Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois

I rented a house that I later found out had excessive black mold. It was inspected by the City of Carbondale Illinois in August and again December 2016. The bathroom floor was falling apart with mold. The repair time frame was 2 weeks and it was not repaired until 5 months later. I had no idea of the inspection or repair order. (The copy of the report that was sent to the Illinois Attorney General the rental agency blacked out the date of certification.) I returned home from class late Friday afternoon to find the bathroom completely torn out and non usable. I packed up my stuff and drove 6 hours to my parents house. When I returned Sunday night I still had no bathroom - not even a toilet. I was never put up in a hotel or reimbursed for all the items that have been damaged. I was never notified that I would not have a working bathroom. What can I do? do I have any legal recourse for living in an uninhabitable house for all those months. Not to mention the strange illnesses; including MRSA that I have battled since living there


Asked on 8/22/17, 7:31 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Messutta

You may have a legal right to break your lease because of those conditions but I would have an attorney help you navigate this. If it is not handled properly you could wind up in court as a defendant in a lawsuit for rent and not be prepared to defend yourself because of the lack of habitability of the house. See an attorney because house leases often are different than apartment leases - and impose more maintenance and repair obilgations on tenants. That's the first step.

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Answered on 9/20/17, 12:51 pm


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