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My neighbor's eviction case made me rethink what I know about tenant rights
I was talking to my neighbor Mrs. Kowalski last week after she got a 5-day eviction notice for unpaid rent, and she told me her landlord never fixed the broken heater from December. Turns out there's a legal thing called "constructive eviction" that might have helped her, but she had no idea. Has anyone here actually used that defense in Cook County?
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mason_reed473d ago
It might be worth looking into whether Mrs. Kowalski ever put her rent into an escrow account with the court. Cook County has specific rules where you can pay your rent to the court instead of the landlord when there's a health or safety issue like a broken heater in winter. If she has proof she notified the landlord in writing about the heater and they ignored it, that can back up a constructive eviction claim big time. A buddy of mine in Evanston used that route when his pipes froze and the landlord dragged his feet for weeks.
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lucast813d ago
Honestly I used to think rent escrow was just some loophole people tried to abuse, but hearing how it worked for your buddy changes my mind. If the landlord ignores something basic like a busted heater in winter that's exactly the kind of situation the rule is meant for. Makes sense now why Cook County has that setup.
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Cook County's pretty specific on this stuff. I had a tenant in a building I used to manage pull the constructive eviction card after the boiler went out for a week in January. @mason_reed47 is right about writing it down and putting that rent in escrow. Mrs. Kowalski needs to show proof she told the landlord about the heater in writing and give a reasonable time to fix it before she stops paying. If she did that, a judge will side with her most of the time on just the first few days of lost heat.
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