All Forum Posts by: Christina Martinez

@Christina Martinez - also be aware that the Illinois supreme court determined that a daily late fee is not reasonable. I had two different evictions in Kane County, my standard lease had a $25 late fee after the 5th of the month then $10 per day daily fee. The Judge struck down the majority of my late fees saying that imputing a late fee per day was not allowed and cited this case. My leases now have a standard 10% late fee assessed after the 5th.

https://courts.illinois.gov/r23_orders/AppellateCourt/2017/5thDistrict/5160153_R23.pdf

Just fyi for any landlords in Illinois.

Mark

Great information thank you Mark!!! I dont think i can change the lease to reflect the above, but i will definitely do that for all future leases..

If this were my tenant, I would first think about how clean the unit was upon turnover - i personally ensure a new tenant needs to do zero cleaning upon move in. I also would reflect upon wheter i laid out to them when rent was due, the grace period, etc 

Then i would either text or call and remind tenant that rent is due on the 1st and that late fees of x begin on the 5th (or whatever legal time frame you select). Then i would give the tenant the benefit of the doubt this first time, but be prepared if there is a next time. I also would let the $100 go if i could not remember if the bathroom was spotless when tenant moved in  

There is usually a way to turn negative situations around. It all starts with how one responds and interacts with folks. I know that kind of thing is frowed on here on BP ;) 

If you wish to give him a notice, the appropriate one to use is a 5-day notice. The notice needs to have the correct language and must be delivered by one of the four allowed methods of delivery for it to be valid in Cook County. Your lawyer should be able to provide you with the notice for free or a small fee and explain how it needs to be delivered.

I advise you review the statutes pertaining to late fees in Illinois since they require a five day grace period before a late fee can be charged. I agree with Joseph above regarding the amount of the late fee, $10 is quite low. The purpose of the late fee is to encourage the tenant to pay rent on time, and if funds are limited, to pay rent before paying other bills. If your late fee is $10 but his credit card late fee is $36, who do you think will be paid last? There are statutory limits to how much of a late fee can be charged, but I think $10 is too low to fulfill it's purpose.

As others have advised, it's wise be firm, especially since the tenant has only been there just over a month. You don't want to set a precedent that he can get away with what he wants regardless of what the lease or the law says. Best of luck!

Always do an ITEMIZED walk through before move in with the tenant where you and the tenant sign and date. It will clear up any issues through your entire relationship regarding the condition of the property at move in and move out. As you clearly have not done this yet, I would make arrangements ASAP to do so.

Your late fee is extremely weak... unless that was a typo for $100.

Unless it's an emergency, the tenant should provide some notice before they are going to expense and deduct from the rent. Rental agreements usually state "broom clean finish", not "glossy shine finish with a scent of lavender". They aren't the king and this isn't the wild west.

As others have said, stay firm and good luck!

I'll start by saying that I don't know the particular LL/tenant law in Chicago, but I will say that @Theresa Harris' post is spot on.  Send him a letter by certified mail that reminds him of the terms in his lease agreement, the amount owed, by what day you will accept the amount owed, and the consequences for not doing so.  Be prepared to follow through with the "pay or quit" notice as required by your local laws.  If that doesn't get his attention, be prepared to follow through with eviction (per the procedure outlined in your local laws.)

Earlier this year I had to prepare myself when going through a similar scenario.  The tenants damaged a part of my property within 6 weeks of moving in.  I made the repair and billed them for the damages.  They texted me and said they would "pay as they could."  They didn't ask me, they TOLD me what they were going to do.  That did not sit well with me, considering that I was out-of-pocket for their damages. I sent them a second letter (not as friendly) informing them of the amount owed and when it was to paid by.  Anything after that date would put them in default and "put their tenancy in jeopardy."  They paid the amount owed by the due date. 

@Christina Martinez if you add your location to your profile you'll get much more accurate infomation because the notification rules can be vastly different in different areas.

Like the other posters, I would notice that tenant but you'll need to make ABSOLUTELY sure that you notice according to the rules of your local governments. Over here in Akron, the process starts with a 3-day notice to leave that must be delivered in person or posted on the door and the person posting the notice is going to need to be available to show up in court to testify if it comes to that. Our notice requires very specific language and even the font size is specified.

Where is your rental? Rules in the US are specific to State, county, and city? 

 Cook County, South Holland a suburb of Chicago.