Photo by Olga Yastremska (Adobe Stock)

By Don DeBat

Jan. 29, 2026 – Domestic violence in Chicago and across Illinois regretfully is on the rise.

In 2024, the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline received a record-breaking 18,940 requests for shelter in Chicago and across the state, a 112 percent increase from 2019.

Apartment renters now have another layer of protection and governmental regulation to guard against alleged domestic and sexual violence as spelled out in the four-page introductory clause of the new Chicago Residential Lease.

The standard lease, drafted by the Chicago Association of Realtors, is used for the rental of apartments – including condominiums, single-family homes, and townhomes. The new 37-page version of the lease went into effect on January 1, 2026.

Under requirements of the “Illinois Safe Homes Act,” an apartment renter now has the legal right to end his or her lease early and not pay future rent when moving out of the rental unit because of a threat of domestic or sexual violence.

Experts estimate that in 2025, one in four women and one in nine men experienced severe physical violence – along with emotional, financial, or digital abuse – from an intimate partner.

Domestic violence statistics in the United States show more than 40 percent of female homicide victims are killed by a current or former partner. Only 50 percent of domestic violence incidents are ever reported to the police.

Renter’s rights include early lease termination

Landlords, including building owners and licensed apartment rental agents, are required under Illinois law to provide the “Summary of Rights for Safer Homes” to all Illinois housing tenants as the initial pages of their written lease, whether the lease is newly issued or a renewal.

If an apartment lessee, or any member of his or her household, are survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, the renter has the following special housing rights relating to safety:

Lease termination. To end the lease early, the renter must give written notice to the landlord that he or she is moving out within three days of permanently leaving because of an imminent threat of domestic violence or sexual violence at the premises. The lessee also is required to remove all belongings from the apartment and turn over keys to the landlord or property manager.

If circumstances prevented the renter from notifying the landlord about the alleged abuse, the lessee also may end the lease early by written notice. Adobe Stock

The lessee must provide documentation proving that domestic or sexual violence occurred at the apartment within the last 60 days.

Payment of rent. The lessee is responsible for paying rent for the period prior to providing written notice of the abuse and extending through the vacate date. However, the renter is not responsible for future rent. The renter cannot be charged an “early lease-break fee.” The landlord also is required to refund the security deposit if there is no previous unpaid rent or damage to the apartment beyond normal wear and tear.

Right to change locks. The tenant has the right to change the apartment locks to prevent further domestic or sexual violence at the apartment. To exercise this right, the lessee must provide written notice to the landlord that he or she is under an imminent threat of domestic or sexual violence.

Tenant must provide proof of abuse

Before locks are changed, the lessee must provide one of the following forms of documentation proving the alleged abuse:

Medical, court, or police evidence. Or a statement from an employee of a domestic violence organization, or other victim services group, from whom the renter, or a member of the household, sought services.

Renter pays for new locks. The landlord must change, or give the lessee permission to change the locks, within 48 hours of the renter’s notice and documentation of the alleged abuse. The renter must pay for the reasonable expense for lock replacement.

If the landlord does not change the locks within 48 hours, the renter may change them and must provide the landlord with the new key within 48 hours.

Order of protection required. If the alleged abuser also is a tenant on the lease, the lessee must provide the landlord a “plenary order of protection” or a “plenary civil no contact order” granting the abused lessee exclusive possession of the residence. An order of protection supersedes the other forms of documentation listed above.

Landlord damages. The landlord is liable to the lessee for actual damages of up to $2,000 and reasonable attorney’s fees if they disclose to a prospective future landlord that the tenant utilized the Safe Homes Act, or shares any information provided by the lessee when using the protection of the act.

Eviction protection. If a landlord tries to evict the renter based on the tenant experiencing alleged domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, the lessee may be able to stop the eviction.

However, the landlord may still be able to evict the lessee if it is proven that the renter’s continued presence in the apartment poses an actual and imminent threat to others residing there. Photo by Elena Nichizhenova (Adobe Stock)

Discrimination protection. Under protection of the Illinois Human Rights Act, a landlord cannot discriminate against a renter if the lessee has been granted an order of protection, a stalking no contact order, or a civil no contact order. The act also protects against discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in housing based on certain protected categories.

Utility company deposits. Utility companies are required to defer the initial credit and deposit requirements for a period of 60 days for a residential customer or applicant who is a victim of domestic violence.

Protections could prove costly to landlords

According to rental apartment experts, the Illinois Safe Homes Act adds another layer of costly red tape to a lease document that already is complex.

It is the landlord’s job to provide a clean, habitable residential space to financially-qualified renters. Landlords pay for garbage removal, water and sewer utilities, and sometimes heat. They also pay the costs of maintenance, insurance, and real estate taxes.

What if the alleged abused tenant moves out in the middle of winter and the apartment is vacant for months?

To be fair, should banks also be required to comply with the new act by forgiving mortgage payments under the same circumstances?

While protecting the tenants from domestic violence, the new lease also places another layer of governmental regulation on landlords and owners. Many owners believe this is an encroachment on private property rights.