Cook County Illinois landlords must change locks at end of lease term

keys and locks for tenantsThe State of Illinois, by way of Public Act 097-0470, just amended the Illinois Landlord and Tenant Act, adding new section 765 ILCS 705/15, effective January 1, 2012, requiring landlords in counties with a population in excess of 3 million people (ie. Cook County) to change or re-key the locks on a dwelling unit after a tenancy ends.  Exempt from the law are (1) owner occupied buildings containing four or fewer units or (2) rentals of a room in a private home.

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The Illinois Landlord’s Responsibility For Dog Bites

You can’t go anywhere in the City of Chicago without seeing a dog.  The Chicago Park District lists no fewer than eighteen dog parks in the City of Chicago.  Whether or not allow pets, especially dogs, is a question that regularly confronts landlords.  On the plus side, allowing pets usually expands a landlord’s pool of available renters making marketing time shorter and less expensive.  On one hand, pets can cause lots of damage to rental units, drive away “allergic” tenants, and cause noise problems for neighbors.  A landlord also needs to consider what would happen if a pet in the landlord’s building attacked another person.  Is a landlord responsible for damage to third parties caused by a tenant’s pet?

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