The Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO) applies to all non-owner occupied residential rental buildings as well as to owner-occupied buildings of more than six units. RLTO has helpful definitions of when a tenant can be considered to have abandoned his or her apartment. The first situation is simple, where the tenant has given actual notice to the landlord of the tenant’s intention not to return to the unit.

The second definition of abandonment requires three things:
a) That in the case of a tenancy with rental periods of one month or more, all persons entitled to occupy the apartment have been absent for a period of two (2) days or in the case of rental period of less than a month, that all persons have been absent for one rental period;
b) All persons entitled to occupy the unit have removed their personal property from the premises; and
c) Rent for the period is unpaid.

The third situation is which the landlord may conclude there has been abandonment is where all persons entitled to occupy the apartment have been absent for a period of thirty two (32) days and rent for the period is unpaid.

Feel free to contact an experienced Illinois landlord attorney at Logan Law, LLC if you have questions about RLTO or any other area of the laws governing landlords and tenants.