Landlord Says The City Wants Repairs Done On Our House, But Refuses To Do Them.

Hello, I live in a house in Illinois with my mom. We rent our house, and have lived here for about 15-20 years.

My mom recently got a call from this guy that is kind of like a middle-man between my mom and our landlord. He also helps fixing things around the property.

He said that the city keeps demanding repairs be done to our house. He was saying the repairs are expensive, and the landlord doesn't want to keep dumping more money into our house. He has fixed a bunch of stuff in the past. He said that we might have to move out, but he said we should go talk to the city about everything. My mom and I were kind of confused about what the landlord wanted us to even talk to the city about exactly.

My mom and I went and talked to the city, but they said our house hasn't been inspected for a few years, and that chances are, that any repairs they would request would be small things. I'm not exactly sure who it was that we talked to at the city. I don't think the building inspector was there, so they just had us talk to this other guy.

They were supposed to come do an inspection recently, mainly checking our fire alarms, but they never came. So, they haven't inspected the inside of the house for a few years, but I don't know if they looked at the outside of our house anytime recently.

So, I don't know what my mom and I should do. The city says we should ask if the landlord could give us a copy of the inspection report that says what repairs the city is demanding be done. But, I don't know if one even exists since our house hasn't even been inspected recently. So, we are really confused right now.

I looked up that if the city is demanding repairs be done, then the landlord is legally obligated to do them. I don't know if he is legally allowed to kick us out just because he doesn't want to make the repairs. We pay our rent on time every month, and we signed a lease agreement recently.

My mom is always the one that talks to them about everything, but I thought it would be smart to get some legal advice about all of this.

My mom was planning on calling them to ask for a copy of the inspection report. But, my mom, with the help of one of my sisters, is already looking for other places to live. Our rent here in our current house is pretty cheap, but we can barely pay for it plus all of our other bills. Most of the other houses my mom and sister are looking at have double or triple the price for rent. So, we can't really afford to live elsewhere. My mom doesn't even seem like she wants to figure out if we can stay living here, she seems like she just wants to leave. I don't know if she will even call the landlord to ask for an inspection report.

My mom is elderly, she had a stroke not too long ago, and she can't work, and she has a hard time walking. I have mental health issues, but I was just recently able to get a job, but it's only part time, so I only make about $800 a month.

I emailed a couple of other places asking for legal advice, but none of them have replied yet. I also tried emailing the city to see if they could give us a copy of the inspection report, but they haven't replied yet either. I tried calling for legal advice today, but everything is closed.

So, can someone please give me some advice on what to do about all of this? I really don't want to have to move elsewhere. The past few years have been extremely difficult for my mom and me, and I feel like we just started getting things on track recently. But, this whole situation just screws everything up for us. My mom has been crying for the past few days, and I am extremely scared and stressed out. We really need some kind of help.

Thanks