Q–I agreed to rent an apartment in a large condominium building in Chicago from an individual who was living in the unit. He was moving, and when I saw the apartment, I saw it needed a lot of cleaning, including cleaning the appliances. It also needed painting and carpet cleaning.
We negotiated a lease, and he agreed that he would do all of the cleaning, painting and carpet cleaning that needed to be done.
When I got possession of the apartment, it was still a mess, and he had done none of the cleaning or painting. There were still holes from pictures he had hung, and the bathrooms and appliances were a mess. Because I had no place else to move, I had to move into the apartment despite the condition. In addition, I could not connect my phone or cable television, because he had not terminated his service, and in fact, he didn’t terminate his service for almost a week after I moved into the apartment.
In order to put the apartment in the shape it was to have been in when I took possession, I had to spend about $500 of my own money. I have been calling the landlord, trying to get reimbursement from him for the money I had to spend, but he has told me that because it wasn’t in writing in the lease, he wasn’t going to repay me for any of my expenses.
I’ve already decided to move from the apartment when the lease ends, but do I have any recourse to try to recover my money?
A–You probably have little legal recourse for the landlord’s actions, because you probably can’t assert actions under the City of Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, for breach of contract or for fraud.
Obviously, your best protection would have been to get the landlord’s representations in writing; however, that option is no longer available to you. In addition, you have probably lost your opportunity under the city’s ordinance.
Under that ordinance, you would have had to provide the landlord with written notice and provide him with at least 14 days to rectify the situation before you would have the right to deduct your costs from the lease.
An action for breach of contract may also be difficult, in that under the law, negotiations leading up to the signing of the contract are deemed merged into the written contract.
The only other avenue for a lawsuit against the landlord would be for fraud. However, in order to prove fraud you must prove that the landlord knew he did not plan to make the repairs, and made those misstatements only to induce you to sign the lease. Proving this intention would be difficult.
In addition, the landlord’s promise to do something in the future cannot be the basis of fraud. The misrepresentation must be of a present fact, not of an act to be performed in the future.
For these reasons, you might not be able to recover your damages and costs. However, nothing prevents you from asserting rights you continue to have with regard to the apartment.
For example, under the city’s ordinance, to the extent the landlord is responsible for repairs and replacements within your unit, you should serve written notice upon him, giving him 14 days to fix the problem, and informing him that you will either make the repairs yourself and deduct those costs from the rent, if the amounts fit within the limits of the ordinance, or inform him that you will deduct the reasonable decrease of value from the rent thereafter until the repair is made.
A review of your rights and remedies under the ordinance to educate yourself would be in order.
In addition, you should check to ensure that your security deposit has been placed in a bank account separate from the rent, and if not, you should demand in writing that he do so.
Further, you should refuse him entry into your unit unless he provides you with at least 48 hours notice of the entry, and you should insist that he enter the apartment only at reasonable times, which the ordinance states are presumed to be between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Finally, you should review the lease to make sure the lease he gave you has all of the disclosures required under the law, and does not have terms that violate the city’s ordinance. If there are prohibited provisions, you should insist that he provide you with a lease that does comply with the ordinance.
Basically, if he is going to go “by the book” in terms of what’s in your lease and what the law allows, then you should be prepared to do so also.
Ultimately, he is going to have to try to remarket the apartment to rerent it for the period after you move. There is a good possibility that he will want to show the apartment during the last month or two you reside there (although only with proper notice). At that time, you might take the opportunity to inform the prospective tenants of the conditions you faced when you moved into the unit.
If you follow this course of action, the landlord might regret his actions with regard to your tenancy, and you might even get your $500 back.
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Robert A. Boron, a Chicago attorney who specializes in leasing matters, writes about landlord and tenant issues for the Tribune. Questions to him can be addressed to Rental Q&A, Your Place section, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611. He also can be reached by e-mail at rabltd@aol.com. Sorry, but he cannot make personal replies.
