Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois

When I first moved in I did over a thousand dollars worth of labor fixing this place up on the outside for free.

When we had a bad storm my landlord had me to do the work fixing the damage that the storm caused

The landlord told me to handle things with the Insurance Company.

He told me to tell them that the storm door cost $200.00 and that it will cost $100.00 to have someone to install it.

The storm door that he bought was the same one that was on the house and it only cost $93.00.

And the landlord told me that from now on he will pay me for all the work I do around here.

All the work from the storm has been finished for months and I asked my landlord about painting the inside.

He had me to paint the inside (he bought the paint) and now he does'nt want to pay me.

The landlord said that he will pay my brother for the work he did but not me.

I feel that seeing how I was nice enought to fix the outside for free, the landlord figures he can take advantage of me and not pay me for fixing the inside up.

Please help me.

What can I do to get the money he owes me?

If I take him to Court and tell the Judge what I just told you, do you think the Judge will make him pay me?


Asked on 11/03/09, 10:34 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Messutta

Sounds like you'll have to sue him and while you've given some information there are just too many unknowns. You should talk to a lawyer, and bring all the receipts for materials and a list of the hours you and your brother spent on the place. Plus, whatever lease agreement you may have with the landlord.

To illustrate how many different ways this could go, let's say you don't have a written lease agreement but you can prove that you had an agreement with the landlord as you say. How much was the rent? A judge may just say ok, you had an agreement, but it was supposed to cover the rent or part of it? And if a judge finds you only have a month-to-month lease, the landlord could evict you just because he wants to. And if you did have a written agreement, that may actually hurt because there may be specific terms that don't help you. You might have the right to put a mechanic's lien on the property, but there are strict time limitations and you'd have to file a lawsuit to get anywhere. And then there's what you said about dealing with the insurance company and giving what sounds like false information -- that's very troubling. Bottom line -- find a lawyer in your area!

Read more
Answered on 11/08/09, 2:28 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Landlord & Tenants questions and answers in Illinois