94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
HB4758

 

Introduced 01/17/06, by Rep. William Davis

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Residential Tenant Protection Act. Makes findings, states purposes, and provides definitions of terms. Prohibits residential lock-outs. Describes actions that do not constitute a residential lock-out. Makes a violation a petty offense punishable by a fine of not more than $500 nor less than $200. Also authorizes injunctive relief and damages. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1     AN ACT in relation to property.
 
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
5 Residential Tenant Protection Act.
 
6     Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds and
7 declares the following:
8         (1) The Forcible Entry and Detainer provisions of the
9     Code of Civil Procedure provide a legal method to remove
10     tenants from a dwelling unit, if the tenant has failed to
11     live up to the terms of the rental agreement.
12         (2) The Illinois State Constitution states in Article
13     I, Section 2, that "No person shall be deprived of life,
14     liberty or property without due process of law nor be
15     denied the equal protection of the laws."
16         (3) Residential lock-outs are a form of illegal
17     eviction that runs contrary to the legislative intent of
18     the Forcible Entry and Detainer provisions of the Code of
19     Civil Procedure and to the intent of the Illinois State
20     Constitution and forces families out of their homes with
21     virtually no advance notice or warning.
22         (4) Over 50% of the tenant-occupied housing in the
23     State is protected by municipal ordinances that restrict
24     lock-outs, however municipalities that are not home rule
25     units are unable to enact ordinances of that type.
26         (5) Despite current statutory and constitutional
27     prohibitions, residential lock-outs occur at an alarmingly
28     frequent rate, with one in 7 low-income tenants outside the
29     City of Chicago experiencing a residential lock-out at some
30     time in his or her life.
31         (6) Residential lock-outs are a major cause of
32     homelessness for Illinois families.

 

 

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1         (7) Current Illinois law fails to empower local police
2     to act to protect tenants when made aware of a residential
3     lock-out.
4         (8) Residential lock-outs take many forms that were not
5     fully anticipated in the Forcible Entry and Detainer
6     provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, including
7     utility shut-offs and threats of violence.
8         (9) A threat of a residential lock-out made to a tenant
9     makes the tenant's dwelling unit uninhabitable in a
10     practical sense, however these threats have not been
11     treated previously as a residential lock-out under
12     Illinois law.
13         (10) Residential lock-outs put an unnecessary strain
14     on the judicial system through the need to issue emergency
15     orders in appropriate circumstances.
16         (11) The State of Illinois has a housing plan that
17     states the need to put in place policies that prevent
18     homelessness.
 
19     Section 10. Purposes.
20     (a) This Act shall be liberally construed and applied to
21 promote its underlying purposes and policies.
22     (b) The underlying purposes and policies of this Act are:
23         (1) to ensure that the Forcible Entry and Detainer
24     provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure are the only
25     means by which a tenant can be evicted; and
26         (2) to provide a remedy for victims of unlawful
27     residential lock-outs.
 
28     Section 15. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act:
29     "Landlord" and "tenant" shall be defined as those terms are
30 defined in the Rental Property Utility Service Act.
31     "Dwelling unit" shall have the meaning given to the term
32 "single dwelling unit" in the Dwelling Structure Contract Act.
33     "Dwelling structure" shall have the meaning given to that
34 term in the Dwelling Structure Contract Act.

 

 

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1     "Abandonment" means that circumstance when all tenants
2 have been absent from the dwelling unit for a period of 21 days
3 or for one rental period, whichever is greater, the tenants
4 have removed their personal property from the dwelling unit and
5 dwelling structure, and the rent for the period is unpaid.
6     "Lock-out" means the ouster or dispossession of a tenant by
7 a landlord without the lawful authority to do so.
8     "Residential lock-out" means the ouster or dispossession
9 of a tenant by a landlord from the residential premises
10 occupied by the tenant, without the lawful authority to perform
11 the ouster or dispossession.
 
12     Section 20. Residential lock-out.
13     (a) Residential lock-out. It is unlawful for any landlord
14 or any person acting at the direction of a landlord to
15 knowingly perform a residential lock-out, or to threaten or
16 attempt to perform a residential lock-out, of any residential
17 tenant from the tenant's dwelling unit. The following acts by a
18 landlord concerning a tenant constitute a residential
19 lock-out:
20         (1) incapacitating, changing, adding or removing any
21     lock or latching device to any entrance or exit to the
22     dwelling unit or dwelling structure to which the tenant is
23     entitled to have access;
24         (2) blocking or rendering useless any entrance or exit
25     into the dwelling unit or dwelling structure including, but
26     not limited to, removing any door or window from the
27     dwelling unit or dwelling structure;
28         (3) interfering with services to the dwelling unit or
29     dwelling structure including, but not limited to, the
30     failure of the landlord or the agent of the landlord to
31     pay, pursuant to a written or verbal agreement with that
32     tenant, for services to the dwelling unit or dwelling
33     structure including, but not limited to, the services of
34     electricity, gas, hot or cold water, and heat;
35         (4) removing personal property of a tenant from the

 

 

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1     tenant's dwelling unit or the dwelling structure;
2         (5) removing or incapacitating appliances or fixtures
3     that are (i) located in the dwelling unit pursuant to an
4     agreement between the landlord and the tenant and (ii)
5     necessary to make the unit habitable;
6         (6) using force, violence, or sexual harassment
7     against a tenant;
8         (7) acting or failing to act in a manner that renders
9     the dwelling unit, the dwelling structure, or any part of
10     the dwelling unit or dwelling structure inaccessible or
11     uninhabitable; or
12         (8) acting or failing to act in a manner that renders
13     inaccessible any personal property of the tenant in the
14     dwelling unit or the dwelling structure.
15     (b) Lawful actions. The following actions of a landlord or
16 a person acting at the direction of a landlord directed to a
17 tenant or a tenant's personal property do not constitute a
18 residential lock-out:
19         (1) eviction by a sheriff or other lawfully deputized
20     officer acting in his or her official capacity after a
21     judgment for possession has been obtained through the
22     Forcible Entry and Detainer provisions of the Code of Civil
23     Procedure;
24         (2) entry after a tenant has abandoned a dwelling unit,
25     as defined in Section 15 of this Act;
26         (3) temporary interference with possession:
27             (A) to make needed repairs or to conduct an
28         emergency inspection, as necessary and only as
29         provided by law and with proper written notice at least
30         24 hours in advance of the interference;
31             (B) to make needed repairs or perform maintenance
32         elsewhere in the dwelling structure, for practical
33         necessity, because the nature of the work or a problem
34         that has arisen unexpectedly requires access, provided
35         that proper written notice of explanation is provided
36         to the tenant no later than 2 days after the entry; or

 

 

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1             (C) to address an emergency or for a practical
2         necessity, provided that proper written notice of
3         explanation is provided to the tenant no later than 2
4         days after the entry.
5     (c) It is an affirmative defense to an alleged violation of
6 this Act if the circumstances concerning the alleged violation
7 are within one of the circumstances described in subparagraphs
8 (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of Section
9 20 and the landlord gives the type of written notice required
10 by the applicable subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph
11 (3) of subsection (b) of Section 20.
12     (d) Whenever a complaint of a violation of this Act is
13 received by a law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over
14 the location of the dwelling unit or dwelling structure in
15 question, the agency shall investigate and determine whether a
16 violation has occurred. If the law enforcement agency
17 determines that a violation has occurred, the agency shall
18 forward a report of its investigation to the State's Attorney
19 of the county in which the dwelling unit or dwelling structure
20 is located for prosecution. Every person who, by himself or
21 herself or by his or her agents or employees, violates any of
22 the provisions of this Section may for each offense be deemed
23 guilty of a petty offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall
24 be punished by a fine of not more than $500 nor less than $200.
25 Each day that a violation occurs or continues constitutes a
26 separate and distinct offense for which a fine shall be
27 imposed.
28     (e) In addition to any other remedy supplied in this Act or
29 under another law, if a landlord violates this Section, the
30 tenant may file suit in the circuit court and upon proof of a
31 violation shall be entitled to both injunctive relief and
32 damages. Injunctive relief includes, but is not limited to,
33 restoration of possession of the tenant to his or her dwelling
34 unit, personal property, utility service, and relief against
35 future interference. Damages shall be either in the amount of 2
36 times the tenant's replacement costs, or 6 times the monthly

 

 

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1 rent for the unit, whichever is greater, plus the tenant's
2 reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
 
3     Section 25. Effect on other laws.
4     (a) More protective laws. Nothing in this Act shall be
5 construed to supersede any provision of any federal, State, or
6 local law that provides greater protections than the rights
7 established under this Act.
8     (b) Less protective laws. The rights established under this
9 Act shall not be diminished by any State law or local
10 ordinance.
 
11     Section 30. Prohibition on waiver or modification. The
12 provisions of this Act may not be waived or modified by an
13 agreement of the parties.
 
14     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
15 becoming law.