Rent withholding saved me $800 after my landlord ignored a broken boiler for 3 weeks

I put my December rent in escrow with the Cook County circuit court clerk after my landlord kept saying he'd fix the heat next week. Turns out Illinois law lets you do this for essential repairs - have any Chicago renters actually tried this with plumbing issues?

3 comments

3 Comments

evan_davis17d ago

yeah I've heard plumbing issues can be a pain but idk if it works the same as heat

pat_roberts5513d ago

nah plumbing's actually way different under RLTO 😅

stella_scott9617d ago

Oh man, this is a good topic and I gotta jump in here. @evan_davis actually plumbing issues are a bit different under Chicago's RLTO (Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance). The law specifically lists heat, running water, hot water, and electricity as those urgent essential services. Plumbing is a bit trickier because it depends on how bad it is. Like if your toilet won't flush but you still have water to the sink, that might not count the same way as no heat at all. But if the plumbing issue makes the place unsafe or unlivable, like raw sewage backup or no water at all, then yeah you can probably do the same rent withholding thing. I'd double check with the court clerk before you stop paying though because they have strict rules about how you put the money in escrow and when the landlord gets it back. My friend tried this with a leaky pipe that was causing mold and the court made him wait 60 days before the landlord had to act because it wasn't considered urgent enough.