Rant: That landlord attorney in Pilsen told me I was wrong about tenant rights

I was dead set on fighting my old landlord over a security deposit thing... I mean I had the receipts and everything. But then I ran into this lawyer who does tenant work in Pilsen, just chatting at a coffee shop near 18th Street. He asked to see my lease and pointed out a clause about "reasonable wear and tear" that I totally missed. It basically said they could deduct for paint touch-ups if you lived there less than a year, which I did. He wasn't even being pushy, just showed me the line and said "you'd lose this in court, kid." That sat with me for a few days and I realized I was about to waste $150 on a filing fee for nothing. Has anyone else had a random lawyer change their mind on a case?

2 comments

2 Comments

nina_hall4812d ago

The $150 filing fee thing really hits home actually, I was in a similar spot last year over a broken dishwasher. A paralegal at the self-help center in the Daley Center just pulled up the city code on her phone. Landlords in Chicago only have to provide a working stove and heat, not a dishwasher (ugh, I know). Totally changed my whole approach, I would have looked like a fool in court.

jenny19812d ago

Right because nothing says "livable apartment" like a frozen stove but a perfectly working dishwasher. Guess I'll just hand wash my dishes while I boil water for pasta.