Tenant lawyer vs. landlord lawyer made a huge difference in my eviction case

I had to fight an eviction notice from my landlord in Chicago last fall. At first I tried using a free legal aid clinic, but the lawyer there seemed overwhelmed and gave me generic advice. I scraped together $400 for a private tenant lawyer who specialized in Cook County housing court. She caught that my landlord never registered the building with the city, which is required under the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance. That one detail got the case dismissed and saved me from losing my apartment. Has anyone else seen a big gap between general lawyers and ones who know local housing laws?

3 comments

3 Comments

stellat4617d ago

My buddy in Austin had basically the same thing happen, his landlord's lawyer missed a city inspection requirement and the whole case got tossed. It's wild how much those little local rules can make or break everything.

jason_stone5916d ago

@stellat46 You know, what's interesting to me is that these local rules actually serve a purpose beyond just being paperwork. They're usually put in place because someone got burned by a landlord who cut corners, and the city had to step in. I've seen that pattern play out in my own town with short term rental rules - it always starts with a few bad actors who ruin it for everyone else.

max_cooper2112d ago

Sounds like the system working exactly as designed - a technicality saving someone from a sloppy landlord. The little rules bite you in the butt until they're the only thing saving your bacon, right?