How to handle security deposits, evictions, lease termination, and habitability issues — for renters and landlords.
What New York law requires in a residential lease: when a lease must be written, the one-month security deposit cap, capped application and late fees, the non-waivable warranty of habitability, occupancy protections, and the clauses courts refuse to enforce.
The situations where New York law lets a tenant break a lease early without owing the balance, the written-notice rules for each, and how the landlord’s duty to mitigate limits what a tenant owes when no exception applies.
Illinois does not dictate a standard lease form, but state and federal law require specific disclosures and forbid certain clauses. Here is what a residential lease must contain and what it cannot.
A plain-language guide to rent stabilization in NYC: what it is, how to tell if an apartment is covered, how the annual Rent Guidelines Board increase is set, how stabilized and rent-controlled units differ, and how to raise a dispute with DHCR.
Illinois has no cap on deposit size, but sets firm return deadlines: 30 days for an itemized statement, 45 days to return the deposit.
What “squatters’ rights” means in New York City: the 10-year adverse possession standard, the 2024 law that excludes squatters from tenant protections, and the court process for removing a squatter under the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law.
A plain-language guide to New York eviction notices: the 14-day rent demand for non-payment, the 30/60/90-day termination notice for holdovers, the 14-day post-warrant notice, and the service rules that make each notice valid.
The New York warranty of habitability makes every residential lease carry a non-waivable promise that the unit is fit to live in. This article explains what the warranty covers, what a landlord must repair, and the remedies a tenant can pursue, including rent abatement.
The situations that let an Illinois tenant end a lease early without owing the rest of the rent, and how the landlord’s duty to mitigate limits damages when no exception applies.
How Illinois treats squatters: why they hold no possessory right, the 20-year and 7-year color-of-title adverse possession rules under 735 ILCS 5/13-101 and 13-109, and how an owner removes an occupant through the courts rather than self-help.
Illinois requires a written eviction notice before a landlord can file: 5 days for unpaid rent, 10 days for a lease violation, and 30 days to end a month-to-month tenancy. Here is what each notice type covers and how it must be served.
How the court phase of an Illinois eviction works, from filing the complaint through the summons, hearing, eviction order, and sheriff enforcement under the Eviction Article, 735 ILCS 5/9-101 et seq.