All Forum Posts by: Woralak Bryant

Quote from @Kevin Sobilo:

@Woralak Bryant, be careful about shutting off utilities. In many states that could fall under the category of a "self help eviction". That could cause you to end up owing the tenant compensation.

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/tenants-defenses-evi...

I'm afraid of that, so I'm seeking advice from others. According to the landlord-tenant act I've been reading, it does not say you can't. It is very confusing to read. I'm sure that is how to quickly get them out, though.  

Quote from @Jonathan Klemm:

Hey @Woralak Bryant - Sorry to hear about these troubling times.  When I have similar issues I try to remind myself that they are good problems to have and I am blessed to even be a housing provider.  

I am with everyone else above!  Serve them a 5-day notice right away and evict them...happy to provide a wonderful Chicago eviction attorney.

Regarding the electric, what does it say in your contract?  Mainly just curious.

You can for sure cut off their utilities and let them put them in their own name....but would that mean they are now picking up your electric?

The lease states that the tenants are responsible for arranging and paying for all utilities required in the unit. The agreement they knew prior to moving in was that I pay the bills, and after properly splitting the bills, I add that onto schedulemyrent platform, and they can pay for that just like they are paying rent.  Now that my other unit is vacant, I feel like I can shut it off since it will not interrupt other tenants.  Thanks for the words of encouragement; I'm not in the Chicago area; the property is in Bureau County. 

I have a question and would like to consult a lawyer about this or someone who is an expert. My tenants had been living at my property for almost 1 year (least end Aug 31). In April they had a roof leak problem, I got it all fixed by the end of May (nearly 2 months). Now they are behind in electricity bills and I let it go since I took so long to fix the roof and feel bad about it. At the end of May, I asked them to make Payments for accumulated electric bills as it was adding up and becoming so large. (The arrangement was that they pay me for electricity because they share electric with other unit.) and they started to complain about roof leak which caused them hardship. Sooooo I reduced rent by 1/2 for May-Aug (which equals to 2 months of free rent). I sent a letter saying that the lease ends in Aug and I do not wish to renew. They stop paying anything from that point no rent and no bills. They said they will not be able to leave until the end of Aug “as agreed” but I did not agree to that. It only true if they are current on bills and rent ( which they are not). They owed me 3 months electric and 2 months worth of rent now. Im working on filing an eviction, but I do not want the electric in my name any longer because it just isn’t right for me to keep paying if they are not paying me. Electric company is willing to stop my service but they can’t do anything if tenant starts a service in their name for Aug. they use about 2-300$ per month in electricity. Can I stop the service??? Please advise.. 🙏 

Sorry about the broken English. I appreciate your time to read my post.

This is in Illinois.

Quote from @Timothy Riley:

All of the above. Send them a notice to evict via registed mail (return receipt). Offer to help them move before it takes effect (hopefully they go along with a date). File for an eviction. The longer you take the longer it will take.

I'd rather a $1000 loss than to prolong the situation and lose the grand along with several more months of possible rent and aquiring more and more structure damage to the property.

What if you never receive a return receipt mail back to you?  In my case, I waited 2 weeks for the return receipt, and it never showed up.  Now I have talked to my tenant on the phone, and she said she got the letter. But I had no confirmation.  

I didn't make it a mandatory thing for tenants obtain renters insurance, but surprisingly she did have one. I didn't know that we can make them get insurance. Thank you all for your input, suggestions, and sharing your personal experience with me. I talked to the insurance adjuster and told her all this, so now she's looking into it with her legal crew. 

So my renter of 7 months called me up and said that her son and her nephew was playing with a lighter and fire started in the bedroom. She called the fire department and it's all under control. Everyone was fine except for my house. I told her she can move out because I don't know how long it will take to fix it. She prepaid until January. I will give her back the rent she prepaid. I would not charge her rent for Aug since that is the day of the fire. I also told her that I would keep $500 of the deposit if she moves.  She seems to think that she is entitled to the full refund. She keeps saying that it was God doing.  I am stressing out over this.  The law to my understanding said that they are entitled to a full refund unless they are responsible for the fire. This rental is in Illinois, if anyone is familiar with Illinois law please help me.