Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois
Security Deposit Denied
My landlord refused to give me my security deposit back. I gave him a written statement of giving up the premises in 30 days. My rent was paid by money order and was on time each month. I cleaned the apartment before I left it. Now, that was the end of May but the apartment was still paid until June 4, 2007. I even left the apartment early. Now my landlord refused a certified letter by pretending not to be available to the postman. Only when I sent two more letters by regular mail, did the landlord respond to me. I found out that the apartment was illegal as it has no back exit (it was padlocked). Also, the man works for the City of Chicago and used the city letterhead to inform me that he wouldn't pay me the security deposit back. What recourse do I have? Thank you.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Security Deposit Denied
He must have sent you a statement detailing his costs if he were to claim any of your security deposit within 30 days - he has up to 45 days to return the deposit to you. You can then sue him and you should get attorneys' fees and court costs. Talk in more detail to a lawyer -
Re: Security Deposit Denied
Sue him. You'll get your deposit back plus twice the deposit amount in damages. If you have a lawyer prepare it for you, you will also get attorneys' fees. If you want to prepare it yourself, there are a number of resources on the internet that can help you with this -- check the website for the Circuit Court of Cook County, as that's where you will be filing your complaint. If you did everything you were supposed to have done, there's no reason the court (which is very pro-tenant in Cook Co.) will not award you treble damages.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
