Author: Prairie State Legal Services
Last updated: March 2009

(Chapter 6 Section 1 of Senior Citizens Handbook)

• Leases 
• Security Deposits 
• Housing Conditions-When Repairs Are Needed
• Utilities
• Lease Terminations and Evictions
• Subsidized Housing
• Mobile Home Parks
• Housing Discrimination 
• Circuit Breaker Program

This section gives a general summary of laws affecting renters and their landlords in Illinois. It is not a substitute for specific legal advice from Prairie State Legal Services or another attorney. In general, it is a good idea to get specific legal advice before you rent an apartment or house, so that you can avoid problems. In addition, it is preferable to get legal advice as soon as a problem comes up, rather than after you have been summoned to court or evicted.

Note: (If you live in a community with its own landlord tenant laws) Some cities like Chicago, Evanston, Mount Prospect, DeKalb, Urbana and others have passed special, local laws which affect your rights as a tenant and your landlord’s rights. In this Handbook, we are unable to go through each of these special, local laws in detail. As you read this section, keep in mind that your local law may be different from the summary of state law in this section. Contact an attorney or your local legal services office for specific advice on how your special, local law affects your rights.

Leases

Your Lease is a Contract

The rental agreement between you and your landlord is a legally binding contract. A lease does not have to be written down. A lease can be a verbal agreement between you and your landlord. If you have a choice, it is usually better to have a written lease so both you and your landlord can know what each expects of the other.

Theoretically, you and your landlord can negotiate and change the terms of your lease before you agree to sign it. In practice, however, many tenants feel that they have no option but to agree to the lease that the landlord wants.

If you get into a legal dispute over your tenancy, the terms of your lease may determine the outcome. A judge will interpret the lease as it is written. This is why it is so important to read and understand a lease before you sign it. Seek legal advice from Prairie State Legal Services or another lawyer if you do not understand the terms of the lease your landlord wants you to sign.

Types of Leases

There are several types of leases, but the most common for renters are leases for a term and month-to-month leases.

A lease for a term has a specific beginning date and a specific ending date, usually written right in the lease.

A month-to-month lease has no specific beginning or ending dates. It renews itself every month until you or your landlord terminates it.

Illegal Terms in a Lease

In certain situations, there are parts of a lease that are considered so unfair to tenants that a judge will refuse to enforce that part of the lease, even though you technically agreed to it by signing your lease.
Examples: The following are some examples of potentially illegal lease terms:

• A term letting your landlord evict you without taking you to court first;
• A term making you pay your landlord’s attorney’s fees even if you win your case in court;
• A term letting your landlord take you to court without ever notifying you;
• A term making you pay a very large, unreasonable late fee if you are late with the rent;
• A term prohibiting you from complaining to your local government about building code violations.

There are many others. You may want to seek legal advice from a lawyer as to which parts of your lease are illegal.

Security Deposits

In General

Most renters are required to give their landlord a security deposit, usually equal to one or two months’ rent. Depending on what your lease says, your landlord may be able to take money from your security deposit for damage you cause to the apartment and possibly for any unpaid rent or utility bills. However, that should not happen until you move out. Also, do not assume that your security deposit can be used for your last month’s rent unless you make a specific agreement with your landlord to allow it.

When a Landlord Cannot Take Money from Your Security Deposit

Generally, a landlord is not permitted to take money from your security deposit to pay for ordinary wear and tear on an apartment just from living there. Check your lease or discuss this issue with your landlord to make sure.

When You Are Entitled to an Itemized List of Damages

When you move out of a building which has 5 or more units, your landlord must send you an itemized list of damages that the landlord thinks you caused. She or he must also give you the receipts (or at least an estimate) for the cost of repairing the damages.

If the landlord does not send you this list within 30 days of the date you move out, she or he must return your entire deposit within 45 days of that date. If the landlord fails to give you a timely itemized statement or to return your deposit in a timely manner, you can sue the landlord for double the security deposit plus court costs and attorneys fees.

ADVOCACY TIP
When you move out of your apartment, give your landlord your forwarding address in writing to avoid confusion over where she or he should send any list of damages.

Paying You Interest on the Deposit

If you live in a building or complex which has 25 or more units, and you live there for 6 months or more, your landlord must pay you interest on your security deposit. The interest rate is equal to the minimum deposit passbook savings account rate of the largest commercial bank which has its home in Illinois.

Housing Conditions – When Repairs Are Needed

Notify the Landlord

Whenever you have a problem with your apartment or house, you should report it to your landlord. If you want immediate action, it is best to call your landlord or talk to him or her in person and explain exactly what is wrong. For record keeping purposes, follow-up the call with a polite letter that is signed and dated and keep a copy for your records. That way, your landlord is less likely to forget your request and hopefully will take you more seriously. Also, in some instances, you may later have to prove the date when you reported a problem.

Your landlord should make repairs in a reasonable amount of time. If the landlord is just taking too long to make needed repairs, be persistent so that your landlord would rather make the repairs than listen to you. In some cases, neither politeness nor persistence will get the repairs done. You will then have to contact an attorney or the proper agency. Be sure to take photos of the damage for your records.

If the Repairs Are Not Done

If you have made persistent requests for repairs and your landlord still refuses or fails to make repairs, there are several things that you can do. They are discussed in more detail below, and include:

• Entering into a rent settlement with the landlord
• Repairing and deducting the cost of repair from your rent (only in certain circumstances discussed below)
• Reporting housing code violations to local housing officials
• Withholding rent (not recommended)

Rent Settlements

You may be able to negotiate a return of some rent or a rent reduction whenever there are problems that make the premises or any part of it inconvenient or otherwise not useful. Remember you are paying rent for a livable unit with certain services. If you are not getting what the landlord promised, you might be able to get the landlord to agree that some sort of adjustment in your rent is only fair. Suggest some type of arrangement to your landlord. If your landlord refuses, it may be possible to sue him or her to get a reduction or refund of your rent because the landlord has violated a legal principle called the implied warranty of habitability. This principle says that anyone who rents property for people to live in is agreeing to keep the property in a clean and safe condition, whether this agreement is in your lease or not.

If your landlord does agree to a reduction or refund, make sure you get it in writing. Have the landlord sign and date a written statement clearly explaining that you may deduct a certain stated amount of dollars from your next rent payments. If you do not get such a written statement, you may find yourself facing an eviction for non-payment of rent because your landlord has changed her/his mind about the refund.

Repair and Deduct Under State Law

One option you may have is to hire a licensed tradesman or supplier to make the repair and to then deduct the cost of repair out of your rent. This is allowed under the Residential Tenants’ Right to Repair Act. However, this law only applies under certain circumstances.

First, the repair and deduct law applies only to repairs that are required by the lease, or by state or local law. You cannot deduct the cost of repair from your rent if you or family members or guests caused the damages by a deliberate or negligent act or by a failure to act in some way. Moreover, the law does not apply if you live in a mobile home park, in public housing, or in a condominium or cooperative housing, or if your landlord lives on the property and the building has six units or less.

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You cannot make the repairs yourself. You must use a tradesman or supplier who is not related to you, who holds a valid license or certificate as required by State or local law, and who is properly insured to cover bodily harm and property damage.

Second, the repair and deduct law limits the amount you can deduct for repairs. This amount cannot be more than the reasonable price that is usually charged for such repairs. Also, the amount you can deduct depends on your monthly rent:

• If your rent is $1000 or more - you can take up to $500 out of your rent for a repair.
• If your rent is $999 or less - you can take up to half of your rent out for a repair.

Third, the repair and deduct law requires you to take certain steps before you can legally deduct the repair from your rent. Those steps are:

• You must notify your landlord in writing before you hire someone to make the repair that you intend to deduct the cost from your rent before you hire someone to make the repair. You must send the letter through registered or certified mail to the landlord’s address shown on the lease.  If there is no address listed, you must send it to the most recent address you have for the landlord.
• After notifying the landlord in writing, you must wait 14 days to allow the landlord to make the repair. If the landlord fails to make the repair within 14 days, then you may have your tradesman or supplier make the repair.
  
  You can have a tradesman make an emergency repair right away. Emergencies are conditions that will cause irreparable harm to the apartment if not immediately repaired or any condition that poses an immediate threat to health or safety.
• The repair must be made in a workman-like manner and according to the appropriate state or local law.
• You must give your landlord a paid bill from the tradesman or supplier and the tradesman or supplier’s name, address and telephone number before you may deduct the amount from your rent.

If you follow all the rules explained here, your landlord should not be able to evict you just because a tradesman made the repairs and you deducted the cost from your rent. However, if you fail to do any part of the repairs and deductions properly, then your landlord may have the right to evict you. If you receive an eviction notice, contact a lawyer immediately.

Repair and Deduct Under Local Law

If the above state law doesn’t apply to you, then you may make repairs and deduct the cost from your rent only if the lease permits it or there is a local ordinance permitting you to do so. You should check your local ordinance to find out your rights as a tenant. If you are not protected by either state or local law or the lease, then to assure that you will not be evicted for non-payment of rent, you should pay your rent even if your landlord has not made repairs.

Rent Withholding (Not Recommended)

Many times people feel that if their landlord refuses to make repairs or if the place they live in is “bad enough,” they do not have to pay rent. Often tenants are misinformed by other people that this is true. No matter who tells you that you do not have to pay rent, they may be wrong. Under Illinois law, you have no right to withhold or refuse to pay rent no matter how “bad” the place is. There may be a local ordinance that allows you to withhold rent. Check with an attorney in your area to see if such an ordinance applies to you. If your area does not have such an ordinance, and the landlord has refused your requests to make significant repairs, then you must decide whether withholding your rent is worth taking a chance that the landlord will attempt to evict you.

Report Housing Code Violations to Local Authorities

If the landlord continues to ignore your persistent requests for repairs that violate the provisions of a local Housing Code, you have another option. You can contact the Housing Code Enforcement Department of your village, city or county to complain. State law prohibits a landlord from evicting a tenant solely because the tenant called the Housing Code Enforcement Department with a legitimate complaint.

Housing codes set minimum housing standards that all residential property in a village, city or county must meet. These standards are adopted to ensure safe and sanitary housing for residents. Generally, major things such as heat, water and sewer facilities, electricity, structural defects, bugs, mice, rats, etc. are covered by housing codes.

To find out whether your city, village or county has adopted a housing code, you will need to contact city, village or county staff members. Housing codes vary from area to area.

If the violation presents serious danger to your health, safety and welfare, you should contact the housing officials of your municipality or county immediately. A phone call is enough to start the process. Avoid general statements such as “the place is a mess.” Be exact.

ADVOCACY TIP
If the violations of the housing codes are serious, the building inspector may condemn the apartment for occupancy and you may have to move.

Usually within a day or two after receiving your complaint, the Housing Code Enforcement Department will make an inspection. Once your rental unit has been inspected, it is not likely the problem will be solved the next day. Be sure to ask for a copy of the inspection report for your records.

If the enforcement agency finds a violation of the housing code, they will notify the landlord by letter listing all the violations they have found. The letter will set a time limit for the landlord to make repairs. The length of the time limit will vary according to the problem. The Department will usually follow-up and check to make sure everything is fixed. If the repairs do not occur, you may want to contact the inspector to ask about the status of your complaint.

If the landlord fails to make repairs after this follow-up, the city may sue the landlord, impose fines or prohibit the rerenting of the premises, depending on the seriousness of the needed repairs.

Utilities

See the section of this Handbook titled "Public Utilities and LIHEAP," which discusses the landlord's duty to provide utility service.

Lease Termination and Evictions

Getting Out of Your Lease

If you want to end the legal agreement between you and your landlord, you must use the same care as when you made the agreement in the first place. If you have a written lease for a specific period of time, read it carefully to determine if and how you can break it before it ends. If you follow the requirements of the lease, you will not have any legal obligation to pay rent after you move.

If your lease does not give you the option to break it before it ends, you may try talking to your landlord to see if she or he will agree to your moving out early. You should get any agreement in writing. A simple statement signed by your landlord will do. Keep in mind that your landlord may want something in return for her or his agreement.

If your landlord will not agree and you move out anyway, your landlord must take steps to minimize the impact from you moving out early. She or he cannot simply let your apartment sit vacant until your lease ends and demand all of the rent from you. Reasonable efforts must be made to re-let the apartment.
Example: If the landlord can re-let the apartment right away at a much higher rent than you were paying, you may not owe him any money even though you broke your lease.

If you rent month-to-month without a written lease, you must give your landlord a full 30 days notice in writing that you intend to move out. You must give the notice at least 30 days before the next rental period starts. If you do not give proper notice, you may be liable for rent after you move.
Example: If you pay rent on the first of the month, you must give notice no later than August 31 that you will be terminating the tenancy as of September 30.

Eviction Notices

Your landlord must give you a written notice before trying to evict you. The most common notice is the so-called Five-Day Notice. If you do not pay your rent on time, a landlord can terminate your tenancy by giving you this notice. A Five-Day Notice must state the amount of rent you owe and give you at least 5 days to pay the full amount. If you pay within the 5 days, you have a good defense if your landlord tries to evict you. If you do not pay within the 5 days, your landlord can declare your lease over and start an eviction lawsuit.

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The following are some important legal facts about Five-Day Notices of which many people are unaware.

Things to Know About Five-Day Notices:

• If the fifth day of the Five-Day Notice falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, you have until the following business day to pay.
• The copy of the Five-Day Notice your landlord gives you does not have to be notarized. The original your landlord files with the eviction court must be notarized.
• Even if the Five-Day Notice has the wrong amount of rent, you should pay what you owe within the 5 days.
• If you are able to pay the rent that you owe, you should pay it and obtain a receipt. Take someone who is not related to you and who does not live with you when you go to pay your rent. This person can serve as a witness if you try to pay your rent but your landlord will not accept it.
• A Five-Day Notice cannot demand that you pay charges other than rent, such as late fees or utility charges, unless your lease says that these other charges are also to be considered rent.

A Five-Day Notice is a very serious matter. Call Prairie State Legal Services, Inc. or another lawyer for advice as soon as you get the notice. Do not wait until your time is up.

The other type of notice commonly seen is the so-called Ten-Day Notice. If you have violated the terms of your lease agreement, your landlord can terminate your tenancy by giving you a Ten-Day Notice.
Example: If your lease says no pets are allowed, and you get a dog, your landlord can give you a Ten-Day Notice stating that you have violated your lease by getting a dog. After the 10 days are up, your landlord can start an eviction lawsuit against you.

Landlords do not usually use a Ten-Day Notice for rent, but if they do, you can avoid eviction by paying the rent due.

If you have a lease that ends on a specific day and you stay in your apartment past that day, your landlord does not have to give you any notice before starting an eviction lawsuit against you. You may also be liable for double the rent to your landlord for each month you stay beyond the end of your lease.

Eviction Lawsuits

If your landlord gives you an eviction notice, you have the legal right to fight the eviction in court. In order to evict you, your landlord must file an eviction lawsuit against you. These lawsuits go by the name forcible entry and detainer. Do not be confused by this term. It simply means "eviction."

When a landlord files an eviction lawsuit against you, you must be served with copies of the court papers by the county sheriff or a private process server. Those papers will tell you where and when you must go to court. When you go to court, you have the right to demand a trial, even a trial by jury, to present your evidence and legal defenses to the eviction. There are many possible defenses to an eviction lawsuit. Call Prairie State Legal Services, Inc. or another lawyer to advise you.

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Even if your landlord will not accept your rent during an eviction lawsuit, you must save it. If you win your case, you may have to pay all of your back rent right away after the case is over.

If you lose the trial, you still have the right to appeal to the Appellate Court of Illinois, and possibly the Supreme Court of Illinois. Even if you do not want to appeal, you can still ask the judge for time to move after the trial.

If you are still in your apartment after the time the judge gives you to move, your landlord will ask the county sheriff to evict you. The sheriff will order you to leave your apartment and your landlord will then place your belongings on the sidewalk and change the locks.

Illegal Evictions - "Lockouts"

If your landlord wants to evict you, he or she must follow the proper legal procedures. Your landlord must give you a proper notice, if one is required, and file an eviction lawsuit so that you have the opportunity to defend yourself in court. There are no exceptions to this rule. The sheriff cannot come to evict you until a judge has granted your landlord an order for possession of your apartment.

Sometimes, landlords decide not to follow this rule and will try to evict you illegally. There are a number of ways that landlords might try an illegal eviction.
Examples: A landlord might change your locks, shutoff your utilities, remove your possessions or threaten to have you arrested for being a "trespasser."

If you are aware that this is happening, it may be a good idea to call the police or the county sheriff. Show the officer your lease or a rent receipt. This should be enough for the officer to tell your landlord that he or she must follow the proper legal procedures.

If you have been "locked out," and the police or the sheriff will not help you, call Prairie State Legal Services or another lawyer right away. There is a good chance that you will be able to file a lawsuit against your landlord and get a court order requiring your landlord to let you back into your apartment. If your landlord does not obey the court order, he or she can be held in contempt of court and put in jail. You may also be able to get compensation (and in some cases, punitive damages) against the landlord for the harm caused you by the illegal lockout.

Distress of Property for Rent

Sometimes, when a tenant does not pay the rent, the landlord takes the tenant's property, such as household furnishings. Such an action by a landlord is almost always unlawful, unless the landlord follows the requirements of a specific legal procedure called distress for rent. Landlords rarely use this procedure. If your landlord takes your property and claims that he or she has a legal right to do so, call Prairie State Legal Services or another lawyer for advice on whether your landlord has acted unlawfully and to determine your remedies.

Retaliatory Eviction

Your landlord cannot terminate your lease or evict you just because you complained to your local government that your building does not meet local building codes. This law in Illinois is called the "Retaliatory Eviction Act," and it may be available as a defense in an eviction suit brought against you.

In that case, you will have to prove to the judge that you complained to your local government and that this is the reason your landlord is trying to evict you. You have the right to serve a subpoena on the inspector who came to your building. This will require her or him to come to court to testify on your behalf before the judge or jury.

Subsidized Housing

In General

Many seniors live in what is commonly referred to as "subsidized housing." Renters who live in subsidized housing pay a reduced rent because the federal government gives money to the landlord or to a local housing authority to help with the rent.

People who live in subsidized housing have some specific rights and responsibilities. The exact nature of these rights and responsibilities depend on the type of subsidized housing you live in. Although there are too many different types of subsidized housing to cover in detail here, this section will give a brief description of the types of subsidized housing we see most often in representing seniors.

Public Housing

If you live in public housing, your landlord is a local or county housing authority. People who live in public housing have the right to pay no more than 30% of their income each month in rent. You must report all changes in your financial circumstances to your housing authority immediately. If you do not, you may be evicted.
Example: If you get a part time job, or come into some money, you must tell your housing authority right away.

If you live in public housing, you have the right to stay there as long as you want if you do not violate the terms of your lease. In order to evict you from public housing, the housing authority must take the following actions:

• Give you a notice describing how it believes you violated your lease; and
• Take you to court and prove that you committed a “serious or repeated breach of a material term” of your lease.

In most cases, before taking you to court, the housing authority must also give you the opportunity to have an informal settlement conference with them to try and resolve the matter. The housing authority must also give you the opportunity to have a formal hearing before an impartial hearing officer to make your case why you should not be evicted.

If the hearing officer agrees with you, the housing authority cannot evict you. However, if the hearing officer agrees with the housing authority, the housing authority must still file an eviction lawsuit against you, and you will have the right to defend yourself in court before the judge.

Project Based Section 8 and Section 202 Housing

Many seniors live in apartment buildings or complexes owned by private individuals or companies which receive money from the federal government to subsidize each tenant’s rent. The owners of these buildings or complexes sign a contract with the federal government in which they agree to follow certain rules to protect the tenants.

If you live in one of these buildings or complexes, you have the right to pay no more than 30% of your income each month in rent. You must report all changes in your financial circumstances to the company that owns or manages the building or complex. You have the right to renew your lease, as long as you do not violate your lease and the project remains in the Section 8 program.

In order to evict you from this type of subsidized housing, your landlord must take the following actions:

• Give you a notice describing how it believes you violated your lease; and
• Take you to court and prove that you engaged in “material noncompliance” with the terms of your lease.

The landlord must also give you the opportunity to discuss the eviction before taking you to court. However, you do not have the right to a formal hearing.

Section 8 Voucher Program

The Section 8 Voucher program combines aspects of both public housing and project based subsidized housing. You apply for this program at your local housing authority.

If you are accepted, the housing authority gives you a piece of paper called a voucher for a rental unit appropriate for your family size. You then look to rent an apartment or house from a private landlord who is willing to accept the voucher and who agrees to a rent that the local housing authority will approve as reasonable. The apartment or house must pass an inspection that the housing authority will perform to determine whether it is in a safe and clean condition.

Your landlord then signs an agreement with your housing authority. In the voucher program, the housing authority sets a maximum payment standard for the unit. The amount of the rent subsidy is based on that payment standard. If the rent the landlord wants is less than this payment standard, you generally pay 30% of your income for your portion of the rent. If the landlord sets the rent higher than the payment standard, you pay a larger share of the rent. You must also report all changes in your financial circumstances to the housing authority, which will adjust your rent if necessary.

Unlike public housing and project based subsidized housing, if you have a Section 8 voucher, your landlord does not have to automatically renew your lease each year. If your landlord decides not to renew your lease, your housing authority will give you another voucher to look for a new apartment or house to rent. The landlord cannot evict you during your lease unless you seriously or repeatedly violated the terms of your lease.

Although you want to avoid being evicted, it is often even more important to avoid losing your eligibility to stay in the voucher assistance program. If the housing authority believes that you have violated the rules of the program, it may try to terminate your voucher assistance. If it intends on taking this step, it must give you a written notice and an opportunity for an administrative hearing.

If you lose the hearing, you have the right to go to court to ask a judge to review the housing authority’s decision. If the judge agrees that your housing authority did not follow the law or its own rules correctly, the judge may order the housing authority to give you a new administrative hearing or to give you a new voucher. If the judge agrees with the housing authority, you have the right to make an appeal to the Appellate Court of Illinois and possibly to the Supreme Court of Illinois.

Mobile Home Parks

Your Rights If You Rent a Mobile Home or Lot

People who rent mobile homes and/or lots in Illinois mobile home parks with 5 or more mobile homes have special rights under the Mobile Home Landlord and Tenant Rights Act. If you rent a mobile home and/or lot, you have the right to:

• A written lease for at least two years, not just a verbal agreement - the landlord may provide for a specified rent increase between the first and second years of the lease;
• Cancel the lease by notifying the park owner in writing within three (3) business days after signing the lease. The park owner shall return any security deposit or rent paid within ten (10) days after receiving written cancellation;
• Automatic renewal of your lease unless you give your landlord 30 days notice, or your landlord gives you 30 days notice stating that you have violated your lease or park rules;
• Twelve (12) months notice if the owner of the park decides to stop operating all or part of the mobile home park;
• Have all park fees itemized specifically in your lease;
• A 5 day grace period each month to pay rent, and 90 days notice of an increase in rent upon renewal of a lease. You have 30 days from receipt of the notice to accept or reject the rent increase. If you reject the rent increase, you must notify the landlord of when you will be moving and move out before the expiration of the 90 days. If you suffer an illness or disability that requires you to temporarily leave the mobile home park, a relative(s) may live in your home for up to 90 days if you provide documentation of your illness and your relative meets non-financial park qualifications. After 90 days, your relative must provide documentation of their financial eligibility;
• Pay no more than one month’s rent as a security deposit;
• An itemized list of damages after you move;
• Yearly interest on your security deposit if your mobile home park contains 25 or more mobile homes;
• Terminate the lease if the park owner or manager does not abide by the terms of your lease;
• Organize and participate in meetings of residents and a home owner’s association.

Note: You can waive these rights by signing a written statement acknowledging such waiver. You may not want to sign such a statement because in signing it, you are giving up certain rights.

Rent Deferral Program

You may defer, for up to one year, payment of the amount by which your rent has most recently increased if you can provide proof of inability to pay within 30 days of any notice of rental increase. To have your rent deferred, you must agree to list and market your home for sale and show that the new lease amount will exceed 45% of your income. Once your home sells, you will be required to pay the amount of the deferred rent.

Park Rules

You must obey all reasonable rules made by the owner or manager of the park regarding the park and your mobile home or lot. The park owner or manager must give you a copy of all rules and regulations before you sign your lease, and must give you 30 days notice before implementing a new rule. In addition, at the time you enter or renew a lease, the park owner must give certain disclosures to you, such as the amount of past rent charged to the home, the park owner’s responsibilities and information on projected rent increases.

If you do not follow the rules, the park can evict you from your mobile home or lot. Before the park can file an eviction suit against you, it must give you a written notice of the violation and 24 hours to correct the problem. The park owner or manager must take you to court to evict you, and you have the right to fight your eviction before the judge and/or a jury.

Housing Discrimination

Unlawful Kinds of Discrimination

No matter what your lease says, your landlord cannot discriminate against you for the wrong reasons. Under federal or state law, your civil rights are violated if your landlord treats you differently than other tenants for one of the following reasons:

• Because of your age
  
• Because you have a disability
  
• Because of your race, color, ancestry or national origin
  
• Because of your sex, marital status or because you have children
  
• Because of your religion
  
• Because you are in the military or were unfavorably discharged from the military
  
• Because of your sexual orientation or homosexuality (new, as of January 1, 2006)

The right to be free from discrimination for any of these reasons applies to every aspect of your relationship with your landlord.
Examples: Everything in the lease agreement, rental amounts or other fees, evictions and repairs. It also includes the right to be free from sexual or racial harassment, or harassment for any of the reasons listed earlier.

If you are a person with a disability, you have the right to have access to your apartment and the apartment complex’s facilities on the same basis as other tenants. This includes the right to make reasonable physical modifications to your apartment or building at your expense. It also means that your landlord must make reasonable changes to rules or policies if you need them.
Example: If you have a physical disability which prevents you from walking long distances, you must be given a designated parking spot near the door to your building, even if no one else has a designated parking spot.

What to Do If You Have Been Discriminated Against

If you have been discriminated against, you have the right to file a charge of discrimination with the Illinois Department of Human Rights and/or the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. You must file your charge within one year of the act of discrimination.

You may also be able to file a lawsuit in court. There, you can seek a court order prohibiting your landlord from continuing to discriminate against you and also for monetary compensation.

If your landlord is evicting you for discriminatory reasons, you may bring this up in eviction court as a defense to defeat the eviction against you.

Circuit Breaker Program

The Circuit Breaker Property Tax Relief Program can provide you with a direct cash grant to help you pay your property taxes. You do not have to be a homeowner to qualify for this program. Renters may qualify as well. See the section of this Handbook titled "The Circuit Breaker Property Tax Relief Program for Homeowners and Renters."

Where to Go for More Information

Statutes and Regulations

• The Security Deposit Return Act can be found at 765 ILCS 710.
• The Security Deposit Interest Act can be found at 765 ILCS 715.
• The Retaliatory Eviction Act can be found at 765 ILCS 720.
• The Rental Property Utility Service Act can be found at 765 ILCS 735.
• The Tenant Utility Payment Disclosure Act can be found at 765 ILCS 740.
• The Mobile Home Landlord and Tenant Rights Act can be found at 765 ILCS 745.
• The laws describing the procedures for an eviction are found in 735 ILCS 5/9.
• The Illinois State law which prohibits housing discrimination, the Illinois Human Rights Act, is found in Chapter 775 ILCS 5.
• The Fair Housing Act can be found starting at 42 U.S.C. §3604.
• The regulations for Section 8 vouchers can be found at 24 CFR part 982.
• The regulations for Public Housing can be found at 24 CFR part 966.4.

Agencies and Organizations

Illinois Department of Human Rights
To file charges of housing discrimination, visit the Illinois Department of Human Rights' website or call at 800-662-3942 (toll free). You may also contact IDHR:

 In Chicago
 Department of Human Rights
 James R. Thompson Center
 100 West Randolph Street, Suite 10-100
 Chicago, Illinois 60601
 312-814-6200
 312-263-1579 (TDD)

 In Springfield
 222 South College, Floor 1
 Springfield, Illinois 62704
 217-785-5100
 217-785-5125 (TDD)

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
To file a charge of housing discrimination under federal civil rights laws, visit the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's website or call at 800-669-9777 (toll free). The regional office of HUD is located at:

Fair Housing Enforcement Center
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
77 W. Jackson Blvd., Room 2101
Chicago, IL 60604-3507
800-765-9372 (toll free)
312-353-7776
312-353-7143 (TTY)

Illinois Department of Public Health
For information on safety and mobile homes, visit the Illinois Department of Public Health's website.  You can also write or call the Illinois Department of Public Health at:

535 West Jefferson Street
Springfield, Illinois 62761
217-782-4977
217-782-3987 (FAX)
800-547-0466 (TTY)

Other Resources

The Southern Illinois University School of Law operates a Self Help Legal Center on its web page.

Illinois Legal Aid Online
Legal self help and referrals

Prairie State Legal Services has an excellent publication titled “Renter’s Handbook” available.

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