Landlords and Recent Amendments to the Illinois Human Rights Act

As most landlords know, they cannot and should not discriminate against tenants or prospective tenants based on age, race, religion, gender, color, or family status. Pursuant to a recent amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act, a new protected class is being added to that list — people protected by orders of protection. Note this new law specifically applies to people who are actually protected by the order of protection, not to people the order of protection has been obtained against.

A landlord, or, for that matter, a seller of real estate, cannot discriminate against a potential tenant or buyer solely because they have an outstanding order of protection, whether that order of protection was issued by an Illinois court or an out-of-state court. As a landlord, if you enter into any leases, make sure that there is nothing in the lease that could violate the Illinois Human Rights Act. Lease provisions need not be directly in violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act — any lease provision that could lead to eviction due to the actions of others (i.e. the person who the order of protection has been obtained against), should be reviewed carefully to prevent alleged violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act.

While many landlords may never find out if their tenant is the beneficiary of an order of protection, landlords that do find out must not discriminate against a tenant or proposed tenant as a result.