Illinois Tenant's Guide to Security Deposit Return in Small Claims Court

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Your landlord kept your security deposit in Illinois, but no security deposit rules apply to your rental. Your property is not covered by the Illinois Security deposit Return Act ("Return Act") because the landlord doesn't lease 5 or more units in the building. You are not in an Illinois city with a local ordinance (i.e. Chicago, Evanston, DeKalb, Mount Prospect, or Urbana), or if you are, it doesn't apply. What are your rights?

There are no penalty damages available to you. There are no attorney fees available to you. The most you can win against your landlord at trial, if everything goes your way, is what the landlord kept from your deposit. This is why hiring a lawyer is not economical. Your landlord probably knows this, and is happy to take advantage of the situation. What can you do?

If you have the initiative and the time, you can sue your landlord without a lawyer. You will be called a pro se plaintiff. That just means you represent yourself. You will be held to the same standard of legal practice as a licensed attorney, including your landlord's lawyer if they hire one.

This E Book is general legal advice about your rights, and potential rights, as a tenant seeking return of their security deposit from a landlord who is not covered by the Return Act or any local law for deposits.

We talk to hundreds of tenants from all around Illinois every year, and we have to tell dozens of them every week that no law protects their deposit, and the best they can do is sue the landlord themselves. This E Book is for them.

Download this E-Book Now for $20.00. Includes:
* Example of Summons and Complaint * Example of Motion to Allow Alternative Service, for those hard-to-serve landlords * Example of entire trial transcript from deposit trial, so you can see who says what, and when, and how the judge acts

Illinois Tenant Security Deposit Do it Yourself Guide This E Book cannot hold your hand, it is not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney client agreement between the reader and its author, but it can help you. We will discuss in detail, and with examples and pictures, what steps you have to take to prepare your complaint, file your case, get your former landlord served, get a trial date, and do your trial. We even talk a little about trying to collect on your judgment.

This E Book is from a lawyer practicing mostly in Cook County Illinois.

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ATTENTION: Because the Illinois General Assembly and the various Illinois city councils may change, amend, or abolish the law without notice, the statutes provided here are not guaranteed to be an exact reproduction of the law at this time. The laws provided here are for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon before taking any action. Please consult an attorney.

This web site is intended to supply general information to the public. Although the information is generally accurate, it cannot be guaranteed. The nature of Legislation is that laws change quickly, and visitors should always insure that legal information is accurate before relying on it. The above information applies the law of the State of Illinois and City of Chicago. The law in your jurisdiction may be different. This information is necessarily brief and may or may not apply to your situation. In all cases, PLEASE, consult a lawyer before acting.

This web site is not intended to be advertising, solicitation, or legal advice. Thus, the reader should not consider this information to be an invitation for an attorney-client relationship, should not rely on information provided herein, and should always seek the advice of competent counsel in the reader's state.