The steps involved in evicting your tenant are as follows:Review the "Common Questions" in this guide to understand when and how a landlord can evict a tenant.Send your tenant a Notice of Eviction.If the tenant has not moved from the premises within the notice period, file a complaint with the Court Clerk's office and give the summons and complaint copy to the Sheriff.The Sheriff will serve the summons and complaint on your tenant.Go to court on the set date and present your case to the judge.If the court grants an order of eviction and the tenant does not leave the premises in the time set by the court, get the help of the Sheriff to evict the tenant.Click on words that appear like 'this' to learn what these words mean.When can I, as a landlord, evict my tenant? As a landlord, you can evict your tenant in the following cases:If your tenant fails to pay the rent when it is dueIf your tenant violates any of the terms and conditions of the lease agreementIf your tenant damages your propertyIf the lease comes to an end and your tenant does not leave your property orIf the lease is an oral or written month-to-month lease, by giving a thirty-day notice to your tenant without any reasonsWhat are some situations in which I do not have the right to evict my tenant? You cannot give your tenant an eviction notice for some reasons:You cannot give your tenant an eviction notice because your tenant complained to the building inspector about your property. That is called retalitory eviction;You also cannot give your tenant a notice if you are discriminating against your tenant. Federal law says you cannot discriminate in housing based on race, color, ethnicity, sex, disability, religion, and familial status. Illinois law says you cannot discriminate in housing based on discharge from the military, military status, age, if you are over 40, marital status and sexual orientation.Do I need to give my tenant notice before I evict him or her? Yes. There are three different types of eviction notices that you can give the tenant depending on the circumstances in each case.Five Day Notice: If your tenant fails to pay the rent on time, you can serve the tenant a notice stating that if the tenant does not pay the rent due within five days from the date of the notice, you will proceed to evict the tenant.Ten Day Notice: If your tenant violates any terms of the lease, you must serve the tenant a notice stating the terms violated and the dates on which the violation occurred before you can proceed to evict the tenant. Under the Illinois state law, your tenant does not have a right to cure the violation. But there are some ordinances, including the City of Chicago Landlord-Tenant Ordinance, which do allow the tenant a right to cure the violation.Thirty Day Notice: If the lease is an oral or written month-to-month lease, you can terminate it by giving a thirty-day notice to your tenant without giving any reason. You still must take your tenant to court to evict him/her.You may not be required to give a written notice if your tenant has waived his/her right to a notice in the lease or the lease sets a fixed time for it to end.Go to the "Forms/Letters" section to view forms of the three different notices that you can send to your tenant.What should the notice state? The notice should contain the following:It should describe the premises well enough so that it can be identified;If it is a five-day notice, it should state the amount of rent due and to whom the amount should be paid;If it is a ten-day notice, it should state the terms of the lease that have been violated;It should state that the tenancy will come to an end at the end of the notice period;It does not have to state the date on which the tenancy will end, but must give the number of days after the service of the notice that the tenancy will come to an end.Go to the "Forms/Letters" section to view forms of the three different notices that you can send to your tenant.How do I calculate the notice period? The notice period begins with the day after the notice is served. If the last day of the notice period falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, then that day is excluded. If you serve your tenant by mail, the notice period starts from the day after the tenant actually received the notice. For example, if you mail a five-day notice to the tenant on January 1, and the tenant receives the notice on January 4, the five-day notice period starts from January 5 and the tenant must pay the rent amount by January 9.How do I give my tenant the notice of eviction? Under Illinois law, you can give/serve the notice to your tenant in any of the following ways:Serve the notice personally on your tenant;Serve the notice on someone at your tenant's home who is at least 13 years old; orMail the notice to your tenant by certified or registered mail with a return receipt from the tenant.If your tenant refuses to accept the notice, you can tell the tenant what the notice is and leave it on the ground in front of the tenant's house. If there is no one living at the tenant's house, you can post the notice on the door of the premises. The notice can be served only after your tenant has defaulted, if the notice is based on a default.What should I do after I have served the notice to my tenant? After the tenant is served, you should complete the affidavit of service and sign it in front of a notary public. A copy of the notice with the completed affidavit of service and the notary public's signature has to be filed in court when you file your lawsuit.Are there ways my tenant can stop the eviction? If you sent your tenant a five-day notice for not paying rent, the tenant can stop the eviction by paying the full amount of the rent due. In order to stay, the tenant does not have to pay late charges or utility bills. If you sent your tenant a ten-day notice for not paying rent, the tenant may be able to stop the eviction by paying the full amount of the rent due. You need to check the local ordinances to see if this is allowed.If your tenant can pay only part of the rent, you can accept it and still continue with the eviction action. However, if you agree in writing to allow the tenant to stay when he/she pays partial rent, you must let them stay until the date you and your tenant agree upon.In some cities your tenant can also stop an eviction action based on a violation of the lease (a ten-day notice eviction). Some local laws allow the tenant to fix the violation. Be sure to check the local laws to see if the tenant can fix the violation, and demand documented proof of what action the tenant took to fix the violation.How do I file a lawsuit against my tenant? If your tenant does not comply with the notice or does not leave the premises after the notice period expires, you can file a case to evict the tenant in the district court where the premises are located. You cannot evict your tenant without going to court and getting a court order to do so.You should go to the Court Clerk's office in your county and obtain an eviction complaint form and a summons form. You can also go to the "Forms/Letters" section to get these forms. Once you have filled out the forms, file them with the Court Clerk's office. After the forms are filed, take a copy of the complaint and summons to the Sheriff's office which is located in each courthouse. The Sheriff will then serve a copy of the summons and the complaint on the tenant.There is a fee which you have to pay when filing the eviction complaint and a Sheriff's charge depending on the distance the Sheriff has to go to serve your tenant. If you cannot afford to pay the fee and Sheriff's charge, you can file a Petition to Sue as a Poor Person and the judge may waive the filing fees. To learn more about waiving court costs, see the modules under "Related Articles."What happens after I file the papers in court? After filing the forms and giving a copy to the Sheriff's office, the next step is to come to court on the date and time that the Court Clerk indicates the case will be heard.On the day of the hearing, you should go up to the clerk who sits to the right of the judge and tell the clerk which case you are there for. Then you should sit down and wait for the case to be called. When the case is called, you should approach the bench and identify yourself by name and as the landlord.It depends on the county, but the first court date is usually not a trial. Instead, it is a "first appearance" where the tenant can ask for a trial. If the tenant shows up and "denies" your claim, there is a trial. Some counties have trials the same day of the first appearance, but many will have you come back another day. Ask the Court Clerk how your county does it.At the trial, you will have to prove to the judge that you have a right to the premises; that your tenant has not paid rent, violated terms of the lease, or overstayed the lease period; that you served proper notice on the tenant; and that you filed the complaint and had the summons served on your tenant.Should I take anything with me to court for the trial? You should take the following:A copy of the notice and affidavit of service (signed by the notary public)A copy of your complaint and summonsAny witnesses to support your case andAny objects or photographs that you want the judge to considerDoes my tenant get a chance to speak in court? Yes. Once you have presented your case to the court, the judge will ask your tenant some questions if he/she is present in court. If the tenant is represented by an attorney, there may be a request for continuance and other preliminary motions. If the tenant asks for a continuance, the judge may grant the first request and that means that you have to appear in court again on another date.If your tenant does not show up in court, the hearing will be held and the tenant will most likely be held in default. This means that the tenant will lose. The court will grant the order for eviction and may order the tenant to pay you the money that you asked for in the complaint.Does my tenant have to leave immediately after the court orders the eviction? No. When the judge grants an order of eviction to you, he/she will probably give your tenant some time to move. Usually the judge will give the tenant 14-21 days to move. You cannot do anything during that time.What can I do if my tenant does not leave in the time fixed by the court? If your tenant does not leave when the time set by the court is over, you can go to the Sheriff's department and ask to have your tenant evicted. Only the Sheriff has the authority to evict the tenant; you as the landlord cannot do it on your own. In some counties, the Sheriff will require a deposit in order to place the eviction on their calendar. This deposit is refundable at any time before the Sheriff evicts the tenant. If you decide to keep the tenant (for example, if the tenant pays the rent due), you must call the Sheriff to cancel the eviction. When the Sheriff performs the eviction, your tenant's possessions are usually deposited on the curb and no protection is provided.What if my tenant wins and I lose the case? If your tenant wins at the trial/hearing, your complaint will be dismissed and you will not receive any amount in damages that you may have asked for in the complaint. The judge might also ask you to pay the costs and attorney's fees for the other side, if any. You may also have a right to request the court to reconsider the decision and you have a right to appeal the decision to a higher court. You should try and get help from an attorney to appeal the court's decision.