Chicago: Landlord/Tenants trying to evict w/o notice bc of late rent! HELP!

I have lived in my current apartment since the end of January 2008. I paid rent for February through April. My rent for February was late but i paid the late fee in full and my rent for March arrived on the 5th, technically late but on time because of the grace period of 5 days. This month the landlord says he did not receive the rent even though i sent it out. My roommates told me that if he did not receive it soon they would call the police and kick me out.

I have repeatedly asked them for a copy of the lease but the roommates always claimed they lost it and the landlord refused to give me a copy. He said i was just a "month to month" occupant, even though he has referred to me as a tenant in writing and also said i was subject to the Chicago Lease Ordinance. I have all this in writing (emails).

I contested the decision to kick me out and neither party returned my phone calls for two days. (This all started 12th of April, 2008). Now, the 14th, the landlord writes me an email and tells me that:

"The apartment has already been served a 5 day notice as of the 9th of April. The law states that anyone over the age of 13 residing in the apartment can be served on behalf of all occupants. You do not need a direct notice in your hand. The notice will expire on the 16th. You are therefore served and subject to the terms."

Unless someone delivered this 5 day notice last week while i was at work this never happened. Furthermore, when i spoke with my roommates last no Saturday the 12th, they did not mention this and actually said that he COULD serve us at any time, but not that he had.

The money order i sent him has not been cashed however he is now saying that he will give me this month's rent if i move out by the 16th, yet he will not say one way or another if he received my money. I have no idea where this money he's offering me is coming from. He says he will give it to me once i am out.

Is any of this legal? Please advise, i really need help here! Thank you so much!

[OHlandlord]

First, if your LL says he has not recieved you rent MO, then you need to contact the issuer of that MO. They can stop payment on it and issue you a new MO. That order could have been misdirected, delivered incorrectly, lost, or even stolen. Go back to the place you bought it and talk to them about getting a replacement.

1) I'm confused about the lease. You say the roommates had a copy but not you, and the LL claims you are only an occupant. Did you sign the lease yourself? If not, you are not a registered tenant, and you have no lease with the LL. He will not be required to give you a copy of someone else's lease. You will be considered an occupant - on the equivalent of a M2M agreement. Are you authorized to live there, are you subletting?

2) I'm also confused on the rent. You are sending a MO to the LL. Are you collecting the rent from all the roommates and sending it in? Is he accepting seperate payments from each tenant? He states that the entire unit was served with a pay or quit notice. This notice could merely be taped to your door in some states. No one need actually receive it in places. YOu would have to call the clerk of court and ask what method of service is legal there for a pay or quit notice. In OH, as long as it was affixed to the door or delivered to anyone in the unit who was 13 yr or older, the entire unit was served. (None of the roommates would hide this notice, would they?) If it was actually served, it will expire tomorrow and he can file for an eviction of the 17th.

As for the money he's offering, maybe he's offering to refund your security if you move out. First, please clarify the 2 issues above. Then call the LL and have a nice, polite discussion with him. Offer to pay the rent again and have the MO reissued. Show him the receipt for the MO. Offer to pay the late fee. If you can't come to an agreement and he did serve the 5 day, an eviction with all of your names on it will be filed very soon. Once this is done, it will be very hard for you to find good housing again.