The Illinois Real Estate License Act of 2000 prohibits any action that constitutes a violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act. This is true regardless of whether a complaint has been filed with or adjudicated by the Human Rights Commission. The Illinois Human Rights Act includes some prohibitions that also are specifically addressed by the Real Estate License Act of 2000.
Under the Illinois Human Rights Act, it is a civil rights violation for any licensee to engage in any of the following acts of discrimination based on:
- race,
- color,
- religion,
- national origin,
- ancestry,
- age,
- sex,
- marital status,
- physical or mental disability,
- military service
- unfavorable discharge from military service,
- familial status,
- sexual orientation,
- order of protection status in connection with employment,
- real estate transactions,
- access to financial credit,
- the availability of public accommodations,
Specific Acts of Discrimination which are prohibited:
- Refuse to engage in a real estate transaction with a person
- Alter the terms, conditions, or privileges of a real estate transaction
- Refuse to receive or fail to transmit an offer
- Refuse to negotiate
- Represent that real property is not available for inspection, sale, rental, or lease when in fact it is available; or fail to bring a property listing to an individual’s attention; or refuse to permit him to inspect real estate
- Publicize, through any means or use, an application form that indicates an intent to engage in unlawful discrimination
- Offer, solicit, accept, use, or retain a listing of real property with knowledge that unlawful discrimination is intended
The Illinois Human Rights Act defines elderly person as “the chronological age of a person who is at least 40 years old.”
It is a civil rights violation for the owner or agent of any housing accommodation to engage in any of the following discriminatory acts against children:
- Require, as a condition to the rental of a housing accommodation, that the prospective tenant shall not have one or more children under 18 residing in his family at the time the application for rental is made
- Insert a condition in any lease that terminates the lease if one or more children younger than age 18 are ever in the family occupying the housing. Any agreement or lease that contains a condition such as the above is “legally void as to that condition”; the lease itself remains in force, but the clause is void and unenforceable
It is also a civil rights violation in Illinois to discriminate against any person who is blind, hearing-impaired, or physically disabled in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental property.
Similarly, it is a civil rights violation to refuse to sell or rent to a prospective buyer or tenant because he has a service animal. A seller or landlord may not require the inclusion of any additional charge in a lease, rental agreement, or contract of purchase or sale because a person who is blind, hearing-impaired, or physically disabled and has a service animal.
Of course, the tenant may be liable for any actual damage done to the premises by the animal.
Exemptions
Certain individuals, property types, and transactions are exempt from the anti-discriminatory provisions of the Illinois Human Rights Act:
- Private owners of single-family homes if (1) they own fewer than three single-family homes (including beneficial interests); (2) they were (or a member of their family was) the last current resident of the home; (3) the home was sold without the use of a real estate licensee; and (4) the home was sold without the use of discriminatory advertising
- Owner-occupied apartment buildings of five units or less
- Private rooms in a private home occupied by an owner or owner’s family member
- Reasonable local, state, or federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy a dwelling
- A religious organization, association, or society (or any nonprofit institution or organization operated, controlled, or supervised by or in conjunction with a religious organization, association, or society) may limit the sale, rental, or occupancy of dwellings owned or operated by it (for other than commercial reasons) to persons of the same religion or give preference to persons of the same religion. This exemption is limited; it does not apply if membership in the religion is restricted on account of race, color, or national origin.
- Restricting the rental of rooms in a housing accommodation to persons of one sex
- Appraisers may take into consideration any factors other than those based on unlawful discrimination or familial status in furnishing appraisals.
- Individuals who have been convicted by any court of illegally manufacturing or distributing controlled substances.
- Housing for older persons on the basis of familial status. “Housing for older persons” means housing that is intended for and occupied solely by persons 62 years of age or older, or intended and operated for occupancy by persons 55 years of age or older and at least 80 percent of the occupied units are occupied by at least one person who is 55 or older
A child sex offender who owns residential real estate, in which the offender lives and rents, is exempt from renting a unit in that property to a person who is the parent or guardian of a child or children under 18 years of age. (P.A. 95-42, eff. 8-10-07; 95-820, eff. 1-1-09.)
