Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

Hi my name is Sabrina Rivera and I have two questions. My landlord is out of town and his daughter is taking over the situation while he is away. My first question is we have been living in the unit for 7 yrs and after the first lease expired the landlord never renewed it and we have been pretty much living month to month, can the daughter landlord charge late fees if there was never a lease renewed? And also I owe back rent of $1100, which I have no problem paying, but the daughter believes the back is $1800. Now this is the tricky part in the year 2012, which is the year of the back rent. I was paying $1000.00 for 7 mnths and my rent is originally $900. the extra $100 was towards back rent and each time rent was paid landlord Andres Valasquez never given receipts. So i took it upon myself just to write down in a book how much and the date was given. If there is really no proof on either side because no receipts were written, can she ask for $1800 when i know i owe $1100? She is refusing to bring down proof of me and the landlord had already went over.


Asked on 4/11/13, 6:38 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Messutta

If you had a written lease and it expired but is only going month-to-month, the terms of the lease may still apply in which case if there are late charges called for they could be charged. As to the amount owed, since you have no receipts, normally a landlord must give notice of a change in rent at least a month ahead of time (min 30 days), so if she did not and you pay only what you have been paying, she could still try to evict you but you should have a case. If your building as 6 or more units, or less and the landlord does not live in the building, your tenancy is covered by the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance if you live in Chicago, and if the landlord tries to evict for non-payment of rent there are various defenses that may be available to you. See an attorney!

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Answered on 4/11/13, 11:20 am


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