House & Apartment

In Illinois, only law enforcement officers can remove a person from a home or rental property. Housing providers cannot force a person out by removing their belongings, blocking access to their living space, or making the home unusable. Learn more about Lockouts and emergency rental repairs.

Law enforcement officers can:

• Remove trespassers (learn more in Trespassers and squatters),
• Enforce Taking legal steps to make someone do what the court tells them to do an Order of Protection that requires a person to stay away, and
• Require a person to leave during an emergency.

A sheriff A county officer who can serve people with summons. They can evict someone with a court order. can evict a tenant A person who rents a space only after a judge enters an eviction A court case brought by a landlord to get a tenant to move out order. Common reasons that a judge may enter an eviction order are:

• Unpaid rent (learn more in Dealing with unpaid rent),
• Lease violations or criminal activity (learn more in Addressing lease violations),
• Staying after a lease ends (learn more in Ending a lease), and
• Living in a property without legal rights to be there (learn about Trespassers and squatters).

These eviction laws also apply when a person lives in housing that belongs to a friend, romantic partner, or adult Any person 18 years old or over family member, as long as they are not married to the housing provider. Learn more in Evicting friends, unmarried partners, and family members.

People can also be at risk of eviction even if they have paid rent on time, followed all applicable rules and laws, and are staying in someone else's property with a legitimate rental agreement, if:

• The landlord An owner of property who rents it out to a tenant failed to pay property taxes and a judge entered an eviction order in a tax sale case,
• The landlord failed to pay their mortgage A loan given by a bank that is used to help someone buy a home and a judge entered an eviction order in a foreclosure case (learn more in Foreclosure for tenants), or
• The landlord was prosecuted for building violations or other health and safety issues related to the property and a judge orders everyone living in the property to leave.

In these situations, talk to a lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice immediately. Use Get Legal Help to find local resources.

A housing provider usually starts the eviction process by serving a written eviction notice or a demand for immediate possession. In foreclosure cases against a housing provider, a person living in the property may receive a supplemental petition (noun) A written request to a court (verb) To request from a court for possession.

Illinois law requires written notice in most eviction cases:

• An exception may apply when tenants overstay certain written rental agreements outside Cook County.
• People living in a property also may not receive notice of problems that can lead to cases against the housing provider, like unpaid property taxes, mortgage A loan given by a bank that is used to help someone buy a home problems, or ordinance A law or rule made by a local government like a town or city violations.

First, figure out whether the eviction problem comes from:

• A case against the housing provider, or
• An issue the housing provider has with a person living in their property.

If the eviction problem comes from a case against the housing provider, talk to a lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice immediately. Use Get Legal Help to find local resources.

If the housing provider has an issue with the person living in the property, read Written eviction notices and How eviction cases work. Use what you learn about eviction to identify your stage in the eviction process. Focus on papers and court activity. Ask:

• Have you received a written eviction notice or demand for immediate possession?
• Have you been served with court papers, such as a summons A notice to a defendant that a lawsuit against them was filed in a court and that the defendant has to show up in court and complaint? A written statement to start a lawsuit that says what the defendant did
• Has a judge entered an eviction order?

If you have received a written notice, demand, court papers, or an eviction order, continue to the next step. If you have not received any of these:

• There may still be a dispute about rent, lease terms, or another issue. Many problems can be resolved without an eviction case.
• A housing provider must give written notice before filing most eviction cases. An exception may apply when tenants overstay certain written rental agreements outside Cook County. Learn more in Written eviction notices and How eviction cases work.
• If a case is filed, the judge may rule on whether the housing provider met the legal notice requirement. Learn more in Common eviction defenses.
• Learn how to search land and court records to find out whether a landlord An owner of property who rents it out to a tenant is in foreclosure proceedings in Foreclosure for tenants.

If you have received court papers or an eviction order but did not receive a written eviction notice or demand, continue to the next step. If you have received a written eviction notice or demand for immediate possession:

• Keep a copy.
• Note any deadlines.
• Read the notice carefully. Identify the claims and review Dealing with unpaid rent, Addressing lease violations, Ending a lease, or Trespassers and squatters as needed. If the notice involves foreclosure, read Foreclosure for tenants.
• If you live in public housing, follow any grievance instructions in the notice before the deadline.
• Free legal help may be available. Learn about Finding help with an eviction case.

A notice or demand states the housing provider’s perspective. It is not a court order. A written notice can contain mistakes about dates, amounts owed, lease terms, facts, and the law. If a housing provider files an eviction case against you based on the notice, you can point out these problems to the judge.

When the notice is part of a case filed against the housing provider, such as a tax sale, foreclosure, or ordinance A law or rule made by a local government like a town or city violation case, talk to a lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice immediately. In foreclosure cases, the paper you may receive is called a supplemental petition (noun) A written request to a court (verb) To request from a court for possession. Use Get Legal Help to find local resources.

If you have also received court papers or an eviction order, continue to the next step. If you have not received court papers or an eviction order:

• The notice may be from a case filed against the housing provider, such as a tax sale or foreclosure (read Foreclosure for tenants),
• The housing provider may not have filed an eviction case,
• The housing provider may have filed an eviction case and the court papers may not have been served (delivered) yet, or
• The housing provider may have filed an eviction case and you may not have received papers they claim were served.

The circuit court The lowest level of court in Illinois clerk in the county where the property is located keeps records of filed eviction cases. You can check whether a case has been filed by searching court records. Many circuit court clerks provide online case search tools. You can also ask the circuit court clerk’s office whether a case has been filed.

Search the court records first by your name as the defendant. The person or organization being sued in a lawsuit If you do not find an eviction case, search by the housing provider’s or property management company’s name as the plaintiff. A person or party that starts a lawsuit Court papers sometimes contain name errors or only list unknown occupants.

If you have received an eviction order but did not receive eviction case papers, go to the next step. 

If you have received a supplemental petition (noun) A written request to a court (verb) To request from a court for possession in a foreclosure A forced sale of property when a person doesn't make payments on a loan case against your housing provider, talk to a lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice immediately. Use Get Legal Help to find local resources.

If you have received court papers for an eviction case filed against you or people living in the property you live in, including "Unknown Occupants":

• Keep a complete copy of the papers you receive.
• Read every page, including supporting papers.
• The complaint A written statement to start a lawsuit that says what the defendant did contains allegations. Allegations are statements the housing provider says are true. You have the right to present evidence Anything used to show that something is true that they are not true. Write down facts you believe are incorrect or incomplete.
• Find the court date, time, and location listed in the summons. A notice to a defendant that a lawsuit against them was filed in a court and that the defendant has to show up in court The hearing When the parties in a case present their sides of a case to a judge or other officer may be in person or by video.
• Attend the court date, even if you believe the case should not have been filed. If you do not attend, the judge may enter an eviction order without hearing your side. The judge decides the case based on the information presented in court and does not conduct an independent investigation.
• If you want to request a jury trial, A trial decided by a judge and a jury you may need to do so in writing before or during the first court date.

Eviction cases can move in different directions after the first court date. For example:

• The judge may set another court date.
• A defendant The person or organization being sued in a lawsuit (person at risk of eviction) may raise a problem with the papers, and the judge may dismiss the case.
• The parties may reach an agreement on their own or with the help of a mediator. A neutral person who helps parties in a case reach an agreement outside court If the judge approves the agreement, it becomes a court order.
• The judge may schedule a trial. When the issues of a case are heard in court and decided by a judge or jury The case will be tried in front of a judge unless a party A person or business involved in a court case in a role like plaintiff, petitioner, defendant, respondent, or intervenor. has requested a jury.
• The judge may decide whether the housing provider has the legal right to possession of the property. If the judge rules for the housing provider, the judge may enter an eviction order. The judge can also enter a money judgment. An official decision by a court that ends the dispute between parties
• The judge may issue an order removing the court record from public view, also called sealing. When a criminal record is hidden from most of the general public, but not law enforcement

Eviction case outcomes depend on many details, including:

• Spoken (oral) and written agreements about living in the property,
• Whether the housing provider followed the law about required notices and waiting periods before filing the case,
• Whether both parties attend court, and
• The facts and evidence presented to the judge.

Learn more in How eviction cases work. Our Respond to an eviction Easy Form helps draft papers for filing in the eviction case. To find legal help, visit Finding help with an eviction case.

If a judge has entered an eviction order in a case against the housing provider, such as a tax sale or foreclosure A forced sale of property when a person doesn't make payments on a loan case, talk to a lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice immediately. In a foreclosure case, this order may be called a supplemental order of possession. Use Get Legal Help to find local resources.

If a judge has entered an eviction order in a case against you:

• Keep a copy of the signed order.
• Read the order carefully.
• Check who is named in the order. Some orders list specific defendants. Some include “Unknown Occupants,” which means people living in the unit whose names the housing provider did not know.
• Look for a stay date. A stay delays enforcement until the date listed.
• Pay attention to whether the order includes a money judgment and the amount stated.

An eviction order gives the housing provider legal authority to recover possession of the property. The housing provider cannot remove you without enforcement. Only the sheriff A county officer who can serve people with summons. They can evict someone with a court order. has authority to physically enforce Taking legal steps to make someone do what the court tells them to do an eviction order. The sheriff may schedule an eviction after any stay period ends.

A money judgment allows the housing provider to use collection methods permitted by law. Collection is separate from physical eviction.

After an eviction order is entered, there are rules about what motions may be filed and how long a person has to file them. These motions may include:

• Asking to vacate a default judgment so you can attend court (our Vacate default judgment within 30 days Easy Form helps prepare this motion), A request to the judge to make the court or a party in the case do something
• Asking for more time to move out (use our Extend time of eviction Easy Form for help with this motion), and
• Asking to seal the court file (our Remove eviction from public record Easy Form helps with this request).

Learn more about what happens After an eviction judgment.