ROMEOVILLE LANDLORD EVICTION PROCESS IN ROMEOVILLE

 Posted on December 07, 2022 in Residential Landlord Evictions

This article is written to help landlords that have a rental property in Romeoville, Illinois in the County of Will. The eviction process since covid has become much more complicated and hiring an experienced eviction lawyer is increasingly become important. The Forcible Entry and Detainer Process or otherwise known as an “eviction” details the relevant rules regarding the eviction procedures and laws in the State of Illinois.

BEGINNING PROCESS FOR EVICTIONS IN ROMEOVILLE, ILLINOIS

The beginning of eviction process in Romeoville begins with the eviction notice and delivery of the eviction notice to the tenant(s). There are four major types of eviction notices:

• 30-day Notice is a termination of month-to-month rent notice

• A 5-Day Notice is the most common type of eviction notice which serves the purpose of informing the tenant that they have five days to pay the rent or face the eviction process

• A 10-day Notice is a type of eviction notice used when tenants have been non-compliant with the rental lease

• A 7-day Notice is used when a tenant is on a seven-day or weekly rental term. The landlord simply must give the 7-day notice to the tenant to terminate the weekly rental situation

The service of process method is a critical step in the eviction procedures. Service of process is the method of delivering important legal documents to a person. The premise of the service of the method is that tenants and people deserve the ability to know of a problem so they can solve the problem. The second basis of the service process is who is legally able to serve eviction notices and who is eligible to receive them. 

A private process server is a licensed professional in Illinois that is authorized to serve legal paperwork. A licensed private process server is not required to serve the beginning eviction paperwork. Anyone over the age of 18 years of age can serve the eviction notice to a tenant(s). For the service of an eviction notice to be legal, the landlord or its agent such as a private process server must personally hand the eviction notice to the tenant (or at least attempt to hand them the notice). 

The landlord or its' agent may serve any household member that is 13 years of age or higher. The landlord or its' agent may serve any householder member that resides on the premises as a tenant if the person is over 13 years of age. A key component here is the family member must reside at the premises. The area of service of the process involves a significant amount of grey area of what constitutes successful service of an eviction notice. Unlike the eviction notice, the eviction complaint must be served by a local Sheriff's Officer or a licensed private process server in the county where the lawsuit is initiated.

Service on a corporation or LLC differs from individual service procedures. The landlord or its' agent must serve as the registered agent for the corporation or LLC in the State of Illinois. A registered agent is a person or entity that is authorized by the company or LLC to accept notice of a lawsuit or legal proceedings.

The second method of service process is delivery by registered mail or certified mail with a signature requested. Simply put, this means that the landlord or its agent must mail an eviction notice to the tenant via certified mail (or registered mail). The certified mail notice (or registered mail) must require the tenant to sign the letter. If the tenant fails to sign the certified mail notice or pick up the certified mail notice, the service process is ineffective.

The most effective method of serving an eviction notice in Romeoville is by a private process server. A private process server will attempt to serve the tenant up to five attempts (or somewhere around this number). The purpose of the private process server is to effectuate the service of the eviction notice on the tenants. Equally important, the private process server will prepare an affidavit of service describing how they served the tenants the eviction notice and explain who accepted the notice (including their description, the approximate age, and time and date of delivery of the notice).

FILING AN EVICTION IN ROMEOVILLE WITH AN EVICTION ATTORNEY FOCUSED ON WILL COUNTY EVICTIONS

Landlord Evictions, LLC assists landlords and rental property owners and their agents with the eviction process in Romeoville and surrounding areas of Will County. After the expiration of the time on the eviction notice, the landlord may commence a complaint against the tenant to remove the tenants. The formal beginning of eviction process begins with the preparation of a complaint. A complaint is a legal document that describes the nature of the eviction problem including the relevant rental lease terms and how and when the landlord (or its agent) served the appropriate eviction notices on the tenants and unknown occupants.

The eviction complaint in Romeoville and Will County will contain the following prayers of relief:

• The ability to enter a judgment against the Defendant Tenants for a specified number of damages including past due rent, late fees, reasonable attorney’s fees, and court costs

• The return of possession of the premises to the rightful owner

In Will County, a landlord may sue for possession only. Possession only is relief where the landlord is solely seeking a return of the premises. Possession-only evictions tend to be cheaper in terms of filing fees in Will County because a possession-only claim does not contain a request for rental damages. Here are the types of eviction cases where possession only is appropriate:

• Eviction of a friend or family member where no agreed amount of rent occurred

• A foreclosure case is where "unknown tenants" occupy the unit or house and no contract existed between the landlord and tenant. A foreclosure case may involve a landlord that purchased the property at an auction.

• A case where the landlord does not feel that the tenant is credit-worthy, and they want to limit their court costs

• An eviction involving a squatter where a person or family resides in the premises unlawfully

The above situations are examples where filing a possession-only complaint may be warranted. The second type (and most common) type of eviction complaint involves a request for monetary damages and return of the premises (possession). A complaint for rental damages seeks relief through the date of possession. 

The date of possession (or order of possession) is the period that a Will County Judge will give the tenant to lawfully remain at the rental premises without vacating and returning the property to the landlord. After the order of possession expires (or the time allowed), the landlord may legally take the eviction court order to the Will County Sheriff's Office for forcible eviction of the tenants and unknown occupants (if properly pled).

CONTACT A ROMEOVILLE LANDLORD EVICTION ATTORNEY SERVING WILL COUNTY AND NEARBY AREAS

Landlord Evictions, LLC will swiftly process your eviction matter in Romeoville and Will County. Our attorneys and support staff are experienced in the areas of forcible evictions. Unlike many law firms, we have one attorney that processes eviction paperwork all day. This system enables us to be responsive and quickly process eviction notices and complaints. We are happy to assist landlords (or their agents) with the preparation and delivery of eviction notices and the filing of eviction cases as well. If you have questions about your eviction legal needs call us today for a complimentary phone call about your situation at 630-882-2467 or contact us through the form on the website.