{"id":11749,"date":"2017-06-08T09:34:39","date_gmt":"2017-06-08T14:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.abodo.com\/blog\/?p=11749"},"modified":"2021-01-05T09:25:37","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T15:25:37","slug":"4-chicago-tenant-rights-landlord-doesnt-want-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rentable.co\/blog\/4-chicago-tenant-rights-landlord-doesnt-want-know\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Chicago Tenant Rights Your Landlord Doesn\u2019t Want You to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a renter in Chicago<\/a>, you\u2019re subject to a tough apartment market place and some of the highest rents in the nation<\/a>. Vacancy rates have been dropping for a decade \u2014 meaning apartments are becoming less available, which pushes rents higher for remaining listings. But even in a city like Chicago, landlords don\u2019t have all the power. The Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance has you covered in ways you might not know. Learn about these five tenant rights to protect yourself from finding yourself in a renter horror story.<\/p>\n

1. Your Security Deposit Should be Making You Money<\/h2>\n

Forking over a half-month\u2019s rent or more at the beginning of your lease is no easy feat. But it\u2019s a little easier to swallow if you know that your security deposit is making you money, just like it would if it would be sitting in an interest-yielding savings account. As soon as your landlord takes your security deposit from you, they\u2019re required to put it into an interest-bearing account and keep it separate from their other business assets. Every year, you\u2019re entitled to receive your returns, even if it\u2019s only pocket change. That\u2019s your<\/em> pocket change.<\/p>\n

2. No Surprise Visits<\/h2>\n

The CRLTO ensures (with few exceptions) that your landlord can\u2019t pop by unannounced like a nosey parent. Visits for maintenance or inspections require a minimum two-day notice. And if they\u2019re showing your apartment to new prospective tenants, they\u2019re only allowed to do so in the last 60 days of your lease term.<\/p>\n

3. Your Landlord Has A Deadline for Your Security Deposit Return<\/h2>\n

After you vacate the apartment, your landlord as 45 days to return your security deposit, even if there are deductions and repairs involved. If there are deductions, vague descriptions like \u201cgeneral cleaning\u201d aren\u2019t quite good enough. Within 30 days, your landlord is required to send you an itemized list of any deductions coming out of your deposit. No more waiting anxiously by your mailbox for months on end.<\/p>\n

4. Your Landlord Has Just 14 Days for\u00a0Maintenance Requests<\/h2>\n

If your apartment requires minor maintenance due to \u201cmaterial noncompliance\u201d that would amount to less than $500 (or half of the monthly rent, whichever is larger), you might be able to take matters into your own hands after 14 days. Following building regulations and codes, you can have the repairs done yourself, and present your landlord with the bill and deduct it from your rent payment.<\/p>\n

For larger maintenance issues, 14 after giving your landlord written notice, you can deduct money from your rental payment to reflect the lower value of your apartment until the issue is repaired.<\/p>\n

If the maintenance issue is severe enough to impede your access to essential services, you would potentially even be able to terminate your lease if your landlord refuses to respond within 72 hours.<\/p>\n

Tenant-landlord laws are riddled with exceptions and loopholes \u2014 for example, the CRLTO doesn\u2019t apply to all apartments in the city, such as owner-occupied buildings with six or fewer units\u00a0\u2014 but knowing your basic rights as a renter is a must. For more information on your rights as a Chicago renter, turn to the Center for Renter Rights<\/a> or the Illinois Tenant Union<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Looking for an Apartment in the Chicago Area?<\/h3>\n

Filter and Find The Perfect Next Home with Rentable’s Apartment Finder<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a renter in Chicago, you\u2019re subject to a tough apartment market place and some of the highest rents in the nation. Vacancy rates have been dropping for a decade \u2014 meaning apartments are becoming … <\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":11750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[461,149],"tags":[208,207,206],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rentable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11749"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rentable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rentable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rentable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rentable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11749"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.rentable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20504,"href":"https:\/\/www.rentable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11749\/revisions\/20504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rentable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rentable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rentable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rentable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}