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Many times tenants, after receiving a notice and not complying with it, will do everything possible to avoid getting served with the summons and complaint to begin an eviction action. According to the Residential Landlord Tenant Act, if the landlord makes a diligent effort but still cannot serve the tenant, the landlord is then entitled to file the case with the court and obtain an order from the court to serve the summons and complaint by posting a copy on the tenant's door and mailing a copy to the address of the unit. This process will add about 8 days to the eviction timeline.
The downside of serving the summons and complaint by posting and mailing is that the statute states that if the tenant is served this way, the landlord is not entitled to a money judgment, but only to the writ of restitution. This does not mean that the court has found that the tenant does not owe the rent, but only that no judgment for the rent, court costs and attorney fees is granted in the eviction. The landlord can and should include all of the rent and eviction fees in the amounts owing by the tenant when the tenant is notified of the charges within 14 days of the tenant's move out date.
Due to the court opinion limiting alternative service judgments to only a writ of restitution, our office will always call the management and see if you want to try and personally serve the summons and complaint, to allow you to recover a money judgment. It is often the case that the tenant will open his or her door to you the manager whereas he or she will not open it to a process server.
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