Q-I own an apartment building in Chicago. I am always wary about renting an apartment to roommates because it seems that one is always moving out, leaving the other with the lease and the obligation to pay the rent. The roommate who remains then brings in another person who is not on the lease. The next thing I know, I have different tenants than the ones I originally accepted. Can I put a provision into the lease requiring both tenants to sublet and preventing either one from leaving the apartment? Also, can I evaluate their lease applications on the basis that each must have enough income to rent the apartment individually, without financial assistance from the other?
A-The provisions you seek to include in your lease probably would be illegal because they would discriminate against prospective tenants on the basis of their marital status. You would be providing different standards for married couples than you do for single persons renting the apartment together. This would be akin to using different standards to evaluate Hispanics, whites or blacks as prospective tenants. It`s discriminatory and illegal.
Under the City of Chicago`s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, your tenants have the right to provide reasonable subtenants and if they do, you are obligated as a landlord to accept them. One of the key questions is whether the subtenants are reasonable replacements. You have the right to evaluate the qualifications of subtenants in terms of their ability to pay the rent and their past history in landlord/tenant relationships. You probably should use the same standards to evaluate them that you did for the original tenants.
If you refuse to accept a reasonable subtenant when one is offered by a tenant who is moving out, under Chicago`s ordinance you cannot hold the original tenant responsible for the unpaid rent through the balance of the lease. The theory is that the subtenant, if you had accepted him or her, would have paid that rent.
You also should note that the city ordinance does not allow landlords to charge any administrative fee for allowing the subtenancy.
While you might, in fact, end the lease with different tenants than those who originally moved into the apartment, it is important to note that simply because the original tenant has moved, he or she is not relieved of the obligations under the lease.
If the subtenants do not pay the rent, or if they damage the apartment, you have the right to act against your original tenants to recover your losses. To collect damages, you must be able to locate your original tenants after they move and they must have adequate assets or income to cover your claim. So be sure to consider such qualities as job stability in your evaluation of potential tenants.
Dumpster dispute
Q-My landlord and the neighboring landlord had been sharing the cost of a dumpster behind our apartment building. But the neighboring landlord apparently has decided not to continue on this basis and has made other arrangements for disposing of his building`s refuse. Now our landlord is refusing to remove the filled dumpster and the garbarge that`s piling up in it. I have spoken to him about this, but he says it`s too expensive to keep the garbage service. Rats, animals and insects are now gravitating to this garbage. What can we do to get our garbage service restored?
A-Probably your first step should be to contact your municipality`s government offices. Most probably, local ordinances require your landlord to maintain garbage services. And if your landlord fails to comply with the applicable ordinances, the building department, housing department or health department probably could cite him for the violation.
Another step to consider is to slightly reduce your rent payments, offsetting the value of your lost garbage removal services. Under the law, if you are not receiving all the services to which the lease entitles you, you can reflect the loss in a partial rent reduction. You might talk to other tenants in the building about taking the same action. However, under no circumstances should you organize or participate in a total rent strike. A landlord`s failure to remove garbage is not sufficient grounds to refuse to pay rent altogether.
Before you start deducting from your rent payments, you may wish to contact an attorney. He or she can investigate your case and recommend appropriate action to take against the landlord. This can be a risky procedure and failure to act properly could put you in jeopardy of eviction.
