Bill Text: IL SB1728 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Makes it a violation of the Real Estate Transactions Article of the Act to unlawfully discriminate using credit score and history, including insufficient credit history. Limits these provisions to landlord and tenant agreements only.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-05 - Referred to Assignments [SB1728 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-SB1728-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1728 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Mike Simmons SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
775 ILCS 5/3-102 from Ch. 68, par. 3-102
775 ILCS 5/3-106 from Ch. 68, par. 3-106
Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Makes it a violation of the Real Estate Transactions Article of the Act to unlawfully discriminate using credit score and history, including insufficient credit history. Limits these provisions to landlord and tenant agreements only.
LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b
A BILL FOR
SB1728 LRB104 09304 JRC 19362 b
AN ACT concerning property.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Human Rights Act is amended by
changing Sections 3-102 and 3-106 as follows:
(775 ILCS 5/3-102) (from Ch. 68, par. 3-102)
Sec. 3-102. Civil rights violations; real estate
transactions and other prohibited acts. It is a civil rights
violation for an owner or any other person, or for a real
estate broker or salesman, because of unlawful discrimination,
familial status, immigration status, source of income, credit
score and history including insufficient credit history, or an
arrest record, as defined under subsection (B-5) of Section
1-103, to:
(A) Transactions. Refuse to engage in a real estate
transaction or deny real property, or to discriminate in
making available such a transaction;
(B) Terms. Alter the terms, conditions or privileges
of a real estate transaction or in the furnishing of
facilities or services in connection therewith;
(C) Offers. Refuse to receive or to fail to transmit a
bona fide offer in a real estate transaction from a
person;

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(D) Negotiation. Refuse to negotiate a real estate
transaction with a person;
(E) Representations. Represent to a person that real
property is not available for inspection, sale, rental, or
lease when in fact it is so available, or to fail to bring
a property listing to the person's attention, or to refuse
to permit the person to inspect real property;
(F) Publication of Intent. Make, print, circulate,
post, mail, publish or cause to be made, printed,
circulated, posted, mailed, or published any notice,
statement, advertisement or sign, or use a form of
application for a real estate transaction, or make a
record or inquiry in connection with a prospective real
estate transaction, that indicates any preference,
limitation, or discrimination based on unlawful
discrimination or unlawful discrimination based on
familial status, immigration status, source of income, or
an arrest record, or an intention to make any such
preference, limitation, or discrimination;
(G) Listings. Offer, solicit, accept, use or retain a
listing of real property with knowledge that unlawful
discrimination or discrimination on the basis of familial
status, immigration status, source of income, or an arrest
record in a real estate transaction is intended.
(H) Criteria. Use criteria or methods that have the
effect of subjecting individuals to unlawful

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discrimination or discrimination based on familial status,
immigration status, source of income, or an arrest record
in a real estate transaction. Such criteria or methods are
unlawful under this subsection if they are not necessary
to achieve a substantial, legitimate, non-discriminatory
interest; or if the substantial, legitimate,
non-discriminatory interest could be served by another
practice that has a less discriminatory effect.
(Source: P.A. 102-896, eff. 1-1-23; 103-232, eff. 1-1-24;
103-859, eff. 1-1-25.)
(775 ILCS 5/3-106) (from Ch. 68, par. 3-106)
Sec. 3-106. Exemptions. Nothing contained in Section 3-102
shall prohibit:
(A) Private Sales of Single Family Homes.
(1) Any sale of a single family home by its owner so
long as the following criteria are met:
(a) The owner does not own or have a beneficial
interest in more than 3 single family homes at the time
of the sale;
(b) The owner or a member of the owner's family was
the last current resident of the home;
(c) The home is sold without the use in any manner
of the sales or rental facilities or services of any
real estate broker or salesman, or of any employee or
agent of any real estate broker or salesman;

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(d) The home is sold without the publication,
posting or mailing, after notice, of any advertisement
or written notice in violation of paragraph (F) of
Section 3-102.
(2) This exemption does not apply to paragraph (F) of
Section 3-102.
(B) Apartments. Rental of a housing accommodation in a
building which contains housing accommodations for not more
than 4 families living independently of each other, if the
owner resides in one of the housing accommodations. This
exemption does not apply to paragraph (F) of Section 3-102.
(C) Private Rooms. Rental of a room or rooms in a private
home by an owner if the owner or a member of the owner's family
resides therein or, while absent for a period of not more than
12 months, if the owner or a member of the owner's family
intends to return to reside therein. This exemption does not
apply to paragraph (F) of Section 3-102.
(D) Reasonable local, State, or federal Federal
restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants
permitted to occupy a dwelling.
(E) Religious Organizations. A religious organization,
association, or society, or any nonprofit institution or
organization operated, supervised, or controlled by or in
conjunction with a religious organization, association, or
society, from limiting the sale, rental, or occupancy of a
dwelling which it owns or operates for other than a commercial

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purpose to persons of the same religion, or from giving
preference to such persons, unless membership in such religion
is restricted on account of race, color, or national origin.
(F) Sex. Restricting the rental of rooms in a housing
accommodation to persons of one sex.
(G) Persons Convicted of Drug-Related Offenses. Conduct
against a person because such person has been convicted by any
court of competent jurisdiction of the illegal manufacture or
distribution of a controlled substance as defined in Section
102 of the federal Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802).
(H) Persons engaged in the business of furnishing
appraisals of real property from taking into consideration
factors other than those based on unlawful discrimination or
familial status or source of income in furnishing appraisals.
(H-1) The owner of an owner-occupied residential building
with 4 or fewer units (including the unit in which the owner
resides) from making decisions regarding whether to rent to a
person based upon that person's sexual orientation.
(I) Housing for Older Persons. No provision in this
Article regarding familial status shall apply with respect to
housing for older persons.
(1) As used in this Section, "housing for older
persons" means housing:
(a) provided under any State or federal Federal
program that the Department determines is specifically
designed and operated to assist elderly persons (as

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defined in the State or federal Federal program); or
(b) intended for, and solely occupied by, persons
62 years of age or older; or
(c) intended and operated for occupancy by persons
55 years of age or older and:
(i) at least 80% of the occupied units are
occupied by at least one person who is 55 years of
age or older;
(ii) the housing facility or community
publishes and adheres to policies and procedures
that demonstrate the intent required under this
subparagraph subdivision (c); and
(iii) the housing facility or community
complies with rules adopted by the Department for
verification of occupancy, which shall:
(aa) provide for verification by reliable
surveys and affidavits; and
(bb) include examples of the types of
policies and procedures relevant to a
determination of compliance with the
requirement of clause (ii).
These surveys and affidavits shall be admissible in
administrative and judicial proceedings for the purposes
of such verification.
(2) Housing shall not fail to meet the requirements
for housing for older persons by reason of:

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(a) persons residing in such housing as of the
effective date of this amendatory Act of 1989 who do
not meet the age requirements of subparagraph
subsections (1)(b) or (c); provided, that new
occupants of such housing meet the age requirements of
subparagraph subsections (1)(b) or (c) of this
subsection; or
(b) unoccupied units; provided, that such units
are reserved for occupancy by persons who meet the age
requirements of subparagraph subsections (1)(b) or (c)
of this subsection.
(3)(a) A person shall not be held personally liable
for monetary damages for a violation of this Article if
the person reasonably relied, in good faith, on the
application of the exemption under this subsection (I)
relating to housing for older persons.
(b) For the purposes of this paragraph item (3), a
person may show good faith reliance on the application of
the exemption only by showing that:
(i) the person has no actual knowledge that the
facility or community is not, or will not be, eligible
for the exemption; and
(ii) the facility or community has stated
formally, in writing, that the facility or community
complies with the requirements for the exemption.
(J) Child Sex Offender Refusal to Rent. Refusal of a child

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sex offender who owns and resides at residential real estate
to rent any residential unit within the same building in which
the child sex offender resides to a person who is the parent or
guardian of a child or children under 18 years of age.
(K) Arrest Records. Inquiry into or the use of an arrest
record if the inquiry or use is otherwise authorized by State
or federal law.
(L) Financial Institutions. A financial institution as
defined in Article 4 from considering source of income or
immigration status in a real estate transaction in compliance
with State or federal law.
(M) Immigration Status. Inquiry into or the use of
immigration status if the inquiry or use is in compliance with
State or federal law.
(N) Credit Reports. The consideration and use of credit
scores and credit history including insufficient credit
history is prohibited only for landlord and tenant agreements.
(Source: P.A. 102-896, eff. 1-1-23; 103-232, eff. 1-1-24;
revised 7-24-24.)