Sometimes, landlords can be confused by the terminology they may hear in the eviction courts in Illinois. When an attorney steps up before a judge in the eviction court, he or she will recite a sort of preamble to the case. After introductions, the plaintiff’s attorney might hand up an eviction notice, a 5 day notice for nonpayment of rent, for example, and will say “your honor, this is a joint action proceeding on a landlord’s five day notice”. Other plaintiff’s attorneys hand up a notice, say a 30 day notice in this case, and say “your honor, this is a single action proceeding on a landlord’s thirty day notice”.
NATO Conference interrupts Cook County eviction filings
Because of the NATO Conference in downtown Chicago, the Clerk of the Circuit Court is not currently accepting new eviction filings for the week of May 14, 2012 to May 18, 2012. Right now, the soonest return date available for Cook County forcible entry and detainer cases is currently May 21, 2012.
Speaking engagement today!
I’ll be speaking to the agents of Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty today about “What real estate agents need to know about making a lease in the City of Chicago”. For anyone calling the office today, be sure to ask for Rob or Jim.
Why does CRLTO compliance matter for landlords?
I know. Really, I know. You hate the ordinance. I hate it too. I think it is poorly written, contains lots of ambiguities, and is certainly draconian. The law leaves much room for improvement, however, landlords themselves have brought some of the law’s harshness upon themselves with their past bad acts. Unfortunately, it is the law. Landlords need to comply strictly… before it is too late.
What is the best time to serve a notice for nonpayment of rent?
A tenant is late with the monthly rent. It is nearing the end of the month. Should the landlord wait until the rent for the next month, which is due in just a few days, is also late before serving a notice for nonpayment of rent? No way. It is best to serve the notice sooner rather than later. Why?
Check out the all new www.illinois-attorney.com
Our firm’s main website has been fully redesigned! At that site, in addition to discussions of landlord tenant law, you can find out about estate planning, probate, real estate closings, corporate formation, and all sorts of other transactional law. Check it out at www.illinois-attorney.com!
Illinois Bad Landlord’s beware! Attorney General to fund legal assistance
Remember that money the State of Illinois won in the robo-signing lawsuit against the nation’s big banks? Well, that money seems to have found a home, and Illinois landlords may not like it.
Bad apple spoils the bunch as godfather of CRLTO cases pleads guilty to fraud charges
Lawrence v. Regent Realty Group, Inc. et. al. (197 Ill. 2d 1, 9-10 (2001)) is the grand poo bah of Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance lawsuits. Sure, there were others that came before it, but Lawrence opened the floodgates to a generation of attorneys who have great success in making landlords pay for simple little violations of the CRLTO.
Compliance with the Chicago Heating Cost Disclosure
Certain Landlords must provide a heating cost disclosure in Chicago
Tenants responsible for paying for the cost of their gas or electric can often be surprised by the high price of their energy bills. To combat the impact of those surprises, the City of Chicago passed an ordinance at Chapter 5-16 of the Chicago Municipal Code entitled Disclosure of Heating Costs to Tenants and most Chicago landlords need to comply.
Stick to the basics when it comes to evictions for nonpayment of rent
By now, my readers should know that the Illinois forcible entry and detainer statute is hyper-technical. It is easy to get “off track” in an eviction. Landlords can get easily distracted from the essentials of an eviction case. When that happens, they focus on “side-issues” that don’t really impact the eviction case. These side-issues only serve to distract from the case and sometimes even allow a defendant to stumble onto an issue that will cause a delay or may even prove fatal to the landlord’s case.