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You can avoid being evicted by coming to an agreement with your landlord. Your landlord does not have to agree to a settlement, but you may be able to convince them to work out a settlement with you.

Most settlement agreements are included in a court order. The judge will almost always enter an order if the parties agree to it. There are 2 basic options for a settlement agreement: staying or leaving.

Staying

If your landlord agrees to let you stay, some common agreements are:

• Repayment plans or pay or stays (Cook County). If rent is owed (5-day notice cases), you can promise to pay back whatever is owed over a period of months, plus your usual rent payment. In some cases, your landlord may ask you to pay a lump sum before you begin your monthly payments. You must pay your rent in full and on time. If you do not, your landlord can get an Eviction Order against you.
• Probationary periods. If your landlord alleges you violated your lease (10 or 30 day notice cases), you can go on probation. This means the landlord could reinstate, or bring back, the eviction case during the probation period if there is a new lease violation. Reinstating the case allows the landlord to continue the eviction action without giving a new termination notice or filing a new case.
• You may waive (i.e. give up) your right to a trial or jury.
• You may waive claims or defenses you may have.

Leaving

If you are willing to move out, some common agreements are:

• If you are willing to move out, some common agreements are:
• A promise to move out of your unit by a certain date. Many landlords will agree to dismiss the case if the tenant leaves within a month.
  • If you agree upon a date to move out, the court will enter an order saying you need to move out by that date. The court will also set a compliance date. The compliance date is a court date where you and the landlord can tell the court whether you got out of the apartment by the deadline.
  • Courts and landlords rarely give tenants more time than they agreed to in these settlements.
  • You should do your best to move out by that date to avoid an eviction order on your record.
  •  If you are not out by the agreed upon date, an Eviction Order and money judgment may be entered against you.
• A neutral reference
• A waiver of any claims or defenses you may have. 
• A waiver of your right to a trial or jury.

Things to think about for a settlement:

• If you follow the settlement, the eviction will likely be dismissed. If you don't follow it, the court will conduct a quick eviction hearing on whether you complied with the agreement. It is likely the court will enter  an Eviction Order against you if you did not.
• Make sure any agreement you come to is in writing and signed by you and the landlord. 
• Read through the settlement agreement. If you don't understand something, let the judge know that before the order is entered.
• You should ask your landlord to seal the eviction file as part of the settlement. The fact that an eviction was filed against you is a matter of public record and can get in the way of you finding an apartment in the future. 
• You should never sign a document with the words “Eviction Order” or “Agreed Eviction Order.”  An eviction order means you have to leave your apartment, and the Sheriff can enforce the order.

Court forms to settle eviction cases

The Illinois courts have published a set of Agreed Order forms in eviction cases. These forms can help landlords and tenants come to agreements in eviction cases. The forms are written in plain language and come with instructions on how to use them.

Learn more about the different types of court forms to settle eviction cases.