Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

Landlord Not Completing Repairs
We are having trouble getting our landlord to make necessary repairs--the most important of which is our air conditioning. I am asthmatic and get very ill without it during Chicago summers. It's one of the reasons we rented the apartment. It broke in April and we told them about it immediately, in hopes of getting it fixed before summer came. It's still broken. It took them 6 weeks to even make an appointment with someone, and that company has now been to our home 6 times. It still doesn't work properly. The landlord is very aware of my asthma.

We also have a host of other problems including a hole in the ceiling that leaks and a kitchen floor that has cement that is literally crumbling so we walk on rocks and stones, to name just a few. They are aware of those, too. The only issue we have really been pushing is the air because we need it the most.

Is there a law in Illinois that gives us rights to have these repairs done or to take other measures if we need to? For example, can we stay at a hotel when it is very hot and I am ill from the heat? And deduct it from our rent? How about excessive electric bills due to the unit not working properly?

Can the landlord retaliate and evict us or refuse to renew our lease?

Asked on 6/29/00, 10:10 am

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Re: Landlord Not Completing Repairs

Hi. Under these circumstances, I would advise

a client to write a letter to

the landlord declaring that

these conditions make the

apartment uninhabitable. I

would then move out and not

pay rent. Generally, under

the circumstances that you

have described, the court,

if the landlord sues, would

rule in your favor.

Answered on 9/09/00, 12:10 am

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