Full Text of HB4715 94th General Assembly
HB4715 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006 HB4715
Introduced 1/12/2006, by Rep. Robin Kelly SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
|
|
Creates the Safe Homes Act. Provides that a victim of domestic violence or sexual violence has certain rights with respect to the victim's dwelling unit. Provides that, depending upon the circumstances, the victim can obtain relief that includes: requiring that the landlord change the locks, allowing the victim to change the locks if the landlord does not act, terminating the lease, and imposing penalties on a landlord for certain violations. Provides definitions. Places obligations on landlords, tenants, and perpetrators of domestic or sexual violence. Effective immediately.
|
| |
|
|
A BILL FOR
|
|
|
|
|
HB4715 |
|
LRB094 15382 AJO 50573 b |
|
| 1 |
| AN ACT concerning housing.
| 2 |
| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 |
| represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 |
| Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Safe | 5 |
| Homes Act. | 6 |
| Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds and | 7 |
| declares the following: | 8 |
| (1) Domestic and sexual violence affect many persons | 9 |
| without regard to age, race, education, socioeconomic | 10 |
| status, religion, or occupation. | 11 |
| (2) Domestic and sexual violence have a devastating | 12 |
| effect on individuals, families, and communities. | 13 |
| (3) Domestic violence crimes account for approximately | 14 |
| 15% of total crime costs in the United States each year.
| 15 |
| (4) Violence against women has been reported to be the | 16 |
| leading cause of physical injury to women. This violence | 17 |
| has a devastating impact on women's physical and emotional | 18 |
| health. | 19 |
| (5) According to recent government surveys, from 1993 | 20 |
| through 1998 the average annual number of violent | 21 |
| victimizations committed by intimate partners of the | 22 |
| victim was 1,082,110 and 87% of those were committed | 23 |
| against women. | 24 |
| (6) Female murder victims were substantially more | 25 |
| likely than male murder victims to have been killed by an | 26 |
| intimate partner. About one-third of female murder | 27 |
| victims, and about 4% of male murder victims, were killed | 28 |
| by an intimate partner. | 29 |
| (7) According to recent government estimates, | 30 |
| approximately 987,400 rapes occur annually in the United | 31 |
| States and 89% of the rapes are perpetrated against female | 32 |
| victims. |
|
|
|
HB4715 |
- 2 - |
LRB094 15382 AJO 50573 b |
|
| 1 |
| (8) One out of every 7 adult women, or more than | 2 |
| 670,000 in Illinois, has been the victim of a forcible rape | 3 |
| sometime in her lifetime. | 4 |
| (9) In a survey of 600 women and men ages 16-24, 60% of | 5 |
| the respondents stated that they know a woman who has been | 6 |
| sexually assaulted.
| 7 |
| (10) Eighty percent of women who are raped are raped by | 8 |
| acquaintances. | 9 |
| (11) Approximately 10,200,000 people have been stalked | 10 |
| at some time in their lives. Four out of every 5 stalking | 11 |
| victims are women. Stalkers harass and terrorize their | 12 |
| victims by spying on the victims, standing outside their | 13 |
| homes or work places, making unwanted phone calls, sending | 14 |
| or leaving unwanted letters or items, or vandalizing | 15 |
| property. | 16 |
| (12) Too often, victims of domestic and sexual violence | 17 |
| suffer not only physical and emotional abuse, but also the | 18 |
| devastation of being displaced from their homes because of | 19 |
| violence. | 20 |
| (13) The loss of a victim's home can, in turn, result | 21 |
| in the loss of employment, public benefits, and even the | 22 |
| custody of children. | 23 |
| (14) The problem is compounded by the fact that victims | 24 |
| of domestic and sexual violence are discriminated against | 25 |
| when attempting to access safe housing, make their current | 26 |
| housing more safe, or flee existing housing. Additionally, | 27 |
| victims of domestic and sexual violence are often evicted | 28 |
| because of the abuse that they have suffered.
| 29 |
| (15) There is a strong link between domestic violence | 30 |
| and homelessness. Among cities surveyed, 44% identified | 31 |
| domestic violence as a primary cause of homelessness. | 32 |
| (16) Ninety-two percent of homeless women have | 33 |
| experienced severe physical or sexual abuse at some point | 34 |
| in their lives. Of all homeless women and children, 60% had | 35 |
| been abused by age 12, and 63% have been victims of | 36 |
| intimate partner violence as adults. |
|
|
|
HB4715 |
- 3 - |
LRB094 15382 AJO 50573 b |
|
| 1 |
| (17) Women who leave their abusers frequently lack | 2 |
| adequate emergency shelter options and this makes their | 3 |
| decisions concerning leaving their dwelling places more | 4 |
| difficult. | 5 |
| (18) Victims of domestic violence often return to | 6 |
| abusive partners because they cannot find long-term | 7 |
| housing. | 8 |
| (19) Because abusers frequently manipulate their | 9 |
| victims' finances in an effort to control their partners, | 10 |
| victims often lack a steady income, a credit history, | 11 |
| landlord references, and a current address, all of which | 12 |
| are necessary to obtain long-term permanent housing.
| 13 |
| (20) Victims of domestic and sexual violence in rural | 14 |
| areas face additional barriers, challenges, and unique | 15 |
| circumstances, such as geographic isolation, poverty, lack | 16 |
| of public transportation systems, shortage of health care | 17 |
| providers, and decreased access to safe housing resources. | 18 |
| (21)
The U.S. Congress has recognized the severity of | 19 |
| this problem. In its Conference report accompanying the FY | 20 |
| 2002 HUD appropriations bill, Congress urged HUD to | 21 |
| "develop plans to protect victims of domestic violence from | 22 |
| being discriminated against in receiving or maintaining | 23 |
| public housing because of their victimization." H.R. REP. | 24 |
| No. 107-272, at 120 (2001).
| 25 |
| Section 10. Purposes. The purposes of this Act are: | 26 |
| (1) To promote the State's interest in reducing | 27 |
| domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and | 28 |
| stalking by enabling victims of domestic or sexual violence | 29 |
| and their families to access or maintain safe housing or | 30 |
| flee existing dangerous housing in order to leave violent | 31 |
| or abusive situations, achieve safety, and minimize the | 32 |
| physical and emotional injuries from domestic or sexual | 33 |
| violence, and to reduce the devastating economic | 34 |
| consequences to the State and victims. | 35 |
| (2) To address the failure of existing laws to protect |
|
|
|
HB4715 |
- 4 - |
LRB094 15382 AJO 50573 b |
|
| 1 |
| the housing rights of victims of domestic or sexual | 2 |
| violence, as well as family or household members affected | 3 |
| by the violence. | 4 |
| (3)
To accomplish the purposes described in paragraphs | 5 |
| (1) and (2) by providing victims of domestic or sexual | 6 |
| violence and their families with options to access or | 7 |
| maintain safe housing or to flee dangerous housing.
| 8 |
| Section 15. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act: | 9 |
| "Domestic violence" means one or more acts or threats of | 10 |
| violence, not including acts of self defense or defense of | 11 |
| another, and all behaviors defined in Section 103 of the | 12 |
| Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986.
| 13 |
| "Landlord" and "tenant" have the definitions stated in | 14 |
| Section 1.1 of the Rental Property Utility Service Act.
| 15 |
| "Perpetrator" means an individual who commits or is alleged | 16 |
| to have committed or threatened any act of domestic or sexual | 17 |
| violence. | 18 |
| "Protected applicant" means a person who makes application | 19 |
| to the landlord of a building or mobile home to become an | 20 |
| occupant in the building or mobile home, whether under a lease | 21 |
| or periodic tenancy, who has been subjected to any act or | 22 |
| threat of domestic or sexual violence. A perpetrator is not | 23 |
| considered a protected applicant. | 24 |
| "Protected household member" means any member of a | 25 |
| household who has been subjected to any act or threat of | 26 |
| domestic or sexual violence, including but not limited to: any | 27 |
| minor child, any dependant adult, and any other person residing | 28 |
| with a victim of domestic or sexual violence. A perpetrator is | 29 |
| not considered a protected household member. | 30 |
| "Protected tenant" means an occupant of a building or | 31 |
| mobile home, whether under a lease or periodic tenancy, who has | 32 |
| been subjected to any act or threat of domestic or sexual | 33 |
| violence, including but not limited to a tenant residing with a | 34 |
| victim of domestic or sexual violence. A perpetrator is not | 35 |
| considered a protected tenant. |
|
|
|
HB4715 |
- 5 - |
LRB094 15382 AJO 50573 b |
|
| 1 |
| "Sexual violence" means any act or threat of sexual | 2 |
| assault, abuse, or stalking of an adult or minor child | 3 |
| including, but not limited to, non-consensual sexual conduct or | 4 |
| non-consensual sexual penetration as defined in the Civil No | 5 |
| Contact Order Act and offenses of stalking, aggravated | 6 |
| stalking, cyberstalking, criminal sexual assault, predatory | 7 |
| criminal sexual assault of a child, criminal sexual abuse, and | 8 |
| aggravated criminal sexual abuse as these offenses are | 9 |
| described in the Criminal Code of 1961, including sexual | 10 |
| violence committed by perpetrators who are strangers to the | 11 |
| victim and sexual violence committed by perpetrators who are | 12 |
| known or related by blood, marriage, or law to the victim. | 13 |
| "Victim" means an individual who has been subjected to any | 14 |
| act or threat of domestic or sexual violence. A perpetrator is | 15 |
| not considered a victim. | 16 |
| Section 20. Victim protection; nondiscrimination. A | 17 |
| landlord shall not terminate a tenancy, fail to renew a | 18 |
| tenancy, refuse to enter into a rental agreement, retaliate, or | 19 |
| otherwise interfere in the rental of a dwelling based on: (i) | 20 |
| the protected tenant, the protected applicant, or a protected | 21 |
| household member's status as a victim of domestic violence or | 22 |
| sexual violence; or (ii) the protected tenant or protected | 23 |
| applicant having terminated a rental agreement under Section | 24 |
| 30. Evidence provided to the landlord of domestic violence or | 25 |
| sexual violence may include any one of the following: | 26 |
| (1) a statement of the protected tenant, protected | 27 |
| applicant, or protected household member; | 28 |
| (2) a statement from a person other than the protected | 29 |
| tenant, protected applicant, or protected household member | 30 |
| who has knowledge of the resident's history as a victim of | 31 |
| domestic or sexual violence; | 32 |
| (3) a statement from an employee, agent, or volunteer | 33 |
| of a victim services, domestic violence, or rape crisis | 34 |
| organization from whom the protected tenant, protected | 35 |
| applicant, or protected household member has sought |
|
|
|
HB4715 |
- 6 - |
LRB094 15382 AJO 50573 b |
|
| 1 |
| services; | 2 |
| (4) a statement from an attorney, medial professional, | 3 |
| member of the clergy, or other professional from whom the | 4 |
| protected tenant, protected applicant, or protected | 5 |
| household member has sought assistance in addressing | 6 |
| domestic or sexual violence; | 7 |
| (5) court, police, medical, or other corroborating | 8 |
| evidence of domestic or sexual violence; or | 9 |
| (6)
any other evidence of domestic or sexual violence.
| 10 |
| Section 25. Victim protection; change of locks and right to | 11 |
| possession.
| 12 |
| (a) If the perpetrator of domestic violence or sexual | 13 |
| violence is not a leaseholder in the same dwelling unit as the | 14 |
| victim, a protected tenant of the dwelling unit may give oral | 15 |
| or written notice to the landlord that a protected household | 16 |
| member is a victim of domestic violence or sexual violence and | 17 |
| may request that the locks to the dwelling unit be changed. The | 18 |
| landlord shall not consider this notice evidence of a lease | 19 |
| violation. A protected tenant is not required to provide | 20 |
| documentation of the domestic violence or sexual violence to | 21 |
| initiate the changing of the locks, pursuant to this | 22 |
| subsection. A landlord who receives a request under this | 23 |
| subsection shall, within 48 hours, change the locks to the | 24 |
| protected tenant's dwelling unit or give the protected tenant | 25 |
| permission to change the locks within 48 hours. | 26 |
| (b) If the perpetrator of the domestic violence or sexual | 27 |
| violence is a leaseholder in the same dwelling unit as the | 28 |
| victim, a protected tenant of the dwelling unit may give oral | 29 |
| or written notice to the landlord that a protected household | 30 |
| member is a victim of domestic or sexual violence and may | 31 |
| request that the locks to the dwelling unit be changed. In | 32 |
| these circumstances, the following shall apply: | 33 |
|
(1) Before the landlord or protected tenant changes | 34 |
| the locks under this subsection, the landlord may require a | 35 |
| copy of an order issued by a court, including but not |
|
|
|
HB4715 |
- 7 - |
LRB094 15382 AJO 50573 b |
|
| 1 |
| limited to an Order Of Protection pursuant to the Illinois | 2 |
| Domestic Violence Act of 1986 or Article 112A of the Code | 3 |
| of Criminal Procedure of 1963. | 4 |
| (2) Unless a court order allows the perpetrator to | 5 |
| return to the dwelling unit to retrieve personal | 6 |
| belongings, the landlord has no duty under the rental | 7 |
| agreement or by law to allow the perpetrator access to the | 8 |
| dwelling unit, to provide keys to the perpetrator, or to | 9 |
| provide the perpetrator access to the perpetrator's | 10 |
| personal property within the dwelling unit once the | 11 |
| landlord has been provided with a court order. If a | 12 |
| landlord complies with this Section, the landlord is not | 13 |
| liable for civil damages to a perpetrator excluded from the | 14 |
| dwelling unit for loss of use of the dwelling unit or loss | 15 |
| of use or damage to the perpetrator's personal property. | 16 |
| (3) The perpetrator who has been excluded from the | 17 |
| dwelling unit under this subsection remains liable under | 18 |
| the lease with any other tenant of the dwelling unit for | 19 |
| rent or damages to the dwelling unit. | 20 |
| (4) A landlord who receives a request under this | 21 |
| subsection shall, within 72 hours, change the locks to the | 22 |
| dwelling unit or give the protected tenant permission to | 23 |
| change the locks. | 24 |
| (c) If the landlord charges a fee for the expense of | 25 |
| changing the locks, that fee must not exceed the reasonable | 26 |
| price customarily charged for the repair. | 27 |
| (d) If a landlord fails to act within the required time | 28 |
| pursuant to subsection (a) or (b), the protected tenant may | 29 |
| change the locks without the landlord's permission. If the | 30 |
| protected tenant changes the locks, the protected tenant shall | 31 |
| give a key to the new locks to the landlord within 48 hours of | 32 |
| the locks being changed.
| 33 |
| Section 30. Early termination of rental agreement by | 34 |
| victims of domestic violence or sexual violence.
| 35 |
| (a) Any protected tenant who is a victim of domestic or |
|
|
|
HB4715 |
- 8 - |
LRB094 15382 AJO 50573 b |
|
| 1 |
| sexual violence or whose dwelling unit contains protected | 2 |
| household members who are victims of domestic or sexual | 3 |
| violence may terminate his or her rental agreement for a | 4 |
| dwelling unit by providing the landlord with a written notice | 5 |
| of termination to be effective on a date stated in the notice | 6 |
| that is at least 30 days after the landlord's receipt of the | 7 |
| notice. The notice to the landlord shall be accompanied by any | 8 |
| one of the types of evidence of domestic or sexual violence | 9 |
| presented by the protected tenant as set forth in Section 20. | 10 |
| (b) Upon termination of a rental agreement under this | 11 |
| Section, if the perpetrator is not a tenant in the same | 12 |
| dwelling unit, the protected tenant who is released from a | 13 |
| rental agreement pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section is | 14 |
| liable for the rent due under the rental agreement prorated to | 15 |
| the effective date of the termination and payable at the time | 16 |
| that would have been required by the terms of the rental | 17 |
| agreement. If the perpetrator is a tenant in the same dwelling | 18 |
| unit, the perpetrator is liable for the protected tenant's rent | 19 |
| due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date | 20 |
| of the termination and payable at the time that would have been | 21 |
| required by the terms of the rental agreement. The protected | 22 |
| tenant is not liable for any other rent or fees due only to the | 23 |
| early termination of the tenancy. If, pursuant to this Section, | 24 |
| a protected tenant or applicant terminates the rental agreement | 25 |
| 14 days or more before occupancy, the protected tenant or | 26 |
| applicant is not subject to any damages or penalties. | 27 |
| (c) Notwithstanding the release of a protected tenant from | 28 |
| a rental agreement under subsection (a) of this Section, or the | 29 |
| exclusion of a perpetrator of domestic or sexual violence by | 30 |
| court order if the perpetrator is a tenant in the same dwelling | 31 |
| unit, if there are any remaining tenants residing in the | 32 |
| dwelling unit, the tenancy shall continue for those tenants if | 33 |
| they so desire. The perpetrator who is a tenant in the same | 34 |
| dwelling unit remains liable under the lease with any other | 35 |
| tenant of the dwelling unit for rent or damages to the dwelling | 36 |
| unit.
|
|
|
|
HB4715 |
- 9 - |
LRB094 15382 AJO 50573 b |
|
| 1 |
| Section 35. Right of possession to non-leaseholder victim | 2 |
| of domestic or sexual violence.
If the perpetrator of the | 3 |
| domestic violence or sexual violence is a tenant in the same | 4 |
| dwelling unit as the victim and has possession of the dwelling | 5 |
| unit, any adult or emancipated protected household member of | 6 |
| that dwelling unit may give oral or written notice to the | 7 |
| landlord that a protected household member is a victim of | 8 |
| domestic or sexual violence and request that the protected | 9 |
| household member be given possession of the dwelling unit and | 10 |
| become the primary leaseholder. The landlord may require that | 11 |
| the protected household member provide the landlord with a copy | 12 |
| of an order issued by a court, including but not limited to an | 13 |
| Order Of Protection pursuant to the Illinois Domestic Violence | 14 |
| Act of 1986 or Article 112A of the Code of Criminal Procedure | 15 |
| of 1963. If a landlord complies with this Section, the landlord | 16 |
| is not liable for civil damages to a perpetrator excluded from | 17 |
| the dwelling unit for loss of possession, the use of the | 18 |
| dwelling unit, or loss of use or damage to the perpetrator's | 19 |
| personal property. | 20 |
| Section 40. Right to vacate following domestic or sexual | 21 |
| violence.
| 22 |
| (a) A protected tenant may terminate her or his rights and | 23 |
| obligations under a lease and may vacate the dwelling unit and | 24 |
| avoid
liability for future rent and any other sums due under | 25 |
| the lease for
terminating the lease and vacating the dwelling | 26 |
| unit before the end of
the lease term, if the protected tenant | 27 |
| complies with subsection (c) of Section 30 and provides the | 28 |
| landlord or the landlord's agent with notice that the protected | 29 |
| tenant or a protected household member is the victim of | 30 |
| domestic or sexual violence and that in order to maintain her | 31 |
| or his personal safety she or he must vacate the dwelling. | 32 |
| (b) A protected tenant may exercise the right to terminate | 33 |
| the lease
under subsection (b) of Section 30, and vacate the | 34 |
| dwelling before the end of the lease term, beginning on the |
|
|
|
HB4715 |
- 10 - |
LRB094 15382 AJO 50573 b |
|
| 1 |
| date after all of
the following events have occurred: | 2 |
| (1) the protected tenant has delivered a copy of the | 3 |
| notice to the landlord; and | 4 |
| (2) the protected tenant has vacated the dwelling unit. | 5 |
| (c) If the perpetrator was not a tenant in the same | 6 |
| dwelling unit as the protected tenant, this Section does not | 7 |
| affect a protected tenant's liability for unpaid rent owed to | 8 |
| the landlord before the lease was terminated by the protected | 9 |
| tenant under this Section. The perpetrator, however, shall be | 10 |
| liable for all charges related to the domestic or sexual | 11 |
| violence, including but not limited to damage to property. | 12 |
| (d) If the perpetrator is a tenant in the same dwelling | 13 |
| unit as the protected tenant, the perpetrator is liable for all | 14 |
| unpaid rent or other sums owed to the landlord before the lease | 15 |
| was terminated by the protected tenant. The perpetrator shall | 16 |
| also be liable for all charges related to the domestic or | 17 |
| sexual violence, including but not limited to damage to | 18 |
| property. | 19 |
| (e) A landlord who is found by a court to have violated | 20 |
| this Act is liable to the
protected tenant for actual damages, | 21 |
| an additional amount equal to the amount of one month's rent | 22 |
| plus $500, and the tenant's attorney's fees.
| 23 |
| Section 45. Effect on other laws.
| 24 |
| (a) More protective laws. Nothing in this Act shall be | 25 |
| construed to supersede any provision of any federal, State, or | 26 |
| local law that provides greater protections for victims of | 27 |
| domestic or sexual violence than the rights established under | 28 |
| this Act. | 29 |
| (b)
Less protective laws. The rights established for | 30 |
| victims of domestic or sexual violence under this Act shall not | 31 |
| be diminished by any State or local law.
| 32 |
| Section 50. Prohibition on Waiver or Modification. | 33 |
| Sections 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 may not be waived | 34 |
| or modified by an agreement of the parties.
|
|
|
|
HB4715 |
- 11 - |
LRB094 15382 AJO 50573 b |
|
| 1 |
| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 2 |
| becoming law.
|
|