| NOT ALL LEASES ARE CREATED EQUAL
Most
"form" leases
are imperfect. There is no such thing as a "standard" form
lease.
Many leases are sold at stationary stores, office
supply
supercenters or on the internet which purport to be specific to a
certain geographical location such as an "Illinois Lease" or a
"Standard Chicago Lease". Many of these leases are worse than
having no lease at all.
Landlords
need to
find a fair and reasonable lease that conforms and complies with all
applicable laws affecting the lessor's property. Because the law is
constantly changing, it is important to periodically review and revise
a lease agreement.
Local
laws such as
the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance and the Evanston
Tenant Ordinance can create additional obligations on landlords and can
invalidate certain lease provisions. In fact, the CRLTO makes
the
enforcement of certain lease provisions (some of these are contained in
those "standard" Chicago leases) illegal and subject to penalty!
The
CRLTO sets
specific requirements on disclosures to be provided at the inception of
a lease, implements limitations on late charges, and imposes
additional obligations on a landlord that must be embodied in the lease
document.
We can
assist in
drafting a lease from scratch or reviewing your current lease and
suggesting modifications in a "rider" to be attached to the lease.
In addition, we can provide a copy of the lease on disk so
that
the lease can be used over multiple times (subject to certain
restrictions) for landlords with multiple properties.
SERVICES
AND FEES
We
provide lease review and lease drafting services for landlords.
We advise landlords in person
or over the telephone, depending on our client's preference.
For landlord lease review and drafting services, we charge
an hourly fee of
$225
per hour plus any costs incurred.
HOW
TO GET STARTED
The
first step to obtaining the assistance you may need as a landlord is to
give us a call. Please feel
free to contact
Richard Magnone
or
one of our other landlord tenant attorneys, Carla Fiessinger or James
Tozzi at 773-399-1122.
Return to top
|