Full Text of SB0534 95th General Assembly
SB0534enr 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning property.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Safe Homes Act is amended by changing | 5 |
| Sections 20 and 25 as follows: | 6 |
| (765 ILCS 750/20)
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| Sec. 20. Change of locks.
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| (a) (1) Written leases. Upon written notice from all | 9 |
| tenants who have signed as lessees under a written lease, the | 10 |
| tenants may request that a landlord change the locks of the | 11 |
| dwelling unit in which they live if one or more of the tenants | 12 |
| reasonably believes that one of the tenants or a member of | 13 |
| tenant's household is under a credible imminent threat of | 14 |
| domestic or sexual violence at the premises from a person who | 15 |
| is not a lessee under the lease . If the threat of violence is | 16 |
| from a person who is not a lessee under the written lease, | 17 |
| notice
Notice to the landlord requesting a change of locks | 18 |
| shall be accompanied by at least one form of the following | 19 |
| types of evidence to support a claim of domestic or sexual | 20 |
| violence: medical, court or police evidence of domestic or | 21 |
| sexual violence; or a statement from an employee of a victim | 22 |
| services, domestic violence, or rape crisis organization from | 23 |
| which the tenant or a member of the tenant's household sought |
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| services. If the threat of violence is from a person who is a | 2 |
| lessee under a written lease, notice to the landlord requesting | 3 |
| a change of locks shall be accompanied by a plenary order of | 4 |
| protection pursuant to Section 219 of the Illinois Domestic | 5 |
| Violence Act of 1986 or Section 112A-19 of the Code of Criminal | 6 |
| Procedure of 1963, or a plenary civil no contact order pursuant | 7 |
| to Section 215 of the Civil No Contact Order Act, granting the | 8 |
| tenant exclusive possession of the premises. The tenant | 9 |
| requesting a change of locks shall not be required to obtain | 10 |
| written notice from the person posing a threat who is a lessee | 11 |
| under the written lease, provided that the notice is | 12 |
| accompanied by a plenary order of protection or a plenary civil | 13 |
| no contact order granting the tenant exclusive possession of | 14 |
| the premises.
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| (2) Oral leases. Upon written notice from all tenants who | 16 |
| are lessees under an oral lease, the tenants may request that a | 17 |
| landlord change the locks of the dwelling unit in which they | 18 |
| live if one or more of the tenants reasonably believes that one | 19 |
| of the tenants or a member of tenant's household is under a | 20 |
| credible imminent threat of domestic or sexual violence at the | 21 |
| premises. Notice to the landlord requesting a change of locks | 22 |
| shall be accompanied by a plenary order of protection pursuant | 23 |
| to Section 219 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 or | 24 |
| Section 112A-19 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, or a | 25 |
| plenary civil no contact order pursuant to Section 215 of the | 26 |
| Civil No Contact Order Act, granting the tenant exclusive |
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| possession of the premises. The tenant requesting a change of | 2 |
| locks shall not be required to obtain written notice from the | 3 |
| person posing a threat who is a lessee under the oral lease, | 4 |
| provided that the notice is accompanied by a plenary order of | 5 |
| protection or a plenary civil no contact order granting the | 6 |
| tenant exclusive possession of the premises.
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| (b) Once a landlord has received notice of a request for | 8 |
| change of locks and has received one form of evidence referred | 9 |
| to in Section (a) above, the landlord shall, within 48 hours, | 10 |
| change the locks or give the tenant the permission to change | 11 |
| the locks. If the landlord changes the locks, the landlord | 12 |
| shall make a good faith effort to give a key to the new locks to | 13 |
| the tenant as soon as possible or not more than 48 hours of the | 14 |
| locks being changed. | 15 |
| (1) The landlord may charge a fee for the expense of | 16 |
| changing the locks. That fee must not exceed the reasonable | 17 |
| price customarily charged for changing a lock. | 18 |
| (2) If a landlord fails to change the locks within 48 | 19 |
| hours after being provided with the notice and evidence | 20 |
| referred to in (a) above, the tenant may change the locks | 21 |
| without the landlord's permission. If the tenant changes | 22 |
| the locks, the tenant shall make a good faith effort to | 23 |
| give a key to the new locks to the landlord within 48 hours | 24 |
| of the locks being changed. In the case where a tenant | 25 |
| changes the locks without the landlord's permission, the | 26 |
| tenant shall do so in a workmanlike manner with locks of |
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| similar or better quality than the original lock. | 2 |
| (c) The landlord who changes locks or allows the change of | 3 |
| locks under this Act shall not be liable to any third party for | 4 |
| damages resulting from a person being unable to access the | 5 |
| dwelling.
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| (Source: P.A. 94-1038, eff. 1-1-07.) | 7 |
| (765 ILCS 750/25)
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| Sec. 25. Penalty for violation.
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| (a) If a landlord takes action to prevent the tenant who | 10 |
| has complied with Section 20 of this Act from changing his or | 11 |
| her locks, the tenant may seek a temporary restraining order, | 12 |
| preliminary injunction, or permanent injunction ordering the | 13 |
| landlord to refrain from preventing the tenant from changing | 14 |
| the locks. A tenant who successfully brings an action pursuant | 15 |
| to this Section may be awarded reasonable attorney's fees and | 16 |
| costs. | 17 |
| (b) A tenant who changes locks and does not make a good | 18 |
| faith effort to provide a copy of a key to the landlord within | 19 |
| 48 hours of the tenant changing the locks, shall be liable for | 20 |
| any damages to the dwelling or the building in which the | 21 |
| dwelling is located that could have been prevented had landlord | 22 |
| been able to access the dwelling unit in the event of an | 23 |
| emergency. | 24 |
| (b-1) A landlord who changes the locks and does not make a | 25 |
| good faith effort to provide a copy of a key to the tenant |
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| within 48 hours of the landlord changing the locks shall be | 2 |
| liable for any damages to the tenant incurred as a result of | 3 |
| not having access to his or her unit.
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| (c) The remedies provided to landlord and tenant under this | 5 |
| Section 25 shall be sole and exclusive.
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| (Source: P.A. 94-1038, eff. 1-1-07.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 8 |
| becoming law.
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