Lexplug logoLexplug

Cook v. University Plaza

Illinois Appellate Court — Second District
427 N.E.2d 405, 100 Ill. App.3d 752 (1981)
ELI5:

Rule of Law:

An agreement for lodging is a license, not a lease, if it does not grant the resident an exclusive possessory interest in a specific, definite property. A key indicator of a license is the property owner's retained right to relocate the resident from one space to another at will.


Facts:

  • Students, as residents of University Plaza, a privately owned dormitory, entered into individual 'Residence Hall Contract Agreements' with the dormitory's owners.
  • The contract required each resident to pay a $50 security deposit.
  • The agreement gave University Plaza the right to make assignments of space and to require a resident to move from one room to another.
  • The dormitory provided furnished rooms, cleaning, meal service, and other amenities, and was closed during school holidays, at which times residents could not remain.
  • A specific clause in the contract explicitly stated that it was not the parties' intention to create a landlord-tenant relationship.
  • The agreement did not grant the resident the right to assign their rights or sublet the room.

Procedural Posture:

  • The residents of University Plaza filed a class-action lawsuit against University Plaza in an Illinois trial court.
  • The plaintiffs sought payment of interest on their security deposits as required by an Illinois statute.
  • Defendants filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action, arguing the statute did not apply because the contract was not a lease.
  • The trial court granted the defendants' motion and dismissed the lawsuit.
  • The plaintiffs (appellants) appealed the dismissal to the Appellate Court of Illinois.

Locked

Premium Content

Subscribe to Lexplug to view the complete brief

You're viewing a preview with Rule of Law, Facts, and Procedural Posture

Issue:

Does a residence hall contract that allows the dormitory owner to move a student from room to room at will create a landlord-tenant relationship that would subject the owner to the Illinois statute requiring payment of interest on security deposits?


Opinions:

Majority - Mr. Presiding Justice Seidenfeld

No. The residence hall contract does not create a landlord-tenant relationship because it fails to transfer an exclusive possessory interest in a specific property, which is the essential element of a lease. The court's determination is based on the legal effect of the contract's provisions, not the language the parties use. While the agreement has some features of a lease, such as a definite term and price, the controlling feature is that University Plaza retained the right to move students from room to room at its discretion. This reservation of control means the students never acquired a possessory interest in a specific, identifiable property. Therefore, the agreement constitutes a license, not a lease, and the Illinois statute requiring interest payments on security deposits, which applies only to landlord-tenant relationships, is inapplicable.



Analysis:

This decision solidifies the distinction between a lease and a license in the context of non-traditional housing like student dormitories. It establishes that the owner's right to relocate a resident is a critical factor that negates the exclusive possession required to form a leasehold estate. The ruling effectively limits the applicability of tenant-protection statutes, creating a significant carve-out for dormitory-style agreements that do not grant possession of a specific, defined space. Consequently, this precedent makes it more difficult for occupants under such license agreements to claim the statutory rights afforded to traditional tenants.

🤖 Gunnerbot:
Query Cook v. University Plaza (1981) directly. You can ask questions about any aspect of the case. If it's in the case, Gunnerbot will know.
Locked
Subscribe to Lexplug to chat with the Gunnerbot about this case.

Unlock the full brief for Cook v. University Plaza