Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois

I am a landlord renting out a single-family house, and just had a tenant move out. He did just enough damage to not get his deposit back, and was bitter about it. I went to the property about three weeks after he moved out to do some repairs, and found the boiler disconnected. It was working fine a week after he moved, and there was no sign of forced entry, so evidently he let himself in and sabotaged the boiler in retaliation. I reported this to the police but with no sign of forced entry, they won't press charges. So I took a photo of the vandalism, and changed locks. I am considering sending this photo to the former tenant, along with a warning that charges will be filed against him if any signs of forced entry are found. Would this be a good or bad move? What ramifications would this have?


Asked on 12/06/14, 11:21 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Messutta

Bad move. You've already been told there was no sign of forced entry. To suggest you could still file criminal charges could be considered an abuse of process or intimidation and open you up to litigation. You have recourse in court for your damages for breach of the lease contract if you followed the lease and/or local law regarding your obligations to return the security.

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Answered on 10/09/15, 9:10 pm


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