I let a buddy move into my house, which I own, 7 months ago. I made a contract for him and he has abided by most rules except rent. The first two months he could not pay rent. I made an agreement at that time that he could do work on my house in exchange for not paying rent. In the last five months he has either not finished the work list or the stuff he does do, it only gets half done and I end up fnishing them. As of right now he still has to do or finish things from July-October. I am tired of his excuses for not getting things done. I give him his work list 2 months in advance so he has plenty of time to get it done. What steps do I need to take to remove him from my property? Will he have to finish the jobs or am I entitled to any money? Illinois

Rent or no rent he is a resident and must be evicted following Illinois eviction laws. Here's a read Illinois Evictions (http://www.rentlaw.com/eviction/illinoiseviction.htm) You do not need a lawyer for this but start right away. Follow each step and document everything, do nothing berbally.

He can be evicted, for "non payment" since he did not do the work.

The court may or may not award you the money, he would not and should not be allowed in to do any work. ( personal opinion)

You give him formal notice to pay or quit and if he does not pay, you file for eviction in the court.

I work in a constituency office so I know all about it most provinces/states have tenancy and landlord rights. As a landlord you are required to give notice in writing - I'm not sure of the length for your state but call your local government office and they will guide you to the site of your rights. I do know they need notice and if he will not leave you of course can ask for him to be removed the local police but you must show proof that you gave notice to the tenant. On an aside, I once had a case where a tenant had not paid rent for many months, took off but left a beat up vehicle out back so they got approval from the courts to sell everything he left behind and she could keep the money to pay for the rental arrears. Good luck.