House & Apartment

Eviction is a court process.  A housing provider, landlord An owner of property who rents it out to a tenant , or property owner can file an eviction case to remove someone from a home.

In Illinois, only the county sheriff A county officer who can serve people with summons. They can evict someone with a court order. can perform evictions. The sheriff must have a judge's order allowing the eviction. Many tenants and other occupants must be served with a written eviction notice before a housing provider can file an eviction case.

Using force to lock people out of a dwelling is illegal. The use of force includes:

• Changing locks,
• Removing belongings,
• Blocking entrances,
• Removing or disabling appliances (unless needed for repair),
• Threatening or injuring people,
• Damaging belongings,
• Removing doors or windows of the unit,
• Harassing tenants with noise or other nuisances, and
• Shutting off heat, water, electricity, or essential utilities.

These actions are prohibited even when rent is unpaid, the tenant A person who rents a space has violated the lease, or the rental agreement has expired.

To get tenants or other occupants to leave, housing providers may:

• Ask people to move,
• Serve Giving court documents to someone written eviction notices (learn more in Written eviction notices),
• Negotiate agreements (learn how to Negotiate a move-out agreement without going to court), and
• Go to court to request an eviction order.

Landlords and tenants can take action to stop the eviction process at each step. Even after an eviction has taken place, they can ask a judge to seal the court file.