Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois

Re: Who pays my tenant his security deposit?

Upon sale of the building, the tenant should have received notice of the sale, your name and contact information, and a statement saying the deposit was transferred to a new account. This notice should have been sent by both the old landlord and you. Under section 5-12-080 of the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance, you may be partly responsible to the tenant.

See subsection (e) of 5-12-080: In the event of a sale, lease, transfer or other direct or indirect disposition of residential real property, other than to the holder of a lien interest in such property, by a landlord who has received a security deposit or pre aid rent row a tenant, the successor landlord of such property shall be liable to that tenant for any security deposit, including statutory interest, or prepaid rent which the tenant as paid to the transferor.

The successor landlord shall, within 10 days from the date of such transfer, notify the tenant who made such security deposit by delivering or mailing to the tenant's last known address that such security deposit was transferred to the successor landlord and that the successor landlord is holding said security deposit. Such notice shall also contain the successor landlord's name, business address, and business telephone number of the successor landlord's agent, if any. The notice shall be in writing.

The transferor shall remain jointly and severally liable with the successor landlord to the tenant or such security deposit or prepaid rent, unless and until such transferor transfers said security deposit or prepaid rent to the successor landlord and provides notice, in writing, to the tenant of such transfer of said security deposit or prepaid rent, specifying the name, business address and business telephone number of the successor landlord or his agent within 10 days of transfer.