My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Illinois

Hi,

I signed a 12 month lease several months ago with a management company. This lease explicitly states I am able to pay rent by personal check, cashiers check, or money order. About two months into the lease, this management company was apparently acquired by another management firm so this new company would now be managing the property.

This new management company uses an online payment system. This is their preferred payment method however we can not get into the system. My roommate apparently typed in an incorrect routing number and this subsequently locked us out of the system (without notification of course). We asked if they could reopen it so we can fix this error but they said they won't. So, because we can't get into the system we need to pay by cashier's check or money order. According to them, It HAS to be certified payment. However, the lease which I signed dictates different terms. This lease allows me to pay by personal check and so that is what I intend to do. However, they are threatening to not cash my checks.

My question is can they do this? Can they refuse to cash my checks even though the lease explicitly states that I may pay by personal check?. There are no conditions in the lease that state they are able to modify these terms.

I plan to go in the office and talk to them with this part of the lease highlighted. This is not the first egregious thing they've tried to pull on us. They seem to want to dictate everything by their own policy however the lease I signed does not adhere to this policy.

I appreciate any insight into this matter. Thank you!