Get free answers to your Landlord - Tenant legal questions from lawyers in your area.
We signed a one year contract rent to own lease and want to purchase the house and now seller says we have to be out by end of lease and not selling to us.
answered on Sep 28, 2018
Short answer: No Long Answer: A contract is a binding document and commitment between the parties. Before we can say the owner is committed to sell the house to you, you would need to read the terms of the contract. There may be a provision that might allow him to rescind the contract. If the... View More 
I have tenants who's lease expired, they kept living there and paying rent for some time. They now want to leave with 10 days notice and not pay October rent, I figure they were month to month and probably owe us 30 days notice. Are they obligated to pay next month's rent?
answered on Sep 21, 2018
Good question: Whether the tenant moved in and never signed a lease, or if they once had a lease and the lease ended, but they continued to rent on a month-to-month basis, Illinois state law requires they give the landlord written notice before they move out. If the tenant pays rent once a week,... View More
answered on Sep 14, 2018
Not unless the lease specifically says it can be considered as rent.
I did not get a notice on whether I got accepted to rent an apartment. I called landlord after not hearing back for two weeks and informed landlord I was no longer interested. Landlord said she would let company know. A month later no deposit check back. Called company and they said its used for... View More
answered on Sep 10, 2018
Illinois Statute (765 ILCS 710) is directed towards all landlords in Illinois for residential property containing five units or more in an apartment complex or in a single building. Under the Illinois statute, a landlord needs to return the security deposit within 30-45 days, of vacating the... View More
I received a letter stating unit owners must terminate their leases with their tenants due to a leasing cap.
answered on Sep 9, 2018
Generally speaking, HOA’s authority is limited to oversight and enforcement of its members, the owners of the real property. The HOA has the authority to enforce its governing documents against its members, the owner who actually owns the real property. The HOA has no ability to enforce its... View More
answered on Sep 9, 2018
Let's make the assumption, that you signed a Lease. The Lease is a binding agreement. The Lease agreement stipulates the terms of the Lease. It stipulates what you are required to do. The terms of the Lease determine when a deposit becomes due. The Lease Agreement can only be enforceable... View More
The landlord only had us sign a lease to trailer 8 two years ago. She moved us from there to a different trailer and said we would have to sign a new lease and we never did. We did however give her a thirty day notice we were moving and she claims we did not. Can she force us to pay for the trailer... View More
answered on Sep 8, 2018
It sounds like there was an original lease. We would have to read the terms of the lease to understand if you are liable for the lease. Just because you moved to a different trailer, it appears that you were still on the landlord's property, and you were living in the same landlord's... View More
I recently signed a 12-month lease in Evanston, IL. The beginning of the term was 7/1 but the contract said that the first month's payment of $950 is due on or before 8/15. While it seemed a little strange to me that there was nothing mentioning July rent, I signed it and planned to pay my... View More
answered on Sep 8, 2018
Based on your scenario, this typo sounds that this was a “Mutual Mistake.” Based on the fact that you call this a typo, you yourself probably view this as a "Mutual Mistake." Basically, meaning that neither party noticed it was wrong, but did not intend for it to be present. In a... View More
I would like to send my landlord certified mail to give notice of necessary repairs. Landlord has been hostile about necessary repairs such as a broken toilet in a one bathroom apartment. He has refused to provide an address and only sends an email address, saying that he has no permanent address.... View More
answered on Sep 7, 2018
The Chicago Landlord Tenant Ordinance (RLTO) is the source of tenants’ rights law for those that live in the City of Chicago.
Landlords are not permitted to not identify themselves. The RLTO requires that the following be disclosed in writing to the tenant:
1. The name, address,... View More
We had friends live with us for about 2 months in our home that we live in and own under the verbal agreement they would pay rent and get a job (and other verbal agreements) to which they never paid rent or kept a job longer than a few days. A few days ago (Fri) we asked for that they pay us rent... View More
answered on Sep 7, 2018
When a tenant abandons their property, the landlord can throw out their trash immediately. With regards to valuable property, a Chicago ordinance sets out rules for that city, including the requirement that the landlord must hold or store valuable property for seven days before disposing of it.... View More
When my mother would let my father stay with me 3 days a week b /c he loved me she said 1 day have your father practice writing his name. I now find out that he was not of sound mind as I know he did not know my name would call me peanut, sunshine and have me write my name on a pc of paper so he... View More
answered on Aug 29, 2018
Sorry to hear about the passing of your father. If your father quitclaimed the house over to his girlfriend your father no longer owned title to the property when he passed - that is unless you can show the transfer was done under duress, or undue influence, or perhaps maybe even fraud.
If... View More
The apartment doesn't a landlord or the police have to contact the tenants who live in the apartment ????
answered on Aug 28, 2018
It is certainly possible a tenant can leave an apartment due to pest control issues and burglaries, as there is an implied warranty of habitability in every lease in Illinois. In addition, there may be added protections to the tenant if the apartment is in Chicago and subject to the Chicago... View More
answered on Aug 25, 2018
Yes, as long as he isn't disadvantaging the tenants by doing so.
We were notified july 31 signed the new lease august 1. And I think we are expected to pay the new rent without a 30 day notice rent changed from 132 to 428 a month. Its a year lease and given only one day notice to these changes and told the we needed to sign our lease
answered on Aug 6, 2018
If you signed the new lease you basically signed a new contract agreeing to the new rent, unless there is a Chicago ordinance I'm not familiar with that might change the situation. The time to bargain is before you sign a document, not afterwards.
I found out about a year and a half ago that I am paying for some of the electricity from the apartment under me, in which my landlord is living in at the moment, previously, another tenant was living there. Before she moved out, she cut her electricity services and she realized that half of her... View More
answered on Jul 30, 2018
If your apartment is Illinois, the Residential Property Utility Service Act provides a remedy for your situation. In cases where the tenant is being billed for utilities (electric/gas/etc.) that are being used outside of the tenant's unit, the landlord is responsible to reimburse the tenant... View More
Is there any legality issues we need to worry about once we both terminate on our sides? Also the contract was not turned in to the state at all.
answered on Jul 13, 2018
A simple written agreement between the parties stating they both consider the contract for deed to be null and void should do the trick as long as all parties sign and date enough copies that each of you gets one with all original signatures and the agreement describes the land involved. The... View More
lease of course makes no mention of any use of any closets. It also makes no mention that she is using those closets. Who know what is in there. Perhaps she has a meth lab or something else illegal going on in there.
answered on Jul 11, 2018
Does the description of the property you're leasing include the closets? If it doesn't, you probably have no right to verify what's in there. Is it your stuff being stored in the closets? If so, you probably have a right to verify that it is still there and stored safely.
She never paid me rent and had no lease. She has moved into another apartment, this time as a rent paying tenant but still no lease. I have changed the locks to my house. But her IL state ID still shows my address and I don't believe she has formally filed any sort of address change. Am I... View More
answered on Jul 2, 2018
If she has moved out and taken her belongings you shouldn't need to serve her a 30-day notice. I encourage people in your situation to change the locks. The fact that her state ID shows your address gives her no right to access the property.
Before moving out at the end of my lease I updated the property with some permanent improvements at my own expense, with advance notice and approval from the owner/landlord. After the work was done, he sent me an email saying I could deduct the cost from my last rent check. When I shorted the... View More
answered on Jun 29, 2018
Can he sue you? sure. Will he win? Probably not, as long as you can produce evidence of his email.
I created and submitted an "Intent to Renew Lease" document within 30 days of my current lease expiring (July 10, 2018), and now my landlord is harassing me because I haven't signed the lease yet (to the point of calling my emergency contact about it). Can she lease my unit to... View More
answered on Jun 26, 2018
I'm looking for a problem. You intend to renew your lease, so it should make no difference to you whether you sign it today, tomorrow or 30 seconds before your old one expires. Sign the lease, if you mean to do so. The landlord has every right to be looking for a new tenant if you haven't... View More
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