Hi . . I moved in here in Feb this year paying the landlord his requested sec deposit of $375. vs monthly room rent of $400. . . . Now he has given me a written note declaring rent to increase to $425. on Sept. 1st and I will need to pay up another $50. to the sec deposit to match the rent. I can understand the rent increase; but increasing the sec deposit? . . Is this legal in Illinois? I have read the sec deposit statute available online and dont see anything pertaining to this? This is a “blanket” note to the other renters as well(5). The sec deposit must match the rent “fair market value” (his wording). I dont feel right about this, he is quite a rat with taking advantage of people. Thanks for reading!
Have you signed a lease? If so, read it and report back.
No . . There was no initial lease and still no lease. He always wants to retain the right to evict instantly. I do have a receipt for the initial sec deposit but he does not give rent receipts because he has never reported the income.
" I moved in here in Feb this year paying the landlord his requested sec deposit of $375. vs monthly room rent of $400. . . . Now he has given me a written note declaring rent to increase to $425. on Sept. 1st and I will need to pay up another $50."
as you mention in post #3 your lease is month-to-month, so then yes the higher deposit is allowed—(unless your city/town has a very pro-tenant landlord-tenant ordinance but that’s very unlikely).
if you have questions in the future, another option is to see if your area has a not-for-profit free legal aid clinic or some local law schools offer free legal aid clinics.
With no lease, you are month-to-month. State laws vary and I’m not a lawyer, but in my experience, this means anything can change with a month’s notice: you can move out, he can say you have to move out, etc.
Therefore, provided you got a month’s notice of the increase, you’d have the option to leave if the change in terms is not acceptable.
Oh, and he does NOT have the right to evict you instantly, regardless of you not having a lease. He has to give you notice.
ps, even on a month-to-month lease, in some jurisdictions you can’t be evicted immediately.
either report back or google if your city/town has a landlord-tenant ordinance.
He evicted someone last night on the spot . . shed been here 3 days, sec deposit and 1 month rent paid in full. She was making too much noise which was disturbing everyone. Hes keeping the rent and the sec deposit. Thats her problem but it shows his colors.
She could legally have stayed. If she sues him, the law is on her side. Of course he can lie, and likely will.
If you do decide to stay and pay the security deposit increase, it would behoove you to get a receipt that identifies it as a damage deposit, not just that you paid him an amount of money. He probably will keep your deposit regardless (illegally), so don’t count on getting any of it back without a fight.
wow, I want to live there :dubious:
Good idea . . maybe i’ll mock my own receipt up. Thanks!
Thanks . . Since its Saturday, no local offices are open. This is Rockford IL.
Yes . . It blows . . I had a medical bankruptcy and left a long-term relationship; it has been a way to start over until opportunities present themselves. Thanks.
nm
She should have called the police. Landlord/tenant laws vary but I am not aware of any place in America that permits a landlord to evict a tenant without any court or sherriff’s involvement. A landlord who locks you out is categorically in the wrong.
She probably didnt want the police involved if you know what I mean . .
Woops think I screwed up the quote/reply . . sorry
Given what you’ve said, it’s clear that this landlord WILL screw you over when you move out. There is zero chance of your getting any deposit back without going to court, and if you do go to court he’ll sue for nonpayment of rent… which you can’t prove you paid.
If he won’t provide a rent receipt, you should pay by check in order to have proof of payment. My guess is that he’ll insist on cash or nothing because he likes having this advantage over you. (Edit: “mocking up” a rent receipt will do more harm than good.)
Either way, move ASAP.
No, don’t do that!
Just figure on never seeing your deposit again, unless you are willing to go through a lot of hassle, and probably not even then.
I’d say to move soon, except that you could easily end up in a similar situation, and lose still more money to an equally unscrupulous landlord. At least if you stay, you will only have to throw away $50 more, so it’s worth considering.
Sorry!! . . I didnt mean I’d mock up a fake receipt. Just generate my own receipt for the additional deposit money and ref the original receipt and put it in front of him to sign. He’s a wimp when confronted in front of others.
Yes . . He is cash only. and yes I will be moving ASAP. . yet when its comfortable financially somewhat.