2025 IL App (1st) 231405

The landlord, Republic Ontario, LLC, sued tenants for unpaid rent after they vacated a penthouse in Chicago prior to the end of the lease term. The tenants counterclaimed, alleging violations of Chicago’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO), specifically regarding the handling of the security deposit and the unlawful pursuit of attorney’s fees.

The trial court awarded tenants $112,500—consisting of $75,000 for the security deposit violation and $37,500 for violating RLTO’s attorney fee provision—and offset this amount with $54,910.71 in unpaid rent owed by tenants for the remainder of the lease. On appeal, the landlord contested both the summary judgment and the posttrial rent calculation.

The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s orders, holding that the landlord (1) violated RLTO § 5-12-080 by mishandling the security deposit, (2) violated RLTO § 5-12-140 by improperly seeking attorney’s fees, and (3) was not entitled to rent during the period the apartment was unrentable due to roof leaks.

Takeaways:

• Landlords must comply with Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance regarding deposit handling, disclosures, and returns. Violations may result in automatic damages equal to twice the deposit.
• Even if lease language complies with the RLTO, a landlord’s procedurally improper attempt to collect attorney’s fees can trigger penalties under § 5-12-140, leading to liability for two months’ rent.
• Landlords have a duty to mitigate damages and they cannot recover rent for periods when a unit is unrentable due to maintenance issues (e.g., roof leaks), even after a tenant leaves. Here, the court denied rent recovery from June 2021–February 2022 because the unit was not habitable during that time.