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).
keys
Cook County Illinois landlords must change locks at end of lease term
The 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.