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  Your Guide to Landlord-Tenant Law
  
  Landlord-Tenant Law
  
  At some time throughout their lives many people will be included with the rental of property, either as property manager or occupant. Laws that affect property managers and renters can vary considerably from city to city. This pamphlet provides general information about being an occupant in Illinois. You need to talk to a lawyer or your town or county as they may offer you with greater defense under the law.
  
  Tenancy Agreement
  
  The relationship in between property owner and renter develops from an agreement, written or oral, by which one celebration occupies the realty of another with the owner's consent in return for the payment of specific quantity as lease.
  
  Written Agreement: Most occupancies are in composing and are called a lease. No particular words are needed to develop a lease, but typically the regards to a lease consist of a description of the property, the length of the arrangement, the quantity of the rent, and the time of payment. TIP: You should put your agreement in writing to avoid future misunderstandings.
  
  Provisions in a lease contract that secure a property manager from liability for damages to individuals or residential or commercial property brought on by the neglect of the property manager are viewed as being against public law and are for that reason unenforceable. Certain towns and counties have other constraints and restriction on certain lease terms, so you should speak with an attorney or your town or county.
  
  Oral Agreement: If a tenancy arrangement is not in composing, the term of the contract will, normally, be thought about a month-to-month occupancy. The period is typically 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 identify, a celebration may be bound to the terms of an oral contract simply as much as a written one.
  
  Termination of the Lease or Tenancy Agreement
  
  If a lease is not for a specific term, it might be terminated by either celebration with appropriate notice.
  
  - For year-to-year occupancies, besides a lease of farmland, either celebration may terminate the lease by giving 60 days of written notice at any time within the four months preceding the last 60 days of the lease.
• A week-to-week tenancy might be ended by either celebration by seven days of written notice to the other celebration.
• Farm leases generally run for one year. Customarily, they begin and end in March of each year. Notice to terminate need to be provided at least four months before completion of the term.
• In all other lease contracts for a duration of less than one year, a celebration must give 1 month of written notice. Any notification provided need to require termination on the last day of that rental period.
• The lease might also have specified requirements and timeframe for termination of the lease.
• In particular municipalities and counties, property owners are needed to offer more than the above mentioned notice duration for termination. You should consult with an attorney or your town or county.
  
  If the lease does state a specific expiration or termination date, no termination notice is required. Know that your lease may likewise require notification of termination in a specific form or a greater notice duration than the minimum needed by law, if any. Landlords must keep in mind that no matter what the lease requires or states, you might be needed to give more than the notification period specified in the lease for termination and in writing. You ought to consult with a lawyer or your municipality or county.
  
  Termination of a month-to-month tenancy normally just requires 1 month of notification by renter and a property owner is needed to serve a composed notification of termination of occupancy on the renter (see Service as needed area below). In particular municipalities and counties, property owners are needed to offer more than one month of notification, so you need to speak 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 contract of the celebrations. If a lease term ends and the property owner accepts lease following the expiration of the term, the lease term immediately becomes month-to-month based on the same terms stated in the lease.
  
  The lease may need a particular notice and timeframe for restoring the lease. You need to evaluate your lease to confirm such requirements. Landlords and tenants need to note that no matter what the lease needs or mentions, landlords may likewise have limitations on how early they can need renewal of a lease by a tenant and are needed to put such in composing. You ought to speak with an attorney or your town or county.
  
  Month-to-month tenancies automatically restore from month to month until ended by either property owner or tenant.
  
  Unless there is a composed lease, a property owner can raise the rent by any amount by offering the tenant notice: Seven days of notice for a week-to-week tenancy, 30 days 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 provide more than seven or one month of notice of a rental boost, so you must seek advice from seek advice from a lawyer or your town 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 eviction to get rid of a tenant 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 manager must serve a five-day notification upon the delinquent renter unless the lease requires more than 5 days of notice. Five days after such notification is served, the property manager might begin eviction procedures against the renter. If, nevertheless, the renter pays the total of rent required in the five-day notice within those five days, the property owner may not proceed with an expulsion. The property owner is not required, nevertheless, to accept rent that is less than the specific amount due. If the proprietor accepts a tender of a lower amount of lease, it may impact the rights to continue under the notice.
  
  10-Day Notice. If a property owner wants to terminate a lease because of an offense of the lease agreement by the tenant, other than for non-payment of lease, she or he need to serve 10 days of composed notice upon the tenant before eviction procedures can begin, unless the lease requires more than 10 days of notice. Acceptance of rent after such notice is a waiver by the property manager of the right to terminate the lease unless the breach suffered is a continuing breach.
  
  Holdover. If an occupant remains beyond the lease expiration date, normally, a property manager might submit an eviction without needing to first serve a notification on the renter. However, the regards to the lease or in certain towns or counties, a proprietor is required to supply a notice of non-renewal to the renter, so you ought to seek advice from an attorney or your municipality or county.
  
  Service on Demand Notice
  
  The five-day, 10-day, or termination of month-to-month tenancy notices may be served upon occupant by delivering a written or printed copy to the occupant, leaving the very same with some person above the age of 13 years who lives at the party's home, or sending out a copy of the notice to the party by accredited or signed up mail with a return receipt from the addressee. If no one remains in the actual ownership of the properties, then publishing notice on the facilities is adequate.
  
  Subletting or Assigning the Lease
  
  Often, written leases prohibit the tenant from subletting the facilities without the written permission of the proprietor. Such approval 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 assign their lease to another. In such cases, nevertheless, the renter will stay accountable to the property owner unless the property manager launches the original occupant. A breach of the sublease will not alter the initial relationship between the property owner and tenant.
  
  Breach by Landlord, Tenant Remedies
  
  If the landlord has breached the lease by stopping working to fulfill their tasks under the lease, particular treatments emerge in favor of the renter:
  
  - The occupant may sue the landlord for damages sustained as a result of the breach.
• If a proprietor fails to maintain a rented home in a livable condition, the tenant may have the ability to abandon the facilities and terminate the lease under the theory of "constructive expulsion."
• The failure of a landlord to maintain a leased house in a habitable condition or comply considerably with local housing codes may be a breach of the proprietor's "implied service warranty of habitability" (independent of any written lease arrangements or oral guarantees), which the occupant may assert as a defense to an eviction based upon the non-payment of rent or a claim for decrease in the rental worth of the facilities. However, breach by property owner does not automatically entitle an occupant to withhold lease or a reduction in the rental value. The obligation to pay rent continues as long as the renter remains in the rented facilities and to assert this defense successfully, the occupant will have to reveal that their damages resulting from landlord's breach of this "implied guarantee" equal or exceed the rent claimed due.
  
  A property manager's breach and renter's damages may be difficult to show. Because of the limited and technical nature of these guidelines, renters need to be incredibly careful in withholding rent and should most likely do so just after speaking with an attorney.
  
  Please note that certain municipalities or counties offer specific responsibilities and requirements that the property owner must perform. If a proprietor fails to abide by such responsibilities or requirements, the tenant may have extra remedies for such failure. You need to speak with a lawyer or your municipality or county.
  
  Breach by the Tenant, Landlord Remedies
  
  In addition to termination for certain breaches by occupant, a landlord likewise has the following remedies:
  
  If rent is not paid, the landlord may: (1) demand the rent due or to become due in the future and (2) terminate the lease and collect any past lease due. Under specific circumstances in case of non-payment of rent the property owner may hold the furnishings and personal residential or commercial property of the occupant up until past lease is paid by the tenant.
  
  If a renter fails to leave the leased property at the end of the lease term, the renter may become responsible for double rent for the duration of holdover if the holdover is deemed to be willful. The occupant can likewise be forced out.
  
  If the renter harms the properties, the property owner may demand the repair work of such damages.
  
  Please note that specific towns or counties offer specific responsibilities and requirements that the tenant must fulfill. If a tenant fails to comply with such commitments or requirements, the landlord might have additional solutions for such failure. You ought to speak with an attorney or your town or county.
  
  Discrimination
  
  Under the federal Fair Housing Act and Illinois law, it is unlawful for a property manager to discriminate in the leasing of a dwelling home, flat, or apartment versus prospective occupants who have kids under the age of 14. It is likewise unlawful for a property owner to discriminate versus a tenant on the basis of race, religion, sex, nationwide origin, income, sexual origination, gender identity, or impairment.
  
  Security Deposits, Move-in Fee
  
  Down payment. A tenant can be required to deposit with the proprietor an amount of cash prior to occupying the residential or commercial property. This is usually referred to as a down payment. This cash is considered to be security for any damage to the premises or non-payment of rent. The security deposit does not ease the tenant of the task to pay the last month's rent or for damage triggered to the properties. It needs to be gone back to the tenant upon abandoning the facilities if no damage has been done beyond typical wear and tear and the rent is fully paid.
  
  If a proprietor fails to return the down payment without delay, the tenant can take legal action against to recover the part of the down payment to which the renter is entitled. In some towns or counties and particular circumstances under state law, when a property manager wrongfully keeps an occupant's down payment the tenant may be able to recuperate additional damages and attorneys' charges. You must speak with a legal representative.
  
  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 renter, within 30 days of the date the occupant abandons, a statement of damage supposedly triggered by the tenant and the approximated or actual expense of fixing or changing each product on that declaration. If no such declaration is provided within 30 days, the landlord must return the down payment in full within 45 days of the date the renter abandoned.
  
  If a structure includes 25 or more property units, the proprietor should likewise 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 identified by overall properties, on a passbook security account.
  
  The above statements concerning security deposits are based on state law. However, some municipalities or counties may enforce additional obligations. For example, Cook County, Evanston, Chicago, and Oak Park all have extra requirements that a landlord need to adhere to when taking down payment and supply steep penalties when a proprietor stops working to comply.
  
  Move-in Fee. In addition to or as an option to a security deposit, a proprietor may charge a move-in charge. Generally, there are no specific constraints on the quantity of a move-in cost, however, certain towns or counties do provide constraints. TIP: A move-in charge must be nonrefundable, otherwise it might be deemed to be a security deposit.
  
  Landlord and renter matters can become complex. Both proprietor and tenant should speak with an attorney for assistance with particular problems. For more details about your rights and responsibilities as a renter, including specific landlord-tenant laws in your town or county, call 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
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  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 actually been made to provide accurate details at the time of publication.