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  Your Guide to Landlord-Tenant Law
  realestate.com.au
  Landlord-Tenant Law
  
  At some time throughout their lives the majority of individuals will be included with the rental of real estate, either as landlord or occupant. Laws that affect landlords and tenants can vary significantly from city to city. This pamphlet offers general info about being an occupant in Illinois. You need to speak with an attorney or your municipality or county as they may supply you with greater security under the law.
  
  Tenancy Agreement
  
  The relationship between proprietor and tenant occurs from an agreement, composed or oral, by which one celebration inhabits the genuine estate of another with the owner's permission in return for the payment of particular amount as lease.
  
  Written Agreement: Most are in writing and are called a lease. No specific words are needed to develop a lease, but normally the terms of a lease include a description of the property, the length of the agreement, the amount of the lease, and the time of payment. TIP: You should put your agreement in writing to prevent future misunderstandings.
  
  Provisions in a lease agreement that safeguard a property owner from liability for damages to individuals or residential or commercial property caused by the negligence of the landlord are deemed being versus public law and are for that reason unenforceable. Certain towns and counties have other constraints and restriction on certain lease terms, so you need to speak with an attorney or your municipality or county.
  
  Oral Agreement: If an occupancy arrangement is not in composing, the regard to the agreement will, usually, be considered a month-to-month occupancy. The duration is usually figured out by the frequency of the rental payments. For example: 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 terms of an oral contract just as much as a written one.
  
  Termination of the Lease or Tenancy Agreement
  
  If a lease is not for a specific term, it may be terminated by either celebration with appropriate notification.
  
  - For year-to-year tenancies, other than a lease of farmland, either party may end the lease by providing 60 days of written notification at any time within the four months preceding the last 60 days of the lease.
• A week-to-week tenancy may be ended by either celebration by giving seven days of written notification to the other party.
• Farm leases normally run for one year. Customarily, they start and end in March of each year. Notice to end should be offered a minimum of 4 months before completion of the term.
• In all other lease contracts for a period of less than one year, a celebration needs to provide thirty days of written notification. Any notification given should require termination on the last day of that rental period.
• The lease may likewise have mentioned requirements and timeframe for termination of the lease.
• In specific towns and counties, property owners are needed to give more than the above stated notice period for termination. You should talk to a lawyer or your municipality or county.
  
  If the lease does mention a particular expiration or termination date, no termination notice is essential. Know that your lease may also require notification of termination in a specific kind or a higher notice period than the minimum required by law, if any. Landlords should keep in mind that no matter what the lease needs or mentions, you may be needed to give more than the notice duration specified in the lease for termination and in writing. You must seek advice from with a lawyer or your municipality or county.
  
  Termination of a month-to-month occupancy typically just needs 30 days of notification by occupant and a landlord is required to serve a written notification of termination of tenancy 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 must speak with seek advice from 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 contract of the celebrations. If a lease term ends and the property manager accepts rent following the expiration of the term, the lease term automatically 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 restoring the lease. You should review your lease to confirm such requirements. Landlords and tenants need to note that no matter what the lease requires or states, landlords may also have constraints on how early they can require renewal of a lease by a renter and are required to put such in composing. You must consult with a lawyer or your town or county.
  
  Month-to-month occupancies immediately renew from month to month up until terminated by either property owner or renter.
  
  Unless there is a written lease, a landlord can raise the lease by any quantity by providing the renter notification: Seven days of notification for a week-to-week occupancy, thirty days of notification for a month-to-month occupancy, and 90 days of notice for mobile home parks. In specific municipalities and counties, proprietors are required to give more than seven or one month of notification of a rental boost, so you must talk to speak with a lawyer 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 need to submit an expulsion to remove a renter 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 proprietor need to serve a five-day notification upon the delinquent occupant unless the lease needs more than five days of notification. Five days after such notification is served, the landlord may begin expulsion proceedings versus the tenant. If, nevertheless, the occupant pays the full quantity of rent demanded in the five-day notice within those five days, the proprietor may not proceed with an eviction. The property manager is not needed, however, to accept lease that is less than the specific quantity due. If the landlord accepts a tender of a lower quantity of lease, it may affect the rights to continue under the notification.
  
  10-Day Notice. If a property owner wishes to terminate a lease due to the fact that of a violation of the lease agreement by the tenant, other than for non-payment of lease, he or she need to serve 10 days of written notice upon the occupant before eviction procedures 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 end the lease unless the breach experienced is a continuing breach.
  
  Holdover. If a renter remains beyond the lease expiration date, generally, a property owner might submit an eviction without needing to very first serve a notification on the renter. However, the terms of the lease or in specific towns or counties, a landlord is required to provide a notification of non-renewal to the renter, so you should consult with an attorney or your municipality or county.
  
  Service as needed Notice
  
  The five-day, 10-day, or termination of month-to-month occupancy notices may be served upon tenant by delivering a written or printed copy to the renter, leaving the very same with some person above the age of 13 years who lives at the party's residence, or sending a copy of the notice to the party by licensed or registered mail with a return invoice from the addressee. If no one remains in the real belongings of the facilities, then posting notification on the facilities is sufficient.
  
  Subletting or Assigning the Lease
  
  Often, written leases forbid the occupant from subletting the properties without the written authorization of the property manager. Such permission can not be unreasonably withheld, but the prohibition is enforceable under the law. If there is no such restriction, then a renter may sublease or appoint their lease to another. In such cases, nevertheless, the occupant will stay accountable to the landlord unless the property owner launches the initial occupant. A breach of the sublease will not change the initial relationship between the property manager and renter.
  
  Breach by Landlord, Tenant Remedies
  
  If the property owner has actually breached the lease by stopping working to meet their responsibilities under the lease, specific remedies emerge in favor of the renter:
  
  - The occupant may sue the property manager for damages sustained as a result of the breach.
• If a proprietor stops working to keep a leased residence in a livable condition, the renter may have the ability to vacate the facilities and end the lease under the theory of "useful eviction."
• The failure of a property manager to preserve a leased residence in a livable condition or comply significantly with regional housing codes might be a breach of the property manager's "implied guarantee of habitability" (independent of any composed lease provisions 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 facilities. However, breach by property manager does not instantly entitle a tenant to keep rent or a reduction in the rental value. The obligation to pay lease continues as long as the occupant stays in the rented premises and to assert this defense effectively, the occupant will need to show that their damages arising from landlord's breach of this "implied warranty" equivalent or go beyond the lease declared due.
  
  A proprietor's breach and renter's damages might be challenging to show. Because of the restricted and technical nature of these guidelines, tenants must be exceptionally mindful in keeping rent and must most likely do so only after seeking advice from a lawyer.
  
  Please note that certain towns or counties attend to specific obligations and requirements that the landlord should perform. If a property manager fails to abide by such commitments or requirements, the occupant may have additional solutions for such failure. You ought to seek advice from a lawyer or your municipality or county.
  
  Breach by the Tenant, Landlord Remedies
  
  In addition to termination for particular breaches by tenant, a proprietor also has the following treatments:
  
  If lease is not paid, the property owner might: (1) demand the rent due or to become due in the future and (2) end the lease and gather any past rent due. Under particular scenarios in the event of non-payment of lease the property owner may hold the furniture and personal residential or commercial property of the occupant till previous lease is paid by the renter.
  
  If a tenant fails to vacate the leased property at the end of the lease term, the tenant may end up being responsible for double lease for the period of holdover if the holdover is considered to be willful. The occupant can likewise be forced out.
  
  If the occupant harms the premises, the property owner may demand the repair work of such damages.
  
  Please note that specific municipalities or counties attend to certain obligations and requirements that the occupant need to meet. If a renter fails to abide by such commitments or requirements, the landlord may have extra treatments for such failure. You must speak with an attorney or your town or county.
  
  Discrimination
  
  Under the federal Fair Housing Act and Illinois law, it is illegal for a property owner to discriminate in the leasing of a home home, flat, or house against potential renters who have children under the age of 14. It is likewise illegal for a landlord to victimize a tenant on the basis of race, religion, sex, national origin, income source, sexual origination, gender identity, or disability.
  
  Security Deposits, Move-in Fee
  
  Security Deposit. A tenant can be required to deposit with the property owner an amount of cash prior to inhabiting the residential or commercial property. This is normally described as a security deposit. This cash is considered to be security for any damage to the premises or non-payment of rent. The down payment does not eliminate the tenant of the duty to pay the last month's lease or for damage caused to the premises. It needs to be gone back to the renter upon leaving the facilities if no damage has been done beyond typical wear and tear and the lease is completely paid.
  
  If a proprietor fails to return the security deposit without delay, the occupant can take legal action against to recuperate the portion of the down payment to which the tenant is entitled. In some municipalities or counties and particular situations under state law, when a landlord wrongfully keeps a renter's security deposit the renter may be able to recuperate additional damages and lawyers' charges. You need to seek advice from with a legal representative.
  
  Generally, a property owner who receives a security deposit might not withhold any part of that deposit as settlement for residential or commercial property damage unless he provides to the tenant, within 1 month of the date the occupant leaves, a declaration of damage allegedly brought on by the tenant and the approximated or actual cost of fixing or changing each product on that statement. If no such statement is provided within one month, the property manager should return the down payment in complete within 45 days of the date the renter vacated.
  
  If a building includes 25 or more residential systems, the property manager needs to 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 identified by total possessions, on a passbook security account.
  
  The above statements concerning security deposits are based upon state law. However, some towns or counties may enforce extra commitments. For example, Cook County, Evanston, Chicago, and Oak Park all have additional requirements that a landlord need to adhere to when taking down payment and supply high penalties when a property manager fails 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 particular restrictions on the quantity of a move-in fee, however, particular towns or counties do provide limitations. TIP: A move-in cost should be nonrefundable, otherwise it could be deemed to be a down payment.
  
  Landlord and renter matters can become complex. Both property manager and occupant ought to consult a lawyer for support with specific problems. For more details about your rights and obligations as a tenant, consisting of particular landlord-tenant laws in your town or county, contact your local bar association, or go to 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
  redfin.com
  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 actually been made to offer accurate information at the time of publication.