Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois

If you can prove that you are owed half the deposit then you can collect half from the landlord. Otherwise because your roommate tendered the check, the landlord will give the entire deposit to your roommate and you will have to prove your claim against that person.

If both of you signed the lease, the lease likely says (and I can't say so you better look) that the deposit is to be returned to the "Lessee". In that case the landlord should cut the check to both of you unless you have a written direction from your roommate. Otherwise the landlord could be in jeopardy. If only YOU signed the lease and it says the same thing, the check should come to you regardless of who deposited the money, unless there's something in the lease that specifies the money is to be returned to the roommate; opposite is true if only your roommate signed the lease.

The response given is not intended to create, nor does it create an ongoing duty to respond to questions. The response does not form an attorney-client relationship, nor is it intended to be anything other than the educated opinion of the author. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. The response given is based upon the limited facts provided by the person asking the question. To the extent additional or different facts exist, the response might possibly change. Attorney is currently licensed to practice law actively only in the State of Illinois, inactively in Florida. Responses are based solely on Illinois law unless stated otherwise.