security for any damage to the properties or non-payment of lease. The down payment does not relieve the tenant of the task to pay the last month's lease or for damage caused to the premises. It needs to be returned to the renter upon abandoning the facilities if no damage has actually been done beyond regular wear and tear and the lease is completely paid.
  
  If a landlord stops working to return the security deposit immediately, the occupant can sue to recover the portion of the down payment to which the tenant is entitled. In some towns or counties and specific circumstances under state law, when a property owner wrongfully withholds a renter's down payment the occupant may have the ability to recuperate extra damages and attorneys' charges. You ought to seek advice from a lawyer.
  
  Generally, a landlord who gets a down payment might not withhold any part of that deposit as compensation for residential or commercial property damage unless he furnishes to the occupant, within 30 days of the date the renter vacates, a statement of damage presumably triggered by the tenant and the approximated or actual cost of fixing or replacing each product on that declaration. If no such declaration is furnished within 1 month, the property owner should return the down payment completely within 45 days of the date the tenant left.
  
  If a structure contains 25 or more residential systems, the landlord needs to also pay interest on the deposit from the date it was paid, if held more than 67 months. Interest is computed at the rate paid by the largest bank in Illinois, as figured out by total possessions, on a passbook security account.
  
  The above declarations concerning security deposits are based upon state law. However, some municipalities or counties might enforce extra obligations. For instance, Cook County, Evanston, Chicago, and Oak Park all have additional requirements that a should abide by when taking security deposits and supply high charges when a property owner stops working to comply.
  
  Move-in Fee. In addition to or as an alternative to a security deposit, a property owner may charge a move-in charge. Generally, there are no particular restrictions on the quantity of a move-in fee, however, particular towns or counties do offer constraints. TIP: A move-in charge must be nonrefundable, otherwise it might be considered to be a down payment.
  
  Landlord and tenant matters can end up being complex. Both property owner and renter need to speak with an attorney for assistance with particular issues. To learn more about your rights and duties as an occupant, consisting of particular landlord-tenant laws in your town or county, contact your local 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
  land.com
  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 public service. Every effort has been made to supply accurate info at the time of publication.