Understanding Eviction Notices: Lease Violation Notice in Evanston

If a tenant breaks the rules in the rental agreement, the landlord can give an eviction notice, even if they've been paying rent on time.

The length of the warning depends on whether a tenant is protected by the Evanston Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO). To check whether you're covered, visit this article.

• If the Evanston RLTO protects the tenant, then the landlord must give a “30-day notice.” Section 5-3-6-1(A)(1) of the Evanston RLTO. This notice allows the tenant to fix the problem within 30 days. If the tenant continues breaking guest policy, then the landlord may file an eviction case. 
• If the Evanston RLTO does not protect the tenant, then the landlord only needs to follow general Illinois law and give a "10-day notice." 735 ILCS § 5/9-210. The landlord does not need to give the tenant any time to correct the violation. If the tenant does not move out of the rental unit within ten days, then the landlord can terminate the tenancy and file an eviction lawsuit with the court 

Basic Content Required for an Eviction Notice Based Off a Lease Violation

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

If a tenant does not agree that the violation occurred at all: 

The tenant should consider sending a written notice to the landlord to dispute and explain the circumstances. This way, silence cannot be taken as agreement. 

If a tenant has cured the violation and the Evanston RLTO protects the tenant:

The tenant should consider sending a written notice to the landlord. That’s because under Section 5-3-6-1(A)(1) of the Evanston Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, if the tenant fixes the problem within the 30 days, they can stay in the unit. However, this right does not apply to criminal conduct. If the notice alleges criminal conduct, there is no right to “cure,” or fix, the violation. See below for an example of a cure letter. 

“Dear Landlord: I am the tenant at Address. I am writing to you about your 30-day notice. You notified me of the following lease violations: Violation. Under Section 5-3-6-1(A)(1) of the Evanston Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, the lease will not terminate 30 days after I receive a notice if the breach is remedied within that period. By this letter, I am notifying you that I remedied the alleged breach within 30 days after receipt of the notice. The violation that you reference in the 30-day notice has been removed from the premises. 

Please take the soonest opportunity to verify that the alleged breach has been remedied by inspecting the premises at a reasonable time and upon reasonable notice to me. Accordingly, because I remedied the alleged breach within the 30-day period, my rental agreement for the property has not been terminated and no eviction lawsuit may be filed based on your 30-day notice. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Be advised that Section 5-3-9 prohibits you from retaliating against me for exercising my rights and remedies provided under the law. This includes (but is not limited to) terminating my tenancy, increasing rent, decreasing services, or threatening to bring an eviction lawsuit, or refusing to renew my lease. Any such action within 1 year is presumed to be retaliatory and would entitle me to two times rent or twice the actual damages, plus my reasonable attorneys’ fees.”