Full Text of HB4715 94th General Assembly
HB4715ham001 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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Housing and Urban Development Committee
Filed: 2/14/2006
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| AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4715
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| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4715 by replacing | 3 |
| everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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| "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 |
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| likely than male murder victims to have been killed by an | 2 |
| intimate partner. About one-third of female murder | 3 |
| victims, and about 4% of male murder victims, were killed | 4 |
| by an intimate partner. | 5 |
| (7) According to the Department of Justice, women | 6 |
| living in rental housing experience intimate partner | 7 |
| violence at 3 times the rate of women who own their homes. | 8 |
| (8) According to recent government estimates, | 9 |
| approximately 987,400 rapes occur annually in the United | 10 |
| States and 89% of the rapes are perpetrated against female | 11 |
| victims. | 12 |
| (9) One out of every 7 adult women, or more than | 13 |
| 670,000 in Illinois, has been the victim of a forcible rape | 14 |
| sometime in her lifetime. | 15 |
| (10) In a survey of 600 women and men ages 16-24, 60% | 16 |
| of the respondents stated that they know a woman who has | 17 |
| been sexually assaulted. | 18 |
| (11) Eighty percent of women who are raped are raped by | 19 |
| acquaintances. | 20 |
| (12) Approximately 10,200,000 people have been stalked | 21 |
| at some time in their lives. Four out of every 5 stalking | 22 |
| victims are women. Stalkers harass and terrorize their | 23 |
| victims by spying on the victims, standing outside their | 24 |
| homes or work places, making unwanted phone calls, sending | 25 |
| or leaving unwanted letters or items, or vandalizing | 26 |
| property. | 27 |
| (13) Too often, victims of domestic and sexual violence | 28 |
| suffer not only physical and emotional abuse, but also the | 29 |
| devastation of being displaced from their homes because of | 30 |
| violence. | 31 |
| (14) The loss of a victim's home can, in turn, result | 32 |
| in the loss of employment, public benefits, and even the | 33 |
| custody of children. | 34 |
| (15) The problem is compounded by the fact that victims |
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| of domestic and sexual violence are discriminated against | 2 |
| when attempting to access safe housing, make their current | 3 |
| housing more safe, or flee existing housing. Additionally, | 4 |
| victims of domestic and sexual violence are often evicted | 5 |
| because of the abuse that they have suffered. | 6 |
| (16) There is a strong link between domestic violence | 7 |
| and homelessness. Among cities surveyed, 44% identified | 8 |
| domestic violence as a primary cause of homelessness. | 9 |
| (17) Ninety-two percent of homeless women have | 10 |
| experienced severe physical or sexual abuse at some point | 11 |
| in their lives. Of all homeless women and children, 60% had | 12 |
| been abused by age 12, and 63% have been victims of | 13 |
| intimate partner violence as adults. | 14 |
| (18) Women who leave their abusers frequently lack | 15 |
| adequate emergency shelter options and this makes their | 16 |
| decisions concerning leaving their dwelling places more | 17 |
| difficult. | 18 |
| (19) Victims of domestic violence often return to | 19 |
| abusive partners because they cannot find long-term | 20 |
| housing. | 21 |
| (20) Because abusers frequently manipulate their | 22 |
| victims' finances in an effort to control their partners, | 23 |
| victims often lack a steady income, a credit history, | 24 |
| landlord references, and a current address, all of which | 25 |
| are necessary to obtain long-term permanent housing. | 26 |
| (21) Abusers also frequently manipulate the systems in | 27 |
| place meant to protect victims, by accusing the victim of | 28 |
| initiating the violence, calling the police, or attempting | 29 |
| to obtain an order for protection. Victims who attempt to | 30 |
| defend themselves or others from an abuser's violence are | 31 |
| particularly vulnerable to this practice. | 32 |
| (22) Victims of domestic and sexual violence in rural | 33 |
| areas face additional barriers, challenges, and unique | 34 |
| circumstances, such as geographic isolation, poverty, lack |
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| of public transportation systems, shortage of health care | 2 |
| providers, and decreased access to safe housing resources. | 3 |
| (23) The U.S. Congress has recognized the severity of | 4 |
| this problem. In its Conference report accompanying the FY | 5 |
| 2002 HUD appropriations bill, Congress urged HUD to | 6 |
| "develop plans to protect victims of domestic violence from | 7 |
| being discriminated against in receiving or maintaining | 8 |
| public housing because of their victimization." H.R. REP. | 9 |
| No. 107-272, at 120 (2001).
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| Section 10. Purposes. The purposes of this Act are: | 11 |
| (1) To promote the State's interest in reducing | 12 |
| domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and | 13 |
| stalking by enabling victims of domestic or sexual violence | 14 |
| and their families to access or maintain safe housing or | 15 |
| flee existing dangerous housing in order to leave violent | 16 |
| or abusive situations, achieve safety, and minimize the | 17 |
| physical and emotional injuries from domestic or sexual | 18 |
| violence, and to reduce the devastating economic | 19 |
| consequences to the State and victims. | 20 |
| (2) To address the failure of existing laws to protect | 21 |
| the housing rights of victims of domestic or sexual | 22 |
| violence, as well as family or household members affected | 23 |
| by the violence. | 24 |
| (3)
To accomplish the purposes described in paragraphs | 25 |
| (1) and (2) by providing victims of domestic or sexual | 26 |
| violence and their families with options to access or | 27 |
| maintain safe housing or to flee dangerous housing.
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| Section 15. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act: | 29 |
| "Domestic violence" means abuse as defined in Section 103 | 30 |
| of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986. | 31 |
| "Landlord" and "tenant" have the definitions stated in | 32 |
| Section 1.1 of the Rental Property Utility Service Act, except |
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| for those tenants residing in public housing. | 2 |
| "Perpetrator" means an individual who commits or is alleged | 3 |
| to have committed or threatened any act of domestic or sexual | 4 |
| violence. | 5 |
| "Protected applicant" means a person who makes application | 6 |
| to the landlord of a building or mobile home to become an | 7 |
| occupant in the building or mobile home, whether under a lease | 8 |
| or periodic tenancy, who has been subjected to any act or | 9 |
| threat of domestic or sexual violence. A perpetrator is not | 10 |
| considered a protected applicant. | 11 |
| "Protected household member" means any member of a | 12 |
| household who has been subjected to any act or threat of | 13 |
| domestic or sexual violence, including but not limited to: any | 14 |
| minor child, any dependant adult, and any other person residing | 15 |
| with a victim of domestic or sexual violence. A perpetrator is | 16 |
| not considered a protected household member. This definition | 17 |
| does not apply to public housing. | 18 |
| "Protected tenant" means an occupant of a building or | 19 |
| mobile home, whether under a lease or periodic tenancy, who has | 20 |
| been subjected to any act or threat of domestic or sexual | 21 |
| violence, including but not limited to a tenant residing with a | 22 |
| victim of domestic or sexual violence. A perpetrator is not | 23 |
| considered a protected tenant. This definition does not apply | 24 |
| to public housing. | 25 |
| "Sexual violence" means any act or threat of sexual | 26 |
| assault, abuse, or stalking of an adult or minor child | 27 |
| including, but not limited to, non-consensual sexual conduct or | 28 |
| non-consensual sexual penetration as defined in the Civil No | 29 |
| Contact Order Act and the offenses of stalking, aggravated | 30 |
| stalking, cyberstalking, criminal sexual assault, predatory | 31 |
| criminal sexual assault of a child, criminal sexual abuse, and | 32 |
| aggravated criminal sexual abuse as these offenses are | 33 |
| described in the Criminal Code of 1961, including sexual | 34 |
| violence committed by perpetrators who are strangers to the |
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| victim and sexual violence committed by perpetrators who are | 2 |
| known or related by blood, marriage, or law to the victim. | 3 |
| "Victim" means an individual who has been subjected to any | 4 |
| act or threat of domestic or sexual violence. A perpetrator is | 5 |
| not considered a victim.
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| Section 18. Definitions concerning public housing only. | 7 |
| For the purposes of this Act when referencing public housing: | 8 |
| "Public housing" means low-income housing, and all | 9 |
| necessary appurtenances thereto, assisted under the United | 10 |
| States Housing Act of 1937, 42 U.S.C. 1437a and includes | 11 |
| dwelling units in mixed finance projects that are assisted by a | 12 |
| public housing agency with capital or operating assistance. | 13 |
| "Protected public housing tenant" means an authorized | 14 |
| person whose name is included on the lease for the public | 15 |
| housing unit. | 16 |
| "Unauthorized occupant" means an individual who is not | 17 |
| authorized to reside in public housing or who is not on the | 18 |
| lease for the public housing unit as those terms and conditions | 19 |
| are set forth by the United States Housing Act of 1937, 42 | 20 |
| U.S.C. 1437a, federal regulations governing the program, and | 21 |
| the public housing authority's general admissions and | 22 |
| occupancy policies. | 23 |
| Section 20. Victim protection; nondiscrimination. A | 24 |
| landlord shall not terminate a tenancy, fail to renew a | 25 |
| tenancy, refuse to enter into a rental agreement, retaliate, or | 26 |
| otherwise interfere in the rental of a dwelling based on: (i) | 27 |
| the status as a victim of domestic violence or sexual violence | 28 |
| of a protected tenant, protected public housing tenant, | 29 |
| protected applicant, or protected household member; or (ii) the | 30 |
| termination of a rental agreement under Section 30 by a | 31 |
| protected tenant, protected public housing tenant, protected | 32 |
| tenant, or protected applicant. Evidence provided to the |
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| landlord of domestic violence or sexual violence may include | 2 |
| any one of the following: | 3 |
| (1) a statement of the protected tenant, protected | 4 |
| public housing tenant, protected applicant, or protected | 5 |
| household member; | 6 |
| (2) a statement from a person other than the protected | 7 |
| tenant, protected public housing tenant, protected | 8 |
| applicant, or protected household member who has knowledge | 9 |
| of the resident's history as a victim of domestic or sexual | 10 |
| violence; | 11 |
| (3) a statement from an employee or volunteer of a | 12 |
| victim services, domestic violence, or rape crisis | 13 |
| organization from whom the protected tenant, protected | 14 |
| public housing tenant, protected applicant, or protected | 15 |
| household member has sought services and who has knowledge | 16 |
| of the resident's history as a victim of domestic or sexual | 17 |
| violence; | 18 |
| (4) a statement from an attorney, medical | 19 |
| professional, member of the clergy, or other professional | 20 |
| from whom the protected tenant, protected public housing | 21 |
| tenant, protected applicant, or protected household member | 22 |
| has sought assistance in addressing domestic or sexual | 23 |
| violence; | 24 |
| (5) court, police, medical, or other corroborating | 25 |
| evidence of domestic or sexual violence; or | 26 |
| (6) any other evidence of domestic or sexual violence.
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| Section 25. Victim protection; change of locks and right to | 28 |
| possession.
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| (a) If the perpetrator of domestic violence or sexual | 30 |
| violence is not a leaseholder in the same dwelling unit as the | 31 |
| victim, a protected tenant or protected public housing tenant | 32 |
| of the dwelling unit may give oral or written notice to the | 33 |
| landlord that a protected household member is a victim of |
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| domestic violence or sexual violence and may request that the | 2 |
| locks to the dwelling unit be changed. The landlord shall not | 3 |
| consider this notice evidence of a lease violation. A protected | 4 |
| tenant or protected public housing tenant is not required to | 5 |
| provide documentation of the domestic violence or sexual | 6 |
| violence to initiate the changing of the locks pursuant to this | 7 |
| subsection. A landlord who receives a request under this | 8 |
| subsection shall, within 48 hours, change the locks to the | 9 |
| protected tenant or protected public housing tenant's dwelling | 10 |
| unit or give the protected tenant or protected public housing | 11 |
| tenant permission to change the locks within 48 hours or such | 12 |
| lesser time as required by a court order. | 13 |
| (b) If the perpetrator of the domestic violence or sexual | 14 |
| violence is a leaseholder in the same dwelling unit as the | 15 |
| victim, a protected tenant or protected public housing tenant | 16 |
| of the dwelling unit may give oral or written notice to the | 17 |
| landlord that a protected household member is a victim of | 18 |
| domestic or sexual violence and may request that the locks to | 19 |
| the dwelling unit be changed. In these circumstances, the | 20 |
| following shall apply: | 21 |
| (1) Before the landlord, protected tenant, or | 22 |
| protected public housing tenant changes the locks under | 23 |
| this subsection, the landlord shall require a copy of an | 24 |
| order issued by a court, including but not limited to an | 25 |
| Order of Protection pursuant to the Illinois Domestic | 26 |
| Violence Act of 1986 or Article 112A of the Code of | 27 |
| Criminal Procedure of 1963. | 28 |
| (2) Unless a court order allows the perpetrator to | 29 |
| return to the dwelling unit to retrieve personal | 30 |
| belongings, the landlord has no duty under the rental | 31 |
| agreement or by law to allow the perpetrator access to the | 32 |
| dwelling unit, to provide keys to the perpetrator, or to | 33 |
| provide the perpetrator access to the perpetrator's | 34 |
| personal property within the dwelling unit once the |
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| landlord has been provided with a court order. If a | 2 |
| landlord complies with this Section, the landlord is not | 3 |
| liable for civil damages to a perpetrator excluded from the | 4 |
| dwelling unit for loss of use of the dwelling unit or loss | 5 |
| of use or damage to the perpetrator's personal property. | 6 |
| (3) The perpetrator who has been excluded from the | 7 |
| dwelling unit under this subsection remains liable under | 8 |
| the lease with any other tenant of the dwelling unit for | 9 |
| rent or damages to the dwelling unit. | 10 |
| (4) A landlord who receives a request under this | 11 |
| subsection shall, within 72 hours or such lesser time as | 12 |
| required by a court order, change the locks to the dwelling | 13 |
| unit or give the protected tenant or protected public | 14 |
| housing tenant permission to change the locks. | 15 |
| (c) If the landlord charges a fee for the expense of | 16 |
| changing the locks, that fee must not exceed the reasonable | 17 |
| price customarily charged for the repair. | 18 |
| (d) If a landlord fails to act within the required time | 19 |
| pursuant to subsection (a) or (b), the protected tenant or | 20 |
| protected public housing tenant may change the locks without | 21 |
| the landlord's permission. If the protected tenant or protected | 22 |
| public housing tenant changes the locks, the protected tenant | 23 |
| or protected public housing tenant shall give a key to the new | 24 |
| locks to the landlord within 48 hours of the locks being | 25 |
| changed.
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| Section 30. Early termination of rental agreement by | 27 |
| victims of domestic violence or sexual violence.
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| (a) Any protected tenant or protected public housing tenant | 29 |
| who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence or whose | 30 |
| dwelling unit contains protected household members who are | 31 |
| victims of domestic or sexual violence may terminate his or her | 32 |
| rental agreement for a dwelling unit if necessary to protect | 33 |
| their physical or emotional safety and well-being by providing |
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| the landlord with a written notice of termination to be | 2 |
| effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 30 | 3 |
| days after the landlord's receipt of the notice. The notice to | 4 |
| the landlord shall be accompanied by any one of the types of | 5 |
| evidence of domestic or sexual violence presented by the | 6 |
| protected tenant or protected public housing tenant, as set | 7 |
| forth in Section 20. For this Section only, the landlord may | 8 |
| request that the protected tenant or protected public housing | 9 |
| tenant limit the evidence provided to any one of the documents | 10 |
| or statements described in paragraph (3), (4), or (5) of | 11 |
| Section 20. | 12 |
| (b) Upon termination of a rental agreement under this | 13 |
| Section, if the perpetrator is not a tenant in the same | 14 |
| dwelling unit, the protected tenant or protected public housing | 15 |
| tenant who is released from a rental agreement pursuant to | 16 |
| subsection (a) of this Section is liable for the rent due under | 17 |
| the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the | 18 |
| termination and payable at the time that would have been | 19 |
| required by the terms of the rental agreement. If the | 20 |
| perpetrator is a leaseholder in the same dwelling unit, the | 21 |
| perpetrator is liable to the protected tenant or protected | 22 |
| public housing tenant for all of the unpaid rent or other sums | 23 |
| owed to the landlord before and after the lease was terminated | 24 |
| by the protected tenant or protected public housing tenant. At | 25 |
| his or her discretion, the landlord may hold either or both | 26 |
| parties liable for the unpaid rent or other sums owed under the | 27 |
| rental agreement to the landlord. However, the perpetrator is | 28 |
| liable for all charges related to property damage caused by the | 29 |
| domestic or sexual violence. If, pursuant to this Section, an | 30 |
| applicant terminates the rental agreement 14 days or more | 31 |
| before occupancy, the applicant is not subject to any damages | 32 |
| or penalties. | 33 |
| (c) Notwithstanding the release of a protected tenant or | 34 |
| protected public housing tenant from a rental agreement under |
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| subsection (a) of this Section, or the exclusion of a | 2 |
| perpetrator of domestic or sexual violence by court order if | 3 |
| the perpetrator is a tenant in the same dwelling unit, if there | 4 |
| are any remaining tenants residing in the dwelling unit, the | 5 |
| tenancy shall continue for those tenants. The perpetrator who | 6 |
| is a tenant in the same dwelling unit remains liable under the | 7 |
| lease with any other tenant of the dwelling unit for rent or | 8 |
| damages to the dwelling unit.
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| Section 35. Right of possession to non-leaseholder victim | 10 |
| of domestic or sexual violence.
If the perpetrator of the | 11 |
| domestic violence or sexual violence is a tenant in the same | 12 |
| dwelling unit as the victim and has possession of the dwelling | 13 |
| unit, any adult or emancipated protected household member of | 14 |
| that dwelling unit may give oral or written notice to the | 15 |
| landlord that a protected household member is a victim of | 16 |
| domestic or sexual violence and request that the protected | 17 |
| household member be given possession of the dwelling unit and | 18 |
| become the primary leaseholder. The landlord shall require that | 19 |
| the protected household member provide the landlord with a copy | 20 |
| of an order issued by a court, including but not limited to an | 21 |
| Order of Protection pursuant to the Illinois Domestic Violence | 22 |
| Act of 1986 or Article 112A of the Code of Criminal Procedure | 23 |
| of 1963. As long as the landlord complies with Section 20 and | 24 |
| is provided with a court order, it is within the landlord's | 25 |
| discretion to enter into a rental agreement with the remaining | 26 |
| adult or emancipated household members. If a landlord complies | 27 |
| with this Section, the landlord is not liable for civil damages | 28 |
| to a perpetrator excluded from the dwelling unit for loss of | 29 |
| possession, the use of the dwelling unit, or loss of use or | 30 |
| damage to the perpetrator's personal property. Public housing | 31 |
| authorities as defined by Section 18 are specifically exempted | 32 |
| from this Section.
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| Section 40. Right to vacate following domestic or sexual | 2 |
| violence.
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| (a) A protected tenant or protected public housing tenant | 4 |
| may terminate her or his rights and obligations under a lease | 5 |
| and may vacate the dwelling unit and avoid liability for future | 6 |
| rent and any other sums due under the lease for terminating the | 7 |
| lease and vacating the dwelling unit before the end of the | 8 |
| lease term, if the protected tenant or protected public housing | 9 |
| tenant complies with subsection (a) of Section 30 and provides | 10 |
| the landlord or the landlord's agent with notice that the | 11 |
| protected tenant, protected public housing tenant, or a | 12 |
| protected household member is the victim of domestic or sexual | 13 |
| violence and that in order to maintain her or his physical or | 14 |
| emotional safety and well-being, she or he must vacate the | 15 |
| dwelling. | 16 |
| (b) A protected tenant or protected public housing tenant | 17 |
| may exercise the right to terminate the lease under subsection | 18 |
| (a) of Section 30, and vacate the dwelling before the end of | 19 |
| the lease term, beginning on the date after all of the | 20 |
| following events have occurred: | 21 |
| (1) the protected tenant or protected public housing | 22 |
| tenant has delivered a copy of the notice to the landlord; | 23 |
| and | 24 |
| (2) the protected tenant or protected public housing | 25 |
| tenant has vacated the dwelling unit. | 26 |
| (c) If the perpetrator was not a tenant in the same | 27 |
| dwelling unit as the protected tenant or protected public | 28 |
| housing tenant, this Section does not affect the liability of a | 29 |
| protected tenant or protected public housing tenant for unpaid | 30 |
| rent owed to the landlord before the lease was terminated by | 31 |
| the protected tenant or protected public housing tenant under | 32 |
| this Section. The perpetrator, however, shall be liable for all | 33 |
| charges related to property damage caused by the domestic or | 34 |
| sexual violence. |
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| (d) If the perpetrator is a tenant in the same dwelling | 2 |
| unit as the protected tenant or protected public housing | 3 |
| tenant, the perpetrator is liable to the protected tenant or | 4 |
| protected public housing tenant for all unpaid rent or other | 5 |
| sums owed to the landlord before and after the lease was | 6 |
| terminated by the protected tenant or protected public housing | 7 |
| tenant. At his or her discretion, the landlord may hold either | 8 |
| or both parties liable for the unpaid rent or other sums owed | 9 |
| under the rental agreement. The perpetrator shall also be | 10 |
| liable for all charges related to property damage caused by the | 11 |
| domestic or sexual violence. | 12 |
| (e) A landlord who is found by a court to have violated | 13 |
| this Act is liable to the protected tenant or protected public | 14 |
| housing tenant for actual damages, an additional amount equal | 15 |
| to the amount of one month's rent plus $500, and the tenant's | 16 |
| attorney's fees.
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| Section 45. Unauthorized occupants in public housing. | 18 |
| Unless the victim of domestic or sexual violence is a protected | 19 |
| public housing tenant, the housing authority has no obligation | 20 |
| to provide any of the remedies as stated above. Unauthorized | 21 |
| occupants are not considered protected public housing tenants. | 22 |
| Section 50. Enforceability. In addition to any other | 23 |
| remedies provided in this Act or under other laws, any | 24 |
| protected household member, protected tenant, protected public | 25 |
| housing tenant, or victim adversely affected by an act or | 26 |
| omission of the landlord that violates this Act may file an | 27 |
| action against the landlord in the circuit court. If the court | 28 |
| finds that a violation of this Act occurred or is about to | 29 |
| occur by an act or omission of the landlord, the court may | 30 |
| award to the plaintiff actual damages, reasonable attorney's | 31 |
| fees, and costs and may grant as relief, as the court deems | 32 |
| appropriate, any permanent or preliminary injunction, |
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| temporary restraining order, or other order, including an order | 2 |
| enjoining the landlord from engaging in violations of this Act | 3 |
| or ordering such affirmative action as may be appropriate. | 4 |
| Section 55. Effect on other laws.
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| (a) More protective laws. Nothing in this Act shall be | 6 |
| construed to supersede any provision of any federal, State, or | 7 |
| local law that provides greater protections for victims of | 8 |
| domestic or sexual violence than the rights established under | 9 |
| this Act. | 10 |
| (b)
Less protective laws. The rights established for | 11 |
| victims of domestic or sexual violence under this Act shall not | 12 |
| be diminished by any State or local law.
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| Section 60. Prohibition on Waiver or Modification. | 14 |
| Sections 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, and 55 may not be | 15 |
| waived or modified by an agreement of the parties.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 17 |
| becoming law.".
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