New tenants move in much too quickly

BY ED SACKS

Q. On the last day of the lease, we were completing our move and had not returned the keys. At noon, while we were out of the apartment, the management company provided the new tenants with keys. They threw away some of our stuff, valued at about $300. And $900 in cash was missing from the bedroom.

The police investigated and said there was not enough evidence to make an arrest. The management company verbally agreed to replace the value of the missing items, but so far it has not. Please advise on what a tenant's rights are in this situation.

A. The fundamental right any tenant has is the quiet use and enjoyment of the rental unit. Basically, this means the landlord must not interfere with the tenant's occupancy and household. The tenant has the right to expect privacy.

A residential lease has little meaning without that. There are exceptions, such as necessary and requested repairs, emergencies and code inspections. The Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance provides for penalties and damages for landlord entry into a unit without 48 hours advance notice except in an emergency. Penalties are either an amount equal to one month's rent or twice the damages, whichever is greater.

In giving the keys to the new tenant prematurely, your landlord breached your exclusivity in allowing people you did not invite to occupy your unit before they had that right. By handing over a set of keys, the landlord granted possession to the new tenants while the existing tenants still held the unit legally.

It is up to you to prove four things: (1) your property was taken, (2) the value of it, (3) that the landlord knew or should have known the new tenants would enter the unit before you had vacated it, and (4) that the property is gone as a direct result of your landlord's giving entry to the new tenants.

To read the rest of this article, please visit http://www.chicagosuntimes.com/output/hlife/hos-news-sacks30n.html.

Terminology can be tricky

By Mark A. Pearlstein
Special to the Tribune

Q. I hope you can explain the difference between a condo declaration and a declaration of covenants. Also, what is the difference between the declaration and the bylaws? In our town-home development, it appears that the declaration was recorded first and the bylaws a month later. Both have a lot of the same language. What takes precedence?

A. A condominium declaration applies only to a property subject to the Illinois Condominium Property Act. By recording a declaration and specifically referencing the Condominium Act, a developer has agreed to make the property subject to this law.

A declaration of covenants is a set of easements, restrictions and rules governing property that is not a condominium. Examples are: town-home and single-family associations, a master association organized to perform functions for one or more condominium associations or a mixed-used parcel that combines residential and commercial components. The declaration describes the easements or rights of access between people who live and work in each of these, and describes the costs allocated to each portion of the property for certain shared expenses.

The bylaws of an association describe the governance structure. Whether a condominium or homeowners association, the document is part of the declaration and will describe matters such as qualifications for membership, the election process, voting rights and the duties and powers of the board of directors. For condos, the declaration prevails over conflicting provisions in the bylaws. A declaration of covenants should explain the priority of each document for non-condominium properties.

To read the rest of this article, please visit http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/realestate/chi-0607300021jul30,0,3195229.story?coll=chi-classifiedrealestate-hed.