Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois

Breach Commercial Lease

Retail Tenant with 19 months remaining on contract back out of the lease. There is not a right to cancel clause stated in contract and both owners also signed a personal guaranty. All of their property has been removed by the owners themselves. The doors have been re-keyed and for lease signs have been put on the windows. Two weeks ago the owners received a letter stating the total amount due on the remainder of the lease. Have not heard anything back from either party. What is my next step to recouping what is owed?

In situations as this, do attorneys' work on a percentage of money landlord receives from a settlement or is it an hourly rate? In our case the money figure is around $30K.


Asked on 8/11/08, 11:23 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lesley Hoenig Lesley A. Hoenig, Attorney at Law

Re: Breach Commercial Lease

It depends. You might be able to find an attorney to collect on a contingency basis, but they will want to have reason to believe that the former tenant has sufficient assets to pay for this judgment. Also, it is my experience that if the balance of the lease is 19 months you are not likely to get 19 months worth of lease payments awarded to you. You will be able to get a judgment for months they were there but didn't pay and maybe a few months to account for the time it took to re-let the property, plus any physical damage they caused. You need to consult an attorney to see if you really would be able to get $30,000.

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Answered on 8/11/08, 2:08 pm


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