Illinois Retaliation Law: What Counts & the Presumption Window (2026)

What counts as retaliation, and the window where the law presumes it

At a glance

• Protection window: 365 days
• Governing authority: 765 ILCS 721/5

Who this covers — and who it does not

This page covers landlord retaliation in Illinois — what a landlord may not do after you exercise a protected right.

It does not cover commercial leases, or conduct outside the protected window described below.

What the law prohibits

765 ILCS 721/5 — 房东不得明知（knowingly）因租客善意从事受保护行为而终止租约、涨租、减服务、提起或威胁提起占有之诉，或拒绝续租。

⚠️ 版本关键：这是 2025-01-01 生效的 Landlord Retaliation Act（新法），已废止旧的 Retaliatory Eviction Act（765 ILCS 720）。二手来源引用 720 或写「6 个月」均为旧法。

765 ILCS 721/5 ↗

The protection window

For 365 days after a protected act, certain landlord actions are presumed retaliatory.

721/20：若被指控报复行为前 1 年内有证据显示报复针对受保护行为，即产生「房东行为属报复」的可反驳推定，举证责任转由房东承担。受保护行为发生在报复行为之后的，不产生推定。

765 ILCS 721/20 ↗

Protected activities

What a landlord may not do

Burden of proof

1 年内推定产生后，举证责任转由房东承担，须证明存在合法、非报复性事由，或其行为始于受保护行为之前。

721/15 明确非报复情形：房东能证明合法事由，或行为始于租客受保护行为之前。

765 ILCS 721/15, 721/20 ↗

Remedies

Exemptions and limits

房东能证明合法非报复性事由，或行为始于受保护行为之前，则不构成报复；违反租约或法律法规的情形亦不在保护之列。

765 ILCS 721/15 ↗

Sources and how to verify them

Every figure on this page comes from the official text or a state court opinion, not from a summary. The table below lists each provision used and the date it was last checked.

Statute	Last verified	Source
765 ILCS 721/5	2026-10-16	official text ↗
765 ILCS 721/20	2026-10-16	official text ↗
765 ILCS 721/5(1)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
765 ILCS 721/5(2)-(3)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
765 ILCS 721/5(4)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
765 ILCS 721/5(5)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
765 ILCS 721/5(6)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
765 ILCS 721/5(7)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
765 ILCS 721/15, 721/20	2026-10-16	official text ↗
765 ILCS 721/10(1)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
765 ILCS 721/10(2)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
765 ILCS 721/10(3)	2026-10-16	official text ↗
765 ILCS 721/15	2026-10-16	official text ↗

Where the official text and a secondary summary disagree, this page follows the official text and says so. Where a provision admits of more than one reading, that is flagged rather than smoothed over.

When you need a lawyer instead of a tool

A self-help guide is the right starting point for understanding your position. Get legal help if:

• You have received an eviction notice — the timeline is now court-driven
• The dispute involves discrimination, unsafe conditions or retaliation
• Your landlord has filed anything in court already
• You are unsure whether a local ordinance changes the state rule

Local legal aid organisations and tenant unions offer free help for qualifying cases. They are independent of this site — we list them because they are the right place to go, not because they link here.

More Illinois guides

Illinois Security Deposit Return · Illinois Security Deposit Rules · Illinois Eviction Process · Illinois Rent Increase Rules · Illinois Repairs & Habitability

→ All Illinois tenant rights topics

Common questions