House & Apartment
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Eviction is a court process. A housing provider can file an eviction case to remove someone from a home. In many situations, the landlord must serve the person with a written eviction notice before starting an eviction case.
Eviction laws apply to people with a spoken or written agreement to live in someone else’s property. This includes:
- Month-to-month or week-to-week tenancies, and
- Written rental agreements for a set period of time.
Learn more about common situations that lead to eviction cases:
- Dealing with unpaid rent,
- Addressing lease violations,
- Ending a lease, and
- Foreclosure for tenants.
Besides eviction, other laws can force a person to leave the place where they have been staying. For example:
- A sheriff can enforce trespassing laws without a judge’s order when a person has not been invited to enter or stay on the property,
- A judge may order a person to stay away in a Stalking No Contact Order or Order of Protection, and
- A judge may order people living in a property to be evicted in a foreclosure or tax sale case against the property owner.
For help with questions about situations that could lead to eviction, use Get Legal Help to find local legal resources or contact:
- Eviction Help Illinois statewide at (855) 631-0811, or
- Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt in Cook County at (855) 956-5763.
Common questions
Worried about doing this on your own? You may be able to get free legal help.