Illinois Landlord Responsibilities for Mold

Key points

• No statewide Illinois mold-specific rental statute
• The implied warranty of habitability comes from Illinois case law (Jack Spring, Inc. v. Little, 1972), not a statute, and applies to most residential leases
• Some municipalities have their own housing codes
• Written notice to the landlord is a critical first step
• Documentation of conditions and dates matters enormously
• Local health departments may inspect rental complaints

What a landlord should actually do

• Respond to written notice in writing, and date it. The record of when you were told and what you did is the single most important document if this becomes a dispute.
• Fix the water source, not just the growth. A repeat complaint about the same wall is what turns a maintenance issue into a habitability claim.
• Use an independent assessor rather than your own maintenance contractor when a tenant has already disputed the problem. A report from the party who did the repair persuades nobody.
• Keep clearance documentation for the unit file. It is what ends the argument when the next tenant asks.

References

Common questions