Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois
tenant rights
I received my lease & the owners guaranteed me there were no bugs; I heard through others that there may have been. 2 weeks later I called again & it took 2 phone calls for the owners to say yes there is a bug (roach) problem, but it will be taken care of before you move in. I have never had roaches & knew nothing about them, until now. I did my walk through & was told the bug were gone & I would not see anything. I have seen roaches almost everyday since I moved in. It was labor day weekend so I had to wait until Tuesday to get someone in the office. They sent out the exterminator again, whom informed me that they advised the owners not to move a tenant in because it was a severe infestation. So now I have all of my belongings in this apartment. I am still finding live roaches & the exterminator has been there 3 times in the 12 days I've lived there. The owners are harassing me & I have to move out. There is no where to rent that I can afford because this apartment is subsidized & everyone has waiting lists. So now my son & I are about to be homeless because the owners will not commit to correcting the problem, nor replace the stove that is broken & cannot be opened to clean the bugs out. What is there that I can do?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: tenant rights
You should file a complaint alleging breach of contract. This is also a breach of warranty that a landlord makes that there will be no interference with your quiet enjoyment of the apartment.