What Happens After a Tenant Terminates a Lease Based off the Evanston RLTO?

Under the Evanston Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, a tenant may lawfully terminate the lease early for the following reasons:

• After sending a 30-day letter for repairs and the landlord fails to completely repair all issues
• After sending a 7-day letter of repairs of essential services and the landlord fails to restore services.
• For fire/casualty damage

Upon moving out, it is good practice to send a final written communication to the landlord that the keys were returned, and the rental property was vacated.

• The landlord might file a small claims court just for the rent. Again, the tenant could respond that they properly terminated the lease under the Evanston RLTO, so they are no longer liable for further rent.
• The landlord could sell the debt to a collections agency. Then, a tenant would have other rights under debt collection laws. If it comes to an issue of debt, call Cook County Legal Aid for Housing & Debt at 855-956-5763.
• The landlord might threaten to hurt a tenant’s credit.

The landlord has a duty to mitigate - aka try to find someone else to sublet the space. This means that they need to take reasonable measures to try to find a new tenant to fill the original tenant's spot. Reasonable measures could include posting on their website, putting a sign up in the front yard, and posting on Craigslist - whatever they normally do.

• They cannot just do nothing and sue a tenant for the remainder of the lease's rent. A tenant can keep an eye out to see how they advertise that their unit is open to rent.
• If they do take reasonable measures but still don't find a tenant during the whole entire period, then they have a greater claim to the rent owed.
• If they do take reasonable measures but find a tenant, then they have a claim for the rent lost in between the tenant vacating and the new tenant moving in.