House & Apartment

The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits housing discrimination based on a person’s actual or perceived:

• Race, color, ancestry, national origin,
• Disability A substantial impairment that functionally limits a person in carrying out major life activities, such as walking, lifting, seeing, or learning. (physical or mental),
• Religion,
• Sex, sexual orientation (including gender-related identity),
• Pregnancy, reproductive health decisions,
• Military status, unfavorable military discharge,
• Age (40 or older),
• Order of Protection A document from a judge that tells an abuser to stop further domestic abuse, or face penalties status,
• Marital status,
• Opposition to unlawful discrimination or sexual harassment (retaliation Punishing a person for doing something that is legally protected is illegal),
• Arrest record (arrests not leading to a conviction, When someone is declared guilty of a crime by a court juvenile For misdemeanor offenses, a defendant is considered a juvenile if the offense occurred when they were 17 or younger.For felony offenses, a defendant is considered a juvenile if the offense occurred when they were 16 or younger. records, and expunged, sealed, or impounded records),
• Familial status (families with children under 18 years old),
• Source of income, and
• Immigration status.

View the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) chart.

Housing discrimination laws apply to:

• Real estate Property consisting of land or buildings like a house or an apartment owners, managers, and the owner’s agents, such as a real estate agent or salesperson,
• Builders and appraisers,
• Advertisers, and
• Home loan (mortgage) A loan given by a bank that is used to help someone buy a home providers, like banks and loan brokers.

Learn more in the Illinois Department of Human Rights Fair Housing Rights Under Illinois Law FAQ.

• Refusing to sell,
• Making a home harder to get,
• Not communicating an offer,
• Misleading a person about property availability,
• Not sharing listings,
• Distributing written information that includes unlawful discrimination, like an illegally restricted listing,
• Saying they plan to discriminate,
• Continuing to advertise or participate in a transaction when they become aware of unlawful discrimination,
• Using illegal restrictive covenants to limit who can own or use property (learn more about unlawful restrictive covenants in Recording documents),
• Pushing people to live in or stay away from a particular area, and
• Discriminatory lending and appraisal An expert's opinion of what something is worth practices.

Yes, housing discrimination laws apply to condominiums and cooperatives. This is true whether a person is renting or an owner.

Watch this video on Fair housing laws for condo associations and cooperatives for additional information. (This video is only available in English.)

There are many ways landlords can violate fair housing laws. For example, a landlord An owner of property who rents it out to a tenant might:

• Refuse to rent,
• Make an apartment harder to get,
• Provide misleading information about the rental unit’s availability,
• Have terms in the lease or put conditions on renting that they do not have for other people,
• Offer a reduction in rent in return for sexual favors,
• Make sexual advances or demands,
• Discriminate in the:
  • Privileges,
  • Services, or
  • Facilities provided at the apartment building or complex,
• Discriminate in advertising for the apartment,
• Threaten, coerce, intimidate, or interfere with someone for exercising a fair housing right or assisting others who are using that right, or
• Deny To refuse or say no a reasonable accommodation A change to a location or job that will help a person with a disability or modification.

The statewide source of income protections for Illinois renters require that housing providers must consider all lawful income when deciding whether a person can afford rent. This includes:

• Money from a job,
• Social security benefits (all types),
• Child support, Money paid by a parent to help another parent support a minor child or an adult child with a disability
• Housing vouchers, including Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs),
• Rental assistance,
• Veterans benefits, and
• Retirement benefits and pensions.

Learn more from the Illinois Department of Human Rights Source of Income Discrimination FAQ.

Note: Source of income protections went into effect in 2023. Some landlords may still need to update housing application criteria to comply.

Yes, renters with disabilities have the right to:

• Make reasonable modifications, and
• Request reasonable accommodations.

Watch this video on Fair housing laws for individuals with disabilities for additional information. (This video is only available in English.)

When applying Illinois housing discrimination laws, people with disabilities:

• Have a physical or mental impairment that substantially hinders or impairs one or more major life activity,
• Have a record of such an impairment, or
• Are regarded as having such an impairment, even if they do not actually experience an impairment.

Examples of major life activities include:

• Caring for oneself,
• Walking,
• Seeing,
• Hearing, When the parties in a case present their sides of a case to a judge or other officer
• Speaking,
• Breathing,
• Learning,
• Working,
• Bathing,
• Dressing,
• Eating,
• Interacting with others,
• Reading,
• Sitting,
• Standing, The right to file a lawsuit or make a particular legal claim based on how the person is affected.
• Sleeping,
• Thinking, and
• Concentrating.

Reasonable modifications are changes to the rental that are necessary for the person with disabilities to use or enjoy the premises. All landlords must allow a tenant A person who rents a space with disabilities to make reasonable modifications.

Examples of common modifications include:

• Installation of a flashing light to enable a person with a hearing When the parties in a case present their sides of a case to a judge or other officer impairment to see that someone is ringing the doorbell,
• The construction of a ramp to allow a person in a wheelchair to enter the unit, and
• The replacement of doorknobs with lever handles for a person with severe arthritis.

Reasonable accommodations are changes to rules, policies, or practices that allow people with disabilities to use and enjoy housing equally. 

Examples of accommodations include:

• Allowing a guide, hearing, When the parties in a case present their sides of a case to a judge or other officer support, or service animal in a building that doesn't normally allow pets,
• Providing documents in alternative formats, such as large print or electronic form, and
• Providing a reserved parking space for someone with a mobility or respiratory disability. A substantial impairment that functionally limits a person in carrying out major life activities, such as walking, lifting, seeing, or learning.

Whether the housing provider or the tenant A person who rents a space must pay for reasonable modifications depends on the situation:

• If the building was financed with federal funds, the landlord An owner of property who rents it out to a tenant may be required to pay for the modifications,
• Some landlords are not required to pay for modifications, and
• Landlords must allow tenants to make reasonable modifications if the tenant pays for the changes themselves.

The landlord may be allowed to require the tenant to restore the unit to the original condition when they move out.

Yes, Champaign County landlords cannot deny To refuse or say no applications based on certain convictions for:

• Forcible felonies, or
• Drug felonies for sale, manufacture, or delivery of illegal drugs.

This only applies when the potential tenant:

• Was convicted and sentenced to prison,
• Has been out of prison for at least the last 2 consecutive years, and
• Has not been convicted of a forcible or drug felony A serious crime that is punishable by more than one year in prison during that time.

In Cook County, the Just Housing Amendment (JHA) prohibits discrimination in real estate Property consisting of land or buildings like a house or an apartment transactions based on a person’s criminal record. This law sets rules for how landlords consider rental applications. Learn more about Cook County housing rights for people with a criminal record.

Yes, military personnel in Chicago who believe they have experienced discrimination based on military status can file a complaint A written statement to start a lawsuit that says what the defendant did with the Chicago Commission on Human Relations. 

Chicago laws protect military personnel against discrimination based on being:

• On active duty, A legal obligation to do something
• In any reserve component of any branch of any state or federal armed forces,
• Discharged from the military, regardless of discharge status, and
• A veteran.

It is illegal for a landlord An owner of property who rents it out to a tenant to:

• Refuse to rent to service members who may be deployed during the duration of the lease,
• Refuse to rent to applicants who intend to use their G.I. Bill to pay for housing, or
• Refuse to rent to a military service member based on the fact that the person is a member of the military.

When a service member is called to duty and needs to end a lease, additional protections apply. Learn more about Ending a lease.

Use Get Legal Help to find local legal resources to help resolve issues with housing discrimination.

Report problems with housing discrimination by filing a complaint A written statement to start a lawsuit that says what the defendant did with the Illinois Department of Human Rights. The complaint must be filed within one year (365 days) of the last alleged discriminatory act.