A REAL estate expert has explained what landlords should do if a renter refuses to leave after their lease ends.

A tenant may think they can be sneaky and ignore expired leases, but there’s a legal way to encourage them to leave, said Laura Smith, a leasing manager with GC Realty & Development LLC.

She spoke about the topic in a clip from a seminar posted to the company’s YouTube channel.

Her advice was specific to Cook County, Illinois – which includes Chicago – but could be applicable in other places, as well.

In that state, tenants may become liable for double rent if they stay past the end of their lease, the Illinois State Bar Association reported.

But that doesn’t stop some renters from trying.

“We have problems with holdover situations,” one seminar participant said.

“Do we need to serve them something… Can we serve something?” he asked.

“Or do we have a deadline to get them some notice that (they’re) a holdover now?”

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Smith said as long as a landlord sent a sent proper non-renewal notice, there is no requirement to send anything else stating that the tenant is a holdover and that their rent will double.

However, the leasing manager recommends that landlords send a letter like that to the tenant.

“I recommend that you do because that might light a fire under them to get them to move out,” Smith said.

If that tactic doesn’t work, the landlord will have to go to court.

“If you want to move forward with eviction, then we serve that notice of immediate termination of tenancy,” Smith said.

“(Then) we are allowed to file an eviction the next day.

“Two days later, if they still haven’t moved out, serve them with a notice of an immediate termination of tenancy.”

She said it’s important that landlords refuse to accept any rent money from a holdover tenant.

“If you accept rent after they hold over, even double the rent at the holdover rate, you’ve reinstated the tenancy,” she said.

“Now you have a month to month tenant.”

In that case, state law dictates that landlords must provide a 30 day notice before they can move forward with an eviction, Illinois Legal Aid reported.