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  Your Guide to Landlord-Tenant Law
  
  Landlord-Tenant Law
  
  Eventually throughout their lives many people will be involved with the leasing of property, either as property owner or tenant. Laws that affect proprietors and occupants can differ substantially from city to city. This handout provides basic details about being a renter in Illinois. You must speak with a lawyer or your town or county as they may supply you with greater defense under the law.
  
  Tenancy Agreement
  
  The relationship in between proprietor and renter emerges from a contract, written or oral, by which one party occupies the property of another with the owner's authorization in return for the payment of particular quantity as rent.
  
  Written Agreement: Most occupancies remain in composing and are called a lease. No particular words are necessary to develop a lease, but generally the terms of a lease include a description of the genuine estate, the length of the contract, the quantity of the lease, and the time of payment. TIP: You need to put your arrangement in composing to avoid future misconceptions.
  
  Provisions in a lease agreement that secure a property manager from liability for damages to individuals or residential or commercial property brought on by the negligence of the property owner are viewed as being against public law and are for that reason unenforceable. Certain towns and counties have other restrictions and prohibition on certain lease terms, so you ought to consult with a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  Oral Agreement: If a tenancy arrangement is not in composing, the term of the arrangement will, usually, be considered a month-to-month tenancy. The duration is usually 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 hard to identify, a party may be bound to the regards to an oral agreement simply as much as a written one.
  
  Termination of the Lease or Tenancy Agreement
  
  If a lease is not for a particular term, it may be terminated by either party with appropriate notice.
  
  - For year-to-year occupancies, besides a lease of farmland, either party might end the lease by giving 60 days of composed notification at any time within the 4 months preceding the last 60 days of the lease.
• A week-to-week tenancy may be terminated by either party by giving seven days of composed notice to the other party.
• Farm leases normally run for one year. Customarily, they start and end in March of each year. Notice to terminate must be offered at least 4 months before the end of the term.
• In all other lease agreements for a duration of less than one year, a celebration should offer 1 month of written notification. Any notice given must call for termination on the last day of that rental duration.
• The lease might also have specified requirements and timeframe for termination of the lease.
• In particular towns and counties, landlords are required to provide more than the above mentioned notice period for termination. You must speak with a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  If the lease does mention a specific expiration or termination date, no termination notice is needed. Know that your lease may also require notification of termination in a specific kind or a greater notice period than the minimum needed by law, if any. Landlords should keep in mind that no matter what the lease needs or specifies, you may be needed to offer more than the notification duration mentioned in the lease for termination and in writing. You ought to seek advice from with an attorney or your municipality or county.
  
  Termination of a month-to-month occupancy typically just needs 1 month of notice by renter and a proprietor is needed to serve a composed notice of termination of occupancy on the occupant (see Service as needed section listed below). In certain municipalities and counties, proprietors are required to give more than 30 days of notification, so you must consult with speak with a lawyer 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 arrangement of the parties. If a lease term expires and the proprietor accepts rent following the expiration of the term, the lease term immediately 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 evaluate your lease to validate such requirements. Landlords and renters must keep in mind that no matter what the lease needs or specifies, property owners might likewise 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 with a lawyer or your municipality or county.
  
  Month-to-month tenancies immediately renew from month to month up until terminated 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 tenant notice: Seven days of notification for a week-to-week occupancy, 1 month of notice for a month-to-month occupancy, and 90 days of notice for mobile home parks. In specific towns and counties, property owners are required to provide more than 7 or 1 month of notification of a rental boost, so you should talk to consult with an attorney or your municipality 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 eviction to eliminate a renter or occupant from the premises.
  
  Five-Day Notice. The most typical breach of a lease is for non-payment of lease. In this case the proprietor need to serve a five-day notice upon the overdue occupant unless the lease needs more than five days of notification. Five days after such notification is served, the proprietor may begin expulsion proceedings versus the occupant. If, nevertheless, the occupant pays the total of rent demanded in the five-day notification within those five days, the proprietor may not proceed with an expulsion. The proprietor is not needed, nevertheless, to accept rent that is less than the exact quantity due. If the property owner accepts a tender of a lesser quantity of rent, it might affect the rights to proceed under the notification.
  
  10-Day Notice. If a proprietor wants to end a lease because of an offense of the lease contract by the occupant, other than for non-payment of lease, he or she should serve 10 days of written notice upon the before expulsion procedures can start, unless the lease needs more than 10 days of notification. Acceptance of lease after such notification is a waiver by the proprietor of the right to terminate the lease unless the breach suffered is a continuing breach.
  
  Holdover. If a renter stays beyond the lease expiration date, generally, a landlord may submit an expulsion without needing to very first serve a notice on the tenant. However, the terms of the lease or in specific municipalities or counties, a landlord is needed to offer a notification of non-renewal to the tenant, so you ought to speak with an attorney or your municipality or county.
  
  Service on Demand Notice
  
  The five-day, 10-day, or termination of month-to-month tenancy notifications may be served upon renter by delivering 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 residence, or sending out a copy of the notification to the celebration by accredited or registered mail with a return receipt from the addressee. If nobody remains in the actual ownership of the properties, then publishing notice on the premises is adequate.
  
  Subletting or Assigning the Lease
  
  Often, composed leases restrict the occupant from subletting the properties without the composed approval of the property owner. Such approval can not be unreasonably withheld, however 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, nevertheless, the renter will stay accountable to the proprietor unless the proprietor launches the initial tenant. A breach of the sublease will not alter the initial 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 satisfy their responsibilities under the lease, particular solutions arise in favor of the tenant:
  
  - The occupant may sue the proprietor for damages sustained as an outcome of the breach.
• If a property manager stops working to keep a rented house in a habitable condition, the occupant may have the ability to vacate the facilities and end the lease under the theory of "constructive expulsion."
• The failure of a property manager to preserve a rented residence in a habitable condition or comply significantly with regional housing codes may be a breach of the property manager's "suggested service warranty of habitability" (independent of any composed lease provisions or oral pledges), which the occupant may assert as a defense to an expulsion based upon the non-payment of lease or a claim for reduction in the rental value of the properties. However, breach by landlord does not instantly entitle a tenant to withhold lease or a reduction in the rental worth. The commitment to pay rent continues as long as the occupant stays in the leased properties and to assert this defense effectively, the occupant will have to reveal that their damages resulting from landlord's breach of this "implied guarantee" equivalent or go beyond the lease claimed due.
  
  A property owner's breach and renter's damages might be tough to prove. Because of the minimal and technical nature of these rules, renters need to be exceptionally careful in withholding rent and needs to most likely do so just after seeking advice from a lawyer.
  
  Please note that particular towns or counties offer particular obligations and requirements that the landlord must perform. If a landlord fails to comply with such obligations or requirements, the occupant might have additional treatments for such failure. You need to seek advice from with an attorney or your municipality or county.
  
  Breach by the Tenant, Landlord Remedies
  
  In addition to termination for particular breaches by tenant, a proprietor likewise has the following treatments:
  
  If rent is not paid, the landlord might: (1) sue for the lease due or to become due in the future and (2) terminate the lease and gather any previous lease due. Under specific situations in case of non-payment of rent the property owner might hold the furniture and personal residential or commercial property of the occupant until previous lease is paid by the tenant.
  
  If a renter stops working to leave the rented property at the end of the lease term, the tenant might become responsible for double lease for the duration of holdover if the holdover is deemed to be willful. The occupant can also be kicked out.
  
  If the occupant damages the facilities, the landlord might take legal action against for the repair of such damages.
  
  Please note that certain municipalities or counties supply for specific responsibilities and requirements that the occupant must satisfy. If an occupant stops working to abide by such obligations or requirements, the property manager may have extra solutions for such failure. You need to consult with 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 apartment against prospective tenants who have kids under the age of 14. It is also illegal for a landlord to victimize a renter on the basis of race, faith, sex, national origin, income source, sexual origination, gender identity, or special needs.
  
  Security Deposits, Move-in Fee
  
  Down payment. A renter can be required to deposit with the landlord an amount of money prior to occupying the residential or commercial property. This is generally referred to as a security deposit. This cash is deemed to be security for any damage to the facilities or non-payment of rent. The security deposit does not alleviate the occupant of the duty to pay the last month's lease or for damage triggered to the properties. It needs to be returned to the occupant upon leaving the premises if no damage has been done beyond normal wear and tear and the lease is fully paid.
  
  If a proprietor stops working to return the security deposit promptly, 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 certain circumstances under state law, when a proprietor wrongfully keeps a tenant's down payment the renter may be able to recover extra damages and lawyers' fees. You must seek advice from with a lawyer.
  
  Generally, a property owner who gets a security deposit might not keep any part of that deposit as compensation for residential or commercial property damage unless he provides to the tenant, within thirty days of the date the renter vacates, a declaration of damage apparently brought on by the occupant and the approximated or actual expense of fixing or changing each product on that statement. If no such declaration is furnished within thirty days, the property owner needs to return the security deposit completely within 45 days of the date the renter vacated.
  
  If a structure consists of 25 or more residential units, the property owner should likewise 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 figured out by total assets, on a passbook security account.
  
  The above statements concerning security deposits 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 proprietor must adhere to when taking down payment and provide steep penalties when a property owner stops working to comply.
  
  Move-in Fee. In addition to or as an alternative to a security deposit, a landlord might charge a move-in cost. Generally, there are no particular limitations on the quantity of a move-in fee, nevertheless, particular towns or counties do supply restrictions. TIP: A move-in cost ought to be nonrefundable, otherwise it could be considered to be a security deposit.
  
  Landlord and tenant matters can become complex. Both property manager and occupant should speak with an attorney for help with specific issues. For more details about your rights and obligations as an occupant, consisting of particular landlord-tenant laws in your municipality or county, call 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
  arxiv.org
  Prepared by the Illinois State Bar Association's Real Estate Law Section (2024 )
  
  This handout is ready and published by the Illinois State Bar Association as a civil service. Every effort has been made to provide precise details at the time of publication.