Spotlight on New Illinois Laws in 2024: Landlords and Tenants

Illinois law makers passed over a whopping 300 new laws that have recently taken effect or will take effect in 2024.  Are you a residential landlord or a residential tenant?  Are you looking to get into the residential leasing business?  Here are a few of the changes that may interest you.

1.  The Illinois Human Rights Act already protects individuals in various situations from discrimination based on religion, race, ancestry, sex, color, disability and a host of other reasons.  Effective January 1, 2024, immigration status has been added to the list of protected classes.  If you are a landlord, you cannot deny a tenant solely because of their immigration status, whether it is their actual immigration status or what you perceive their immigration status to be.  There has been a flood of refugees and undocumented immigrants coming into the Chicago area in recent years.  This change will make it a little easier for them to find housing.  Incidentally, under the new law, if you are selling real estate, you also cannot refuse to sell based on the buyer’s immigration status.

2.  The revised Illinois Tenant Radon Protection Act applies to all tenants residing on the second floor or lower of a building.  Before signing a lease, the landlord must provide the following documentation to the tenant:  (a) the radon hazard disclosure form, (b) the “Radon Guide for Tenants”, which is published by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, and (c) any radon reports showing there is a risk of radon in the unit.  Additionally, the tenant may conduct a radon test within ninety days.  If the test shows radon is at unacceptable levels and the tenant requests the landlord to complete radon mitigation, the tenant must supply a copy of the radon test results.  If the landlord then refuses to complete radon mitigation, the tenant may terminate the lease.  The changes to the Illinois Tenant Radon Protection Act specifically exclude units on the third floor and above.

3. The Illinois Landlord and Tenant Act has been modified to prohibit landlords from requiring tenants to pay electronically.  This includes electronic funds transfers (commonly known as EFTs) and other electronic payment methods.  Landlords also cannot make tenants signs up for a monthly auto-debit payment.  Landlords may still indicate their preference to receive rent electronically, but they cannot require it.

4.  The Illinois Condominium Property Act, the Illinois Common Interest Community Association Act, and the Illinois Landlord and Tenant Act have been amended with respect to those associations or buildings which limit rental, ownership or occupancy to people ages 55 or older.  Specifically, if the building does not have a building-wide air conditioning system, then the association or landlord needs to provide at lease one indoor common area where the air conditioner operates when it is more than 80 degrees outside.  For buildings that do have individual air conditioning units, landlords and associations must comply with specific standards as to those air conditioning units.

5.  The Illinois Security Deposit Return Act now requires residential landlords of buildings containing 5 units or more to provide an itemized statement of damage to the tenant’s unit within 30 days after the tenant leaves or the tenant’s right to possess the unit ends, whichever comes later.  If the landlord fails to deliver the itemized statement of damage in a timely manner, the landlord must return the security deposit in full within 45 days after the tenant leaves.  Failure to comply with the revisions to the Illinois Security Deposit Return Act could mean that the landlord ends up liable for twice the amount of the security deposit, plus attorneys’ fees and court costs.

6. The new Dog Breed Insurance Underwriting Protection Act prohibits insurance companies from refusing renter’s insurance and homeowner’s insurance to certain breeds of dogs.  Interestingly, this law was enacted not only to treat dog owners fairly in the insurance market, but to prevent people’s pets from ending up in animal shelters.  However, insurance companies still retain the right to cancel the policy if the specific dog in question ends up being labeled as vicious or dangerous under Illinois’s Animal Control Act.

As you can see, the legislature was quite active and passed a fair number of laws expanding tenant rights effective in 2024!