|
Written
Notices Required: Illinois law generally requires a written
eviction notice. The landlord must serve the tenant
with the written notice before filing a court case.
There are two exceptions:
- A lease can waive the right to notice. Ill.
2d. 1, 370 N.E. 2d 504 (1977); Frocks v.
Ziff, 397 Ill. 497, 74 N.E.2d 699 (1947).
- If the lease sets a fixed time for its
expiration, no written notice is required. 735
ILCS 5/9-213.
If the landlord gives a notice anyway, it must
comply with the statute. Local ordinances can also
require a written notice, as is the case in Chicago.
Service of
Notices Services may be tendered in one of three ways in
most cases:
- Personal service on the tenant;
- Personal service on someone at the tenant’s
home, more than 12 years old;
- Mailing to the tenant by certified or
registered mail, with a return receipt from the
tenant.
If no one is living at the tenant’s house, the
landlord may post the notice.
If the tenant gets the notice, improper service
may be waived. Proof of non-receipt can be difficult
if the service of notice is proper on its face.
Sometimes the landlord acknowledges improper
service, by, for example, posting the notice when
the tenant is in possession.
Contents of Notice
|
|
Premises
Described: The notice must describe
premises well enough
so it may be identified.
Notice
of Termination: The notice must say that the tenancy will be
terminated. It does not have to use the word
“terminated”, but it must make clear that at the
end of the notice period, the tenant will lose
rights to the home.
Certificate
of Service: The affidavit of service does not need to be
completed on the copy given to the tenant. After the
tenant is served, the landlord should complete the
affidavit of service and sign in front of a notary.
A copy of the notice with a completed affidavit of
service and a notary’s signature must be filed
with the court file.
|
Dates: Date of
Service - Notices may not be served until after the
default, if the notice is based on a default.
Regardless of the date on the notice, the notice
period does not begin to run until after service.
Date of
Termination: Notices do not have to give the date on which the
tenancy will terminate. They must give the number of
days after service of the notice that the tenancy
will terminate. The landlord may give more days than
the statutory requirement.
Even after the tenancy is terminated, the
landlord still must proceed with a court order for
the eviction. It is the termination of the tenancy
that gives the landlord the right to file a court
action seeking eviction.
Until the full notice period given for the notice
runs, the landlord cannot file in court for an
eviction action.
How
to Count the Period: The notice period is counted starting with the
day after the notice is served.
The last day of the period is
also excluded if it falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or
holiday. If the tenant was served by mail, the
notice period starts from the day after the tenant
actually received the notice.
Landlord’s
5-Day Eviction Notice: A five day notice is given for
nonpayment of rent. It must state the amount of rent
due and give five days for the tenant to pay the
rent. Click here to
see a typical landlord's 5-day eviction notice.
What
Rent Is
Due The notice can only ask for the rent that is
actually due at the point the notice is issued.
The notice must give a definite amount of rent as
due and owing. Only rent can be included in the notice.
If
the Tenant Owes Less than Demanded If the tenant owes less money than the landlord
has demanded, the tenant needs only to pay the
actual rent money due and owing to defeat the
eviction notice. The tenant must pay all that is
due, however; payment of less than what is due will
not defeat the eviction, even if the landlord
demands more than what is owed.
Payment of Rent Due
Tender: If the tenants can pay the rent due, they should
tender the money. Tender is when a tenant offers the
rent due to the landlord. Ideally, tender should be
made in the presence of witnesses. The tenant should
get a receipt if the landlord accepts the money.
Tender must be made before the five days are up.
Tender will defeat the eviction action even if the
landlord refuses the money.
Full payment
If the notice does not contain language saying
only full payment will waive the notice, then the
landlord’s acceptance of even partial payment can
be argued to reinstate the tenancy.
Landlord’s
10-Day Eviction Notice A 10 day notice is given for
violating any lease provision. There is no right to
cure a 10 day notice under state law. There is a
right to cure under some ordinances. Acceptance of
rent for a period after the notice is issued can
waive the notice. Click here to
see a typical landlord's 10-day eviction notice.
Lease
violations The violation cited must be a violation of the
lease, not a side agreement. Landlord need not specify conduct but
must give the “character of the default, ” or a
general description of what provision of the lease
was violated. Any ambiguities in the lease are
construed against the drafter.
Where the 10 day notice is based on nonpayment,
the Illinois Supreme Court has permitted the tenant
to cure by tendering the rent within the 10 day
period. Repeated nonpayment or late payment of the rent
could also be grounds for a 10 day notice, possibly
without a right to cure.
Landlord’s
30-Day Eviction Notice Where there is a month-to-month tenancy, the
landlord may terminate it at any time by giving a
thirty day notice. The landlord does not need
to give any reason for terminating the tenancy.
Click here to
see a typical landlord's 30-day eviction notice.
Annual Leases Landlords are required to give a minimum of 60
days’ notice of the termination of a year-to-year
lease, and no more than six months’ notice.
|
