Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois

Lessee Rights

I rent a retail space and paid 3,500 to have signs made and attached to the building. They were required by the village. I am now moving and the landlord says my signs have become his property as they are affixed to the building. I want him to pay for them -- he says it is state law that they are now his property. This is not stated in my lease anywhere nor was I told this when I purchased the signs. He even says he wants to use MY signs as incentive to secure a future lessee. I am breaking my lease which we came to an agreement on so this should not affect the signs and who they truly belong to. I have asked him to pay 1/2 of the original cost. He refuses and keeps saying they are his by law.


Asked on 10/09/08, 12:46 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Motty Stone Law Offices of Motty Stone

Re: Lessee Rights

The signs are called fixtures. There are a lot of factors that play into deciding who owns fixtures, but generally the renter owns the signs until the lease expires and the landlord owns the signs after the lease expires if they are still up.

You should be careful before taking them down though because there are at least three factors that could be a problem: (1) the original lease; (2) the agreement to break the lease; (3) any local municipal rules.

Feel free to give us a call if you want to talk about the details.

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Answered on 10/10/08, 12:25 pm


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