Are you thinking about acquiring property in Illinois? Do you already have property and want to double check that you are operating within the law of your state?
Sometimes, landlord-tenant laws can be tricky to navigate, seeing as they vary from state to state and can have certain technicalities. Listed below are a few important things to consider as a landlord in the state of Illinois.
Required Disclosures
Required disclosures are pieces of information that you, as a landlord, are legally required to tell your tenants. These rules are important to ensure that your renter is knowledgeable about any potential hazards in their new home.
Illinois and all other states in the country are required to have lead-based paint disclosures. If your property is built before 1978, you must include information about lead-based paint hazards in the rental agreement. In addition to disclosing any hazards, you must distribute an information pamphlet titled “Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home” that has been approved by the EPA.
A written notice with information regarding both the smoke detectors and the carbon monoxide detectors is required for each unit in the state of Illinois. This information should include tips for maintenance and alarm testing.
If you offer a rent concession as a landlord, you must provide a legible notice stating “Concession Granted” with the nature of each concession including the amount and extent of the concession. This process is regulated by the Rent Concession Act.
Finally, if your tenants share utilities, landlords must include a document detailing the exact formula that they use to allocate the public utility payments among those tenants. You can put this document either in the lease or in some other written agreement.
Fair Housing Protections
In all 50 states, federal law prohibits discrimination in housing based on the seven protected classes, including race, religion, gender, national origin, color, familial status, and. In addition to these classes, Illinois adds protections for sexual orientation, age, marital status, military status, ancestry, pregnancy, and domestic violence victims (order of protection status).
There are a few things required of Illinois landlords according to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This law protects tenant credit information. According to the FCRA, landlords must investigate any disputed information from a credit report, safely dispose of reports after the conclusion of the tenant screening process and tell tenants whether their credit history or score was the reason for their application denial. If you have further questions, see the federal law code for the Fair Credit Reporting Act full text.
Evictions
During an eviction, there are countless technicalities that you as a landlord have to follow to avoid breaking the law and receiving a lawsuit. Notice periods are some of the most confusing laws surrounding eviction in Illinois. Here are the three types of eviction notices you may send to a tenant in Illinois (Note that these notices apply no matter where in Illinois or what city your properties are located in – Eviction law Chicago enforces, for example, describes these same notice periods):
Rent Demand Notice: 5 days to pay or quit.
If your tenant is late on rent, you may issue this notice to demand that they pay their overdue rent within five days. If the tenant doesn’t do so, you can file an eviction lawsuit with the court.
Notice for Lease Violation: 10 days to quit.
If your tenant violates a term of your lease besides nonpayment, you do not need to offer a chance for them to reconcile the issue and can simply issue this notice. After 10 days, you may file for eviction.
Unconditional Quit Notice: 5 days to quit.
What if you find out your tenant is participating in criminal activities while residing in your unit? This can be a tough situation to navigate. Thankfully, all you need to do as a landlord is issue an unconditional quit notice and, after five days, you can file an eviction lawsuit.
A type of illegal eviction Illinois makes sure to avoid is filing for a tenant’s eviction without issuing the above notices, or doing so before the allotted number of days are up, so make sure you are keeping track of each of these requirements to make sure you’re within your rights as a landlord and are upholding your tenant’s rights as well.
Other Important Notes
If you’re thinking of purchasing property in Illinois, there are a couple things to know before doing so.
The average price for rent in Illinois is around $1,151/month, and the average rent price in Chicago is $1,775/month. This puts Chicago’s average rent at 18% lower than the national average, making the windy city a great place to invest.
If you’re thinking about purchasing property in Illinois, these are a few laws and regulations you should consider before doing so. Making the decision to purchase property anywhere is difficult and requires a lot of research. Ensure that you take your time and consider all aspects of your purchase before going through with it. The information above is only a starting point—now it’s your turn to investigate further and decide if Illinois is the right state for you and your tenants.