Full Text of HB4768 103rd General Assembly
HB4768eng 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | HB4768 Engrossed | | LRB103 37572 JRC 67698 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning civil law. | 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 | | Landlord Retaliation Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Prohibition on retaliatory conduct by landlord. | 7 | | It is declared to be against public policy of the State for a | 8 | | landlord to take retaliatory action against a tenant. A | 9 | | landlord may not knowingly terminate a tenancy, increase rent, | 10 | | decrease services, bring or threaten to bring a lawsuit | 11 | | against a tenant for possession or refuse to renew a lease or | 12 | | tenancy because the tenant has in good faith done any of the | 13 | | following: | 14 | | (1) complained of code violations applicable to the | 15 | | premises to the relevant governmental agency, elected | 16 | | representative, or public official charged with | 17 | | responsibility for enforcement of a building, housing, | 18 | | health, or similar code; | 19 | | (2) complained of a building, housing, health, or | 20 | | similar code violation or an illegal landlord practice to | 21 | | a community organization or the news media; | 22 | | (3) sought the assistance of a community organization | 23 | | or the news media to remedy a code violation or illegal |
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| 1 | | landlord practice; | 2 | | (4) complained or requested the landlord to make | 3 | | repairs to the premises as required by a building code, | 4 | | health ordinance, other regulation, or the residential | 5 | | rental agreement; | 6 | | (5) organized or become a member of a tenants' union | 7 | | or similar organization; | 8 | | (6) testified in any court or administrative | 9 | | proceeding concerning the condition of the premises; or | 10 | | (7) exercised any right or remedy provided by law. | 11 | | Section 10. Remedies for violation of this Act. If the | 12 | | landlord acts in violation of this Act, the tenant has a | 13 | | defense in any retaliatory action against the tenant, and a | 14 | | landlord shall be subject to a civil action for damages and | 15 | | other appropriate relief, including, but not limited to, the | 16 | | following remedies: | 17 | | (1) terminate the rental agreement and, if the rental | 18 | | agreement is terminated, the landlord shall return all | 19 | | security and interest recoverable under the Security | 20 | | Deposit Return Act and all prepaid rent; | 21 | | (2) recover possession of the premises if the landlord | 22 | | has dispossessed, threatened to dispossess, or is in the | 23 | | process of dispossessing; | 24 | | (3) recovery of an amount equal to and not more than 3 | 25 | | months' rent or 3 times the damages sustained by the |
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| 1 | | tenant, whichever is greater, and reasonable attorney's | 2 | | fees; | 3 | | (4) punitive damages in an amount of not less than | 4 | | $100 nor more than $2,000 for each retaliatory act in | 5 | | which the lessor or agent has been guilty of fraud, | 6 | | oppression, or malice with respect to that act. | 7 | | Section 15. Rebuttable presumption. In an action by or | 8 | | against the tenant, if within one year before the alleged act | 9 | | of retaliation there is evidence that the retaliation was | 10 | | against tenant's conduct that is protected under this Act, | 11 | | that evidence creates a rebuttable presumption that the | 12 | | landlord's conduct was retaliatory. | 13 | | Section 90. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by | 14 | | adding Section 9-106.4 as follows: | 15 | | (735 ILCS 5/9-106.4 new) | 16 | | Sec. 9-106.4. Affirmative defenses for protected actions | 17 | | under the Landlord Retaliation Act. It is an affirmative | 18 | | defense to an action maintained under this Article if the | 19 | | court finds that the tenant has engaged in an action protected | 20 | | under the Landlord Retaliation Act. | 21 | | (765 ILCS 720/Act rep.) | 22 | | Section 95. The Retaliatory Eviction Act is repealed. |
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