No lease no rent paid

[StPat]

The state or country I am talking about is: IL

My tenant does not have a signed lease. Upon move-in, we agreed to amend the "date rent due" date to match the tenant's SS payment date so I would not have to chase late rent. However, no rent has been paid for 3 months. Tenant says due to problems with the SS agency.

- Should I serve a 10-day notice demanding full payment of 3 months unpaid rent ?
- As there is no signed lease, is the tenant obliged to pay ? Do I need to serve notice ?
- Can I evict the tenant ?

A security deposit = 1.25 month rent was paid at move-in.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

It seems that the lease you have is a month to month lease and it is enforceable. I'm not sure if there is a 10 day notice requirement and most have a 3 day notice prior to being able to file for eviction. Social Security might be a different situation but my understanding is that SS and Section 8 type leases must be in writing. Therefore I think one thing has nothing to do with another.

The bottom line is that as sympathetic as I am to a person on SS, he/she is still obligated to pay the rent. Regardless, you could evict on the basis of both non-payment and holdover -- she has no right to every mothly renewal of this lease. You may want to send a notice of a voluntary termination of the lease (30 day notice) in addition to a notice of termination due to breach. This way the tenant has no basis to stay in the apartment whatsoever.

You would probably do best by talking to the tenant and trying to work something out. You can mention that she will be evicted swiftly and you cannot afford to subsidize her staying in the apartment, rent free. You have begun to sent the notices. If you will need legal action, she will likely have to pay far more than just the rent but also for the enforcement costs. You should also put that in writing in your notices (make sure that they are appropriate) since you don't have a written lease that states your ability to sue for reasonable legal fees and costs.

The state or country I am talking about is: IL

My tenant does not have a signed lease. Upon move-in, we agreed to amend the "date rent due" date to match the tenant's SS payment date so I would not have to chase late rent. However, no rent has been paid for 3 months. Tenant says due to problems with the SS agency.

- Should I serve a 10-day notice demanding full payment of 3 months unpaid rent ?
- As there is no signed lease, is the tenant obliged to pay ? Do I need to serve notice ?
- Can I evict the tenant ?

A security deposit = 1.25 month rent was paid at move-in.