Chicago, Illinois.
-I took a 3 month lease recently. The landlady declined to sign a written lease. Prior to moving in/ paying we negotiated verbally and came to understand numerous clauses.
-She was leasing out the space in the third floor of her house. I was to have one bedroom, and a shared bathroom and living area with another tenant. Cooking was prohibited in our living area but the kitchen was to be made available to me every other day, together with laundry facilities. I was permitted to move in my own furniture without limit and own a pet. The landlord (her husband) was then not present.
-When the landlord returned after 4 days, the conditions suddenly changed. I was banned from the kitchen and made to apply in writing for permission to do laundry. These people freely assumed the right to invade the third floor living area to enjoy with their friends, and inspected my room without my permission. Insisting that items in my room were their property although the room was listed as furnished with linens, they tried to take them away.
-A systematic process of fault-finding followed. I was repeatedly accused of making noise and scolded at the slightest opportunity, with incredible rudeness and insults to my intelligence. They tried to blame every tiny mark on the floor on my negligence and to get me to pay. I get the impression this may be a racial thing as I am nonwhite and the white tenant is treated courteously and not subject to applying for permission to do laundry. They tell me I am incapable of taking care of their house and understanding their orders, as well as other derogatory things. I understand that another white prospective tenant was inquiring about the apartment recently also.
-While I gave them a 30 day notice today, I would like to know what my rights in Illinois really are, because the Landlord-Tenant ordinance is rather vague. I would like to make my final 30 days pleasant and have recourse to protection from insulting treatment, deliberate bullying attempts at blaming existing property damage on me, invasions of privacy and forced removals of things previusly part of the lease, etc. It is stressful living with two aggressively unpleasant landlords who try to force onerous rules on me.  | 
Linear Mode
