Not every Illinois landlord or tenant has heard of “cash for keys” but, chances are, if they hang around the rental markets long enough, they will… or should. Cash for keys is an alternative to the eviction process. It works like this: a landlord offers some amount of cash to a tenant the landlord would otherwise want to evict in exchange for the tenant’s return to the landlord of an empty rental unit and the keys to that unit. It’s that easy.
President agrees to 1099 relief
Just a quick update to let everyone know that the President signed into law a repeal of the burdensome 1099-misc reporting requirements imposed by the Small Business Jobs Act and the Affordable Care Act. Basically, we are back to the starting point where we were before these laws were signed. This is good news for … Read more
Cook County Sheriff eviction information letter
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the procedures at the Cook County Sheriff for enforcing court entered residential eviction orders. In that article, I indicated that a few weeks after paying the Sheriff the eviction service fee, his office would send a letter in the mail with the district number and sheriff’s number on it. (UPDATE: you can also learn the Sheriff’s district by taking the last three digits of the zip code of the property address to be evicted). From there, a lessor must check the Sheriff’s website daily to match up the numbers to find out when the eviction will take place. I wanted to show what that letter currently looks like (after the jump).
Can a Chicago landlord refuse a sublese?
No. That was easy. But, as is usually true in Chicago landlording, there’s much more to the story. What is a sublease anyway? A sublease is merely a further leasing (by the tenant) of already leased property. When a tenant, for whatever reason, is unable to meet lease obligations, that tenant might seek to lease the unit to a tenant of their own- a subtenant. By doing so, the original tenant finds a new party to assist in meeting the lease obligations.
Length of time for the Cook County Illinois eviction process
How long does it take to remove a tenant in a Cook County forcible entry and detainer case?
Landlord tenant disputes and evictions come in all shapes and sizes. In the end, there are only two legal ways for a landlord to get possession of rental property back from a tenant: (1) turnover of actual possession by the tenant or (2) an eviction order from a judge (known as an order for possession) executed (aka enforced) by the county Sheriff. If the tenant cannot be persuaded to turn over possession and the landlord has grounds for eviction, the landlord’s only remedy is to take the tenant to court. So how long does the court process take?
Update on Legislation
Looks like none of the laws up for vote on April 15, 2015 passed.
Illinois landlord tenant legislation up for vote April 15, 2011
There are a number of bills up for vote on April 15, 2011. Many of these are anti-landlord. Landlords would be well advised to encourage their representatives to vote against the following bills (a link to the bill and the state supplied synopsis follow):
Illinois landlord tenant insurance requirements
A pipe accidentally bursts in the closet wall of a rented apartment and a tenant’s property suffers major water damage. The tenant thinks the landlord is responsible and that the landlord’s insurance will cover the tenant’s damaged property. In most cases, the tenant is, unfortunately, mistaken. What kind of rules govern the insurance requirements of landlords and tenants?
Landlord 1099 relief gets a step closer
CNN reports that the Senate today passed legislation known as the Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011 (that’s a mouth-full) to reform the burdensome changes implemented in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (aka SBJA) and the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The law now … Read more
Landlord responsibility for carbon monoxide
The Toledo Blade reports that earlier this week, an Ohio landlord was indicted on charges of reckless homicide in the carbon monoxide deaths of four tenants in the landlord’s rental unit. Allegedly the landlord supplied the tenants with a faulty space heater because the rental unit did not have an operating furnace. The rental unit also supposedly lacked carbon monoxide detectors. Unfortunately, stories like this are all too common. In October, 2010, a New York landlord was sentenced to criminal charges in connection with the carbon monoxide deaths of three tenants resulting from the installation of a gas-powered generator in a rental unit. In many cases, landlords might be criminally or civilly responsible for carbon monoxide related injuries.