I rented out my condo July 2008. Since January his rent has been late. A couple of times checks even bounced, but he expressed great remorse and was able to make up the payments. Because of the economy his work hours have been drastically reduced. I'm very sympathetic, but I need to keep it rented because I'm not even earning any money for it. I actually end up paying like $50 a month just to keep it. I tried to sell it, but again, the economy kept that from happening so I decided to rent it out.

Needless to say, he had to break his lease. I told him it was okay to break it as long as he moves out as soon as possible. A very friendly verbal agreement was made that he would pay a 1/2 month for March and would definitely be out by March 15th. A couple of weeks before I confirmed that he was still able to move out by then. So the 15th rolls around. I never received the 1/2 month payment, but I was willing to forget it as long as he was out.

The 16th and 17th I attempted to contact him but never received a call back which is unusual for him. I listed the apartment via an apartment-finder service. They show up with a prospective renter and lo and behold he's still habitating there. How do I legally get him out of there? He's clearly avoiding me and I have no idea of his plans. I actually live several hours away from this location. I also cannot afford a large expense to take care of this.

The apartment-finder service says he has no legal standing because he's breaking the lease. I know that's mostly true, but I'm not sure how to dislocate someone by legal force... and as soon as possible! :confused:

You will have to check with the Housing court in your area. If you have a lease you will most likely have to go through the process to have him legally evicted. It is important that you follow the law and document everything that you have stated here and everything moving forward. Have him served immediately. Probably a good idea to make a trip to the condo to be sure that your property is safe.

http://www.illinois-attorney.com/evict.htm

If you never confirmed the agreement in writing that your tenant would be moving out by March 15th then you're going to have to send him a written notice now. You can either send a 5 day pay or quit notice (for non-payment of rent) or a 30 day vacate notice terminating the tenancy.

If you send a 5 day pay or quit notice, and if he pays all amounts in full before any court date, then the tenancy will continue. If you send a 30 day termination notice then he will not be able to get out of it.

In either case, if he hasn't vacated within the notice period then you have to file a lawsuit for eviction.

Send the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, with a copy by regular mail. Make sure you make a notation on the notice that it was sent by both methods. This way if he refuses the certified notice, but the regular mail notice doesn't get returned, a court will presume that he received it.