Chicago IL Eviction Attorney

To really understand all the options regarding eviction in Chicago, the easiest thing to do is to hire a real estate attorney. In Illinois, the eviction process (forcible entry and detainer) is enumerated in the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure Ch. 735 ILCS 5/9. Illinois courts have further explained the eviction process in Robinson v. Chicago Housing Authority, 54 F.3d 316 (7th Cir. 1995):

“The complete process of evicting a tenant in Illinois involves five distinct steps. However, the occurrence or execution of all the five steps may not be necessary for the tenant to lose their right to possession.

• The first essential step is that the tenant must be delinquent in her rent.
• Second, the landlord must notify the tenant, in writing, that the rent must be paid within no less than five days.
• Third, the specified time period mentioned in the notice must pass without tender of payment by the tenant.
• Fourth, the landlord must sue for possession or maintain ejectment and obtain a judgment for possession.
• Fifth, and finally, a writ of possession issues pursuant to the judgment for possession.”

While non-payment of rent is the most common reason for eviction, it is possible to evict or be evicted for reasons other than non-payment of rent. Some of these reasons include, but are not limited to, illegal activities on the leased properties, breaching term of the written lease, or failure to vacate the leased property at the expiration of the leased term.

If you need a real estate attorney to evict a tenant, or if you need a lawyer to defend you in an eviction matter, contact this office as soon as possible. Failure to adhere to statues or court rules can result in loss of property rights and/or money.

We represent clients for evictions with properties in all of the Chicago Suburbs.

Residential Eviction

When a landlord sues a tenant in court to vacate a property, this is called residential eviction. The tenant can also be sued by the landlord for back rent & any damages the tenant may have caused while renting the unit. The laws regarding real estate can vary among different jurisdictions, but the laws will often require that a tenant is served a residential eviction notice which allows them an opportunity to make good of any breach to the lease agreement, or vacate the property. When a landlord tries to evict a tenant by their own means, by changing the locks or barring entry into the apartment without a court order, this is considered an illegal eviction. A tenant can stop a residential eviction with the help of legal defense, called a landlord retaliation.

Commercial Eviction

A business owner and landlord will have a contractual agreement when renting a commercial property. The contents of the agreement can vary from one lease to another, but one premise is always constant: the landlord has the right to evict the tenant if the rent is not paid or the business owner violates the agreement in some way. There are specific procedures that the landlord needs to follow when attempting to evict. If the landlord fails to follow these procedures, this can result in the dismissal of the eviction lawsuit.

If the rent from the tenant is overdue, the landlord must present the tenant with a 3 day notice indicating their intent to evict. The address of the rental property, applicable taxes, date the payment needs to be received, and the amount owed for rent must all be included in the notice. The notice must advise the tenant to pay their rent within three days or the property must be surrendered to the landlord. The landlord will need to have proof that they delivered the notice and that the tenant received the documents. If the tenant doesn’t comply with the notice and pay the overdue rent or vacate the premises, the landlord can proceed with a lawsuit to evict the tenant.

Eviction During Foreclosure

Chicago real estate attorney’s have a lot of experience with the eviction process. We see many times that homeowners are unable to save their homes or find a way to stop the foreclosure process because they don’t seek any help. Some will wait till the last minute, hoping that someone will come through with a new foreclosure loan for them. In these kinds of cases the foreclosure victims may find that they need to find a new place to live because the lenders may not be willing to postpone a sheriff sale. A homeowners plan for their lives after foreclosure can be dependent on the length of the eviction and state foreclosure laws.

A homeowner needs to be three to six months behind on payments before the bank will start the foreclosure process. The foreclosure process can start right away – if you are thirty one days late, but most lenders will give their clients the benefit of the doubt. Mortgage companies know most people can recover quickly and pay their mortgage on time again avoid foreclosure completely.

If the lender knows the homeowners are working with the bank for a mortgage modification or repayment plan, they would consider postponing the foreclosure filing a few more months. When a foreclosure begins, there are additional expenses to all parties involved, so lenders are usually willing to get the homeowners approved for a repayment plan before everything gets out of control. Its important for homeowners to have a good plan and talk to the lender about options, because interest, fees, and penalties add up very quickly.

The rules and regulations for foreclosures and evictions vary from state to state. Waiting too long without a good strategy in place can put you in a frightening situation. Call us today to see if you could benefit from the help of a Chicago real estate attorney. Its better to know and understand what your rights are than just waiting in the dark for an answer.

Lockouts

There are situations when a tenants do things that are so offensive that a landlord may be convinced to bypass a normal legal route and take an instant or direct action to protect their property. For example, a landlord may change the locks and put the tenants property out on the street if the tenant is repeatedly abusing or destroying the landlords property.

It is generally thought that the landlords behavior is excused by the tenants foolishness, but more often than not a landlord can end up on the wrong end of a lawsuit for a multitude of different things. Trespassing, battery, slander, assault, intentional affliction of emotional distress or even wrongful eviction are some of the matters that could be potentially pinned on a landlord that would cost them far more in a lawsuit, than just using legal court procedures.

If you’re dealing with an unacceptable tenant situation it is in your best interests to contact a Chicago real estate attorney to help you. There are proper steps to take when evicting a tenant legally, and not following those can cost you a small fortune. Our Chicago real estate attorneys are very knowledgeable and experienced with this type of situation. Call us today for help!

Retaliatory Actions & Evictions

Many times when tenants try to exercise their legal rights (by using whats called the repair and deduct remedy) or even complained about a problem in the rental unit, a landlord may try to evict a tenant. Some landlords will try to punish the tenant for complaining or lawfully exercising a tenant right, by raising their rent, ect…

In either circumstance, the action of the landlord is called retaliatory because the landlord is punishing the tenant for exercising their rights. There is protection for tenants from retaliatory evictions from a landlord.

The law concludes that a landlord has a retaliatory motive if the landlord seeks to evict the tenant within 6 months after the tenant has exercised any of their tenant rights:

• Telling the landlord that the tenant is going to use the repair and deduct solution, or just going ahead and using it.
• Complaining about the condition of the rental unit to an appropriate public agency after giving the landlord notice.
• Filing a lawsuit based on the condition of the rental unit.
• Seeking out a public agency to inspect the rental unit, or issue of a citation to the landlord.
• A tenant must prove that they exercised one or more of the above rights within a six month period, that their rent is current, that they have not used the defense of retaliation more than once in the past twelve months in order for them to defend against an eviction on the basis of retaliation. If this evidence is produced, a landlord must be able to show that they did not have retaliatory motive. If both sides produce necessary evidence, a judge or a jury will then decide if the landlord’s action was based on a valid cause or if it was retaliatory.

There can be many parts to a situation of this magnitude. If you feel that your landlord has retaliated against you because of a situation that you’ve taken against your landlord, you need the assistance of a Chicago real estate attorney. Call us today to avoid any more financial and personal stress, we are here to help. Our Chicago real estate attorney’s are very knowledgeable about these types of situations.