Rented room in a house, landlord died, what are my rights? (sale, lease) - Chicago Suburbs - Illinois (IL) - City-Data Forum

cubby12 · 01-26-2016, 04:14 AM

Been paying rent to rent a room in a house and now the landlord died.

Someone said that they have power of attorney and will be selling the house. How long can I stay here as long as I pay rent? What sort of documentation should I get from this person that claims that they have power of attorney and I have no clue to whom to pay rent to, the deceased person as before, his estate or this new person?

JONOV · 01-26-2016, 09:29 AM

What does your lease say? If you have a lease, then they usually have to honor the lease, although this may be different in that its a residence. If you don't have a lease, they can give you 30 days notice and you have to go.

ToriaT · 01-26-2016, 09:47 AM

I'd continue to pay even to the landlord or I would try to contact them. If they have the power of attorney they will be able to cash the checks or find a way to deposit them into the accounts which they now supposedly have control over.

Bunch · 01-26-2016, 10:43 AM

If they want you out and you have the right to stay you can also negotiate with them a break of the lease on your terms. You can have them pay for your move to another location and a reasonable amount of money for having you vacate the property early.

Dupage Resident · 01-29-2016, 10:13 PM

If you have a lease, and there are no special items regarding owners death, you can still live if the property is sold/transferred, etc. Your lease terms go with the sale to a new owner. Keep payments going to where you were paying before. Probate or the estate atty. will handle it.

cubby12 · 01-30-2016, 12:12 PM

Just an update.

The person that I was told that had power of attorney only has medical power of attorney.
He and the deceased dad are now fighting and they can't find the will.

I am paying my rent as previously agreed upon with the deceased and I made out my check out to him.

Right now waiting to see if he had a will or not. If you had to estimate, how long can this take in terms of seeing who gets the house or if it goes back to the bank?

parentologist · 01-30-2016, 12:26 PM

I'm assuming that you're on a month to month, or verbal, lease. Best to continue to pay it in exactly the same way you did before - if you left a check on the kitchen table once a month, continue to do that.

If you had an actual written lease, then you are fine until the end of the lease. They can't kick you out, as long as you pay the rent - and DON'T pay anyone cash. Do it by personal check, made out to the deceased owner.

If you were paying the man cash, you're in a bit of a more complicated situation. Then there's no way to prove that you did or did not pay him in the past, and there's no one to whom to pay the cash, with a reliable record that you paid him. They'd still have to take you to court to evict you, if you wanted to stay, but you risk having an eviction on your record.

Frankly, if I were in your shoes and you are willing to move (and if you are on a month to month, you're going to have to move soon, if they want to sell the place), I'd start looking for a new place right away, and NOT pay rent - instead, SAVE it up, because you're going to need a security deposit, and if you ever had one with the deceased, good luck getting it back from the heirs. You can be out of there before they ever start the eviction. What with no will, and their battle over the property, the property is going to have to go through probate. That's going to take time, certainly long enough for you to save up a deposit and the money with which to move. Just don't sit there through an eviction, if it comes to that. You don't want to wind up with an eviction on your record.

cubby12 · 01-30-2016, 12:50 PM

Oh, I have always paid by check. I even put "rent" in the memo section on each and every check I have given him.

I have already been looking for a place to live, but it's winter and the market is a little dry right now.

I've already done my taxes and will get close to a thousand that I'll use to move out.

Worse case, I'll stay at a hotel for awhile.

On the rent, I'm going to pay rent here just so they have no legal reason to kick me out.

JONOV · 02-05-2016, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parentologist

Frankly, if I were in your shoes and you are willing to move (and if you are on a month to month, you're going to have to move soon, if they want to sell the place), I'd start looking for a new place right away, and NOT pay rent - instead, SAVE it up, because you're going to need a security deposit, and if you ever had one with the deceased, good luck getting it back from the heirs. You can be out of there before they ever start the eviction. What with no will, and their battle over the property, the property is going to have to go through probate. That's going to take time, certainly long enough for you to save up a deposit and the money with which to move. Just don't sit there through an eviction, if it comes to that. You don't want to wind up with an eviction on your record.

Horrible, Horrible advice. Pay your rent. Keep paying them to the deceased until you see either a will or a court order or something.

They don't have to start eviction proceedings, they can still sue you for the difference, then good luck ever finding a decent place to rent again, and there is the black mark from the judgement. What landlord would ever rent to someone who stopped paying their rent?

Intestate succession in Illinois is pretty cut and dry, even though it has to go to probate. In the absence of spouse and kids, Parents and siblings get equal shares. Otherwise spouse and kids get it in equal shares.

cubby12 · 02-08-2016, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JONOV

Horrible, Horrible advice. Pay your rent. Keep paying them to the deceased until you see either a will or a court order or something.

They don't have to start eviction proceedings, they can still sue you for the difference, then good luck ever finding a decent place to rent again, and there is the black mark from the judgement. What landlord would ever rent to someone who stopped paying their rent?

Intestate succession in Illinois is pretty cut and dry, even though it has to go to probate. In the absence of spouse and kids, Parents and siblings get equal shares. Otherwise spouse and kids get it in equal shares.

That's what I thought.
I had an arrangement with the deceased to pay on a weekly basis just because it was easier for both of us.
I gave the check to the other roommate and so far it hasn't been cashed yet. He was a friend of the deceased and sort of the go between right now between me and the dad and the other person who claimed that they had power of attorney.

I am going to give that guy another check for this past weeks rent.

A few more questions. If, by the time I move out, they haven't done anything with my rent checks should I put a stop payment on them or just wait? How long are personal checks good for?

In regards to probate, how long can that process last?