Understanding Eviction Notices: Landlord Must Terminate Lease

A landlord must serve (or give) the tenant a written eviction notice before starting an eviction case in court. 

5-Day Notice (Non-payment of Rent)

If the tenant does not pay rent on time, the landlord can give a 5-day notice. It must include:

• Date of notice,
• Address of property and unit number (if any),
• Date lease will end (more than 5 days after the date of the notice),
• Amount owed (not including costs and fees), and
• That the tenant has 5 days to pay in full.

If the tenant pays within the 5 days, the landlord must take the money. If the tenant does not pay the rent within those 5 days, the landlord can file an eviction case in court.  

10-Day Notice (Lease Violation)

If the tenant breaks a rule in the lease, the landlord can give a 10-day notice. It must include: 

• Date of notice,
• Address of property and unit number (if any),
• Date lease will end (more than 10 days after the date of notice), and
• The rule in the lease that was broken.

Non-renewal of Lease

A landlord does not need to give a reason to not renew a lease. The notice must include:

• Date of notice,
• Address of property and unit number (if any), and
• Date lease will end (must be last day of lease period, so if rent is due on the 1st, the lease must end on the last day of the month).
  • Landlords must give Chicago residents a 30, 60, or 120-day notice of nonrenewal depending on how long the tenant has lived in the unit. This requirement is based off the Chicago Fair Notice Ordinance. 

If the landlord accepts rent from the tenant after the time period outlined in the non-renewal notice expires, the landlord must serve a new notice to end the lease.

Before filing an eviction, the landlord needs to follow the proper process of giving the tenant a written eviction notice to terminate the tenancy. If a tenant did not receive an eviction notice or the landlord did not serve it the right way, then a tenant may have an eviction defense.