Questions from a Mrs. Murphy Landlord in Chicago

First of all, your situation and questions demonstrate that you would greatly benefit from a personal consultation with a local landlord tenant attorney, both to assess your situation and address your questions specifically, as well as potentially assist you with setting yourself up well for future tenants. That being said, there's no way to answer your questions reliably without an individual investigation and determination of your specific circumstances. However, assuming that you have accurately and completely described everything in your question, I can tell you as follows: If you actually live in the 3-unit property that you are renting, then you likely fall under the exclusions of the Chicago RLTO (5-12-020). However, keep in mind that 5-12-160 still applies to you, as well as other Illinois statutes, the Fair Housing Act and potentially other laws. 1. There is no minimum or maximum limit on the amount of a security deposit you can request under Illinois law, so requesting 2 month's worth is allowable. You might want to consider what your potential tenants will be willing to pay, however. 2. The Chicago RLTO imposes a limit on late fees, but if it does not apply to you, the rules you need to abide by are more vague. First, you cannot charge a late fee unless it's in the written lease. Second, it cannot be a "penalty". Rather, it's supposed to compensate you for the late payment (i.e. - because of lost interest or for the inconvenience and time of trying to get the payment). In that regard, a good rule of thumb would be to limit the fee to no more than 5% of the monthly rent amount. Anything more might be considered unreasonable and there is some case law that suggests that. Again, this would be an area where you'd benefit from consulting with an attorney. 3. Generally speaking, Yes. A non-working smoke detector likely constitutes a building and fire code violation and such things are generally the responsibility of the landlord. Don't risk liability by not providing a working smoke detector and ask your tenants to kindly notify you if one is not working. You'll save yourself a lot of headache. 4. This is another area where it would be beneficial for you to consult with a local landlord tenant attorney. It's not always clear whether a tenant intended to abandon the property or if he/she intends to return for it. Generally, I would advise you to include a clause in your lease that specifically addresses abandoned property after a tenant moves out. In the absence of such a provision, the CRLTO addresses this as well, forcing a landlord to hold onto it for 7 days before disposing it. If the property left behind is clearly garbage, you're probably safe to throw it out, but remember the "one man's trash..." adage. Otherwise, you should attempt to notify the tenant in writing of the property left behind and allow him/her a reasonable amount of time to come retrieve it, after which you will dispose of it in whatever way you choose. Lastly, I will reiterate the benefit of working with a local landlord tenant attorney. The answers written above should not be relied upon without independent verification that they specifically apply to your rental property and circumstances. Many attorneys offer free consultations and offer flat rate services for things like drafting or reviewing leases and more. Best of luck to you.

You have many questions and they are specific to your case - they are not general questions for the forum. Consider contacting your state's bar association to obtain referrals to attorneys who offer free consultations.