We get calls every day from landlords asking how we bill our eviction work. While we are always happy to spend five minutes on the phone free of charge with landlords to see if we are a match for an engagement, landlords can use that time more wisely learning about their case rather than our billing procedures by taking a look at our informational pamphlet on how we bill. Here is our pamphlet on the price of our eviction services for Cook County evictions (after the break).
No money? No Keys!
Meet Bill. He’s owned a condo in the West Loop for six years. Two years ago, Bill got married. He and his wife just closed on a new home in Wheaton. Bill never intended to own his condo this long, but he could not find a buyer in the hosing bust. He’d still like to sell, but the market is soft. Things were fine when he was living in the condo, but he now owns a house and a condo and two mortgages. Cash is tight and his reserves are running low. Bill puts an ad on Craigslist to find a renter. A few months and fewer showings later, Bill finds a person interested in renting his condo. He’s relieved because his mortgages are due on the 15th and he doesn’t have the cash in hand to make both payments. “There’s only one problem”, the prospective renter explains, “I don’t get paid until the 6th, so I have the first month’s rent, but I don’t have the security deposit”. Bill needs the money to pay his mortgage, so he drafts up a lease with the new tenant and includes a promise that the tenant will pay half of the security deposit on the 6th and the other half of the deposit on the 20th. Bill takes the first month’s rent and hands over keys to his new tenant! Now the trouble starts (after the break).
Chicago landlords must identify security deposit bank
I have often told landlord clients that the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance is simple in pieces and complex as a whole. There is no one provision of the ordinance that is unduly difficult to comply with. However, the law is packed full with tiny requirements and the penalty for noncompliance with tiny requirements is large. In July of 2010, the Chicago City Council amended the section of the CRLTO related to security deposits. Among the changes was a simple new requirement. Read about it after the break.
City of Chicago to release some high rise building safety information
The City of Chicago has announced that it will share the Life Safety Evaluation (LSE) status for hundreds of high-rise residential buildings will be made available online. Passed in 2004, the City’s Life Safety ordinance sets fire safety standards for high-rise buildings eight stories or higher.
Presented my seminar to a group of @properties agents
One of my favorite activities for professional development is to speak to different groups about landlord tenant issues. On a semi-regular basis, I speak to real estate agents about their role in residential rental transactions and what real estate agents need to know about the laws of Chicago and Illinois in order to keep their … Read more
Quick note: Cook County Sheriff speed
Right now, based on anecdotal experience, the Cook County Sheriff seems to be taking around four to six weeks to come out to enforce an order to evict a tenant. Frankly, for January and compared to previous years, that’s pretty spectacular.
Update: Heat and water to be restored to Lincoln Park hi-rise tenants
Well, that was fast! According to NBC News, the City of Chicago and the landlord who suggested that tenants use space heaters and ovens to heat their units for three weeks while apartment building repairs left residents without heat and hot water, entered an order providing, among other things, that the heat and hot water … Read more
Chicago landlords cannot leave tenants without heat and hot water
January 2018 Update: This news is as relevant today as it was in 2012.
Today’s news demonstrates yet another high profile example of a landlord ignoring the law. According to the Chicago Tribune, one Chicago landlord has notified its tenants that building repairs are expected to leave tenants without heat or hot water for about three weeks. Instead of leaving tenants without a warm shower, the landlord found itself in hot water with the City of Chicago.
Just asking to make matters worse, the building’s management company delivered a letter (the Chicago Tribune has posted a copy of the letter here) to tenants suggesting that building occupants use a space heater for heat and that the tenants “can also turn your oven on to supplement heat as needed”.
Chicago’s first blizzard and landlord tenant snow removal
City of Chicago rules for shoveling sidewalks!
Remember, the city requires that Chicagoans must remove ice and snow after a snowfall.
Our first big snow of 2011 calls for a refresher with this link to our post from February about a landlord and tenant’s obligation to remove snow and ice. Our snow and ice removal “cheat sheet” can be found after the break.
Sovereign citizen defense fails in McHenry County criminal trespass after eviction case
An article in the Daily Herald describes a McHenry County man who now faces jail time for moving back into the real estate he occupied before being evicted. According to the article, a jury found the man guilty of criminal trespass. He will be sentenced soon and faces “up to 364 days in jail, up to two years probation, and a maximum $2,500 fine.”