Chicago real estate, living and neighborhood perspective

Leasing Liability

By Sherwin Sucaldito on January 13, 2011

The new year has brought with it many changes and scenarios.  One of the recent developments that have been much discussed have been changes to the landlord and tenant law and how it is applied or interpreted.

Several areas of the current ordinance have been addressed.  Both landlords and tenants have certain rights and obligations, some of which they may not be aware of.  Most of the time these issues become known when a problem arises and dispute ensues.  The potential for disputes and problems to increase is realistic, considering the number of homes going into foreclosure, receivership or held on by situational landlords (owners unable or deciding not to sell in the current market and maintaining their property as a rental property for a short time).

One of the major changes is the way deposits are held and informed to the tenant.  Funds should be held in interest bearing account with a federally insured local bank with time to cure in certain instances.

For tenants living in residences that are being foreclosed upon there are certain rights and procedures to follow.  Tenants could be served a 90 day notice to vacate depending on the terms of the lease and who the tenants are (must be arms length transaction, at market rate).  Successor landlords must follow the time frame as well if they intend to occupy the premises as their primary residence.

Sellers planning on selling their investment property should also be aware of the changes in the ordinance which may affect their purchase.  Typically deposits are transferred at closing for all deposits being held.  However, previous owners could be liable for deposits if property notices are not given.

These are just a few of the changes in the ordinance.  For many people, renting their property has become an option in a market in lieu of selling, but failing to provide notice or performing an action could be detrimental.  Even if a renting your home is a short term solution, it is still a business which needs to be handled carefully and responsibly.

There is no standardized lease that can be applied to every rental.  Landlords should carefully discuss with their broker and/or attorney on how to address specific instances that relate to a potential lease.  As a service to both past and current clients, I am planning a webinar where a local attorney specializing in the ordinance and landlord and tenant law will further discuss changes in the ordinance and answer any questions.

For those who may be interested, please use the contact form.  Your contact information will not be used for any marketing, solicitation or provided to any outside party and will only be used to inform you if there is an opening in the upcoming workshop as space will be limited.

Sherwin is a REALTOR® in the Chicago & Suburban area with @properties.  Questions can be forwarded to [email protected]

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Sherwin L. Sucaldito, REALTOR®, GREEN, ABR, CRPM
@properties
The Institute of Luxury Home Marketing
Green REsource Council, GREEN
Accredited Buyer’s Representative , ABR
Certified Residential Property Manager, CRPM

Creative Commons LicenseLeasing Liability” by Sherwin Sucaldito is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Photo “Studio” ©2010 Sherwin Sucaldito.  Photo may not be redistributed, copied or transmitted in any way without consent.

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