Understanding Essential Services: A Tenant's Options Under the Chicago RLTO

If the landlord fails to supply essential services, the landlord should be contacted immediately in writing. Essential services include heat, running water, hot water, electricity, gas, and plumbing.

How should the landlord be contacted?

To protect yourself in case your landlord decides to attempt legal action, a tenant needs to follow the proper procedures before taking action.

The written notice to the landlord needs to be sent the right way and state what essential services are lacking. For more information about how to send notice, click here.

What options does a tenant have after sending written notice?

• Substitute Service: What's missing? A tenant may get a space heater, bottled water, or other reasonable replacement for an essential service and deduct the cost from next month's rent. The tenant must keep the receipts and provide copies to the landlord when before making the deductions.
• Substitute Housing: If conditions force a tenant to find substitute housing (e.g., hotel, motel, or AirBnb), the tenant is excused from paying rent for as long as the lack of essential services exists. Also, the tenant may recover the cost of substitute housing from the landlord in a lawsuit as long as it does not exceed the monthly rent. Consult an attorney prior to exercising this remedy. The RLTO does not entitle the tenant to deduct the cost of substitute housing from future rent, and the law requires the tenant to mitigate damages, meaning to keep the cost as low as possible.
• Withhold rent: If the problem is not corrected within 24 hours from the time the written notice was given to the landlord, the tenant may withhold an amount from the rent that reflects the reduced value of the apartment. (A conservative estimate is better even in the worst-case scenario - e.g., no more than 50%.)
• Terminate the lease: If the problem is not corrected with 72 hours of the receipt of the written notice, a tenant may legally terminate the lease. Once this is done, the tenant must move out within 30 days.

If you'd like to exercise your rights under the Chicago RLTO to have your essential services restored, you can use this link to create a notice to your landlord.