House & Apartment

The following question was originally submitted to John Roska, a lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice and writer for the weekly column "The Law Q&A" in the Champaign News Gazette. The article has been updated to include changes in the law and additional information.

Question

I inherited a house that I rented out to a family friend. They stopped paying rent, so I called the police to have them removed as a trespasser. The police said they couldn’t do anything because it was a civil matter. Isn’t trespassing Unlawful entry or attempted entry of the property of another criminal? Why can’t they do something?

Answer

Trespassing can be a criminal or civil matter. Your situation was a landlord An owner of property who rents it out to a tenant -tenant A person who rents a space matter, which is civil. Unwanted tenants must be evicted.

Criminal trespass to real property happens in two basic ways:

• When someone enters after being warned not to, or
• When someone won’t leave after being asked.

The second type happens when someone stays on someone else's property after being told to leave. 

Criminal trespass to real property can be a Class B or Class A misdemeanor. For a Class B misdemeanor, the penalty is up to 6 months imprisonment and a $1,500 fine. For a Class A misdemeanor, the penalty is up to 365 days imprisonment and a $2,500 fine.

Criminal trespass to residential property occurs when an unauthorized person enters or remains in someone else's home. This can be a Class A misdemeanor or a Class 4 felony. For a Class 4 felony, the sentence may be 1-3 years with a fine up to $25,000.

These types of trespass may seem to cover your landlord-tenant situation, but they don't. The criminal trespass laws don't apply to anyone who:

• Has a lease agreement with the owner or their agent, or 
• Was invited in by a tenant.

So, it’s not criminal trespass for the tenant to refuse to leave after a landlord asks. The police should direct the landlord to use the eviction A court case brought by a landlord to get a tenant to move out process.

The legal way to get rid of someone who moves in with permission and won’t leave is an eviction. 

Eviction is designed to settle To resolve a case before finishing a trial landlord-tenant disputes peacefully. Going through the court process, which may include mediation When a neutral person, called a mediator, works to help the parties in a case reach an agreement , is meant to stop people from using force or violence to take back their property.