103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB5109

 

Introduced 2/8/2024, by Rep. Daniel Didech

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
735 ILCS 5/Art. Art. XXIII heading new
735 ILCS 5/23-105 new
735 ILCS 5/23-110 new
735 ILCS 5/23-115 new
735 ILCS 5/23-120 new
735 ILCS 5/23-125 new
735 ILCS 5/23-130 new

    Amends the Code of Civil Procedure by adding a new Article regarding forcible entry and unlawful detainer. Sets forth factors establishing when a person is a transient occupant. Provides that a transient occupant unlawfully detains a residential property if the transient occupant remains in occupancy of the residential property after the party entitled to possession of the property has directed the transient occupant to leave. Provides that a transient occupancy terminates when a transient occupant begins to reside elsewhere, surrenders the key to the dwelling, or leaves the dwelling when directed by a law enforcement officer in receipt of an affidavit. Allows, upon receipt of a sworn affidavit by the party entitled to possession, any law enforcement officer to direct a transient occupant to surrender possession of residential property. Provides that a person who fails to comply with the direction of the law enforcement officer to surrender possession or occupancy violates a provision related to criminal trespass to a residence. Provides remedies for a person wrongfully removed and for a party entitled to possession of the real property. Allows for the recovery of personal belongings by a former transient occupant after the former transient occupant has vacated the property.


LRB103 33372 LNS 63184 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5109LRB103 33372 LNS 63184 b

1    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by
5adding the heading of Article Art. XXIII as follows:
 
6    (735 ILCS 5/Art. Art. XXIII heading new)
7
ARTICLE XXIII. FORCIBLE ENTRY AND UNLAWFUL DETAINER

 
8    (735 ILCS 5/23-105 new)
9    Sec. 23-105. Transient occupant defined; factors
10establishing transient occupant.
11    (a) As used in this Article, "transient occupant" means a
12person whose residency in real property intended for
13residential use has occurred for a brief length of time, is not
14pursuant to a lease, and whose occupancy was intended as
15transient in nature.
16    (b) Factors that establish that a person is a transient
17occupant include, but are not limited to:
18        (1) The person does not have an ownership interest,
19    financial interest, or leasehold interest in the property
20    entitling the person to occupancy of the property.
21        (2) The person does not have any property utility
22    subscriptions.

 

 

HB5109- 2 -LRB103 33372 LNS 63184 b

1        (3) The person cannot produce documentation,
2    correspondence, or identification cards sent or issued by
3    a government agency, including, but not limited to, the
4    Secretary of State or the State Board of Elections, which
5    show that the person used the property address as an
6    address of record with the agency within the previous 12
7    months.
8        (4) The person pays minimal or no rent for the
9    person's stay at the property.
10        (5) The person does not have a designated space of the
11    person's own, such as a room, at the property.
12        (6) The person has minimal, if any, personal
13    belongings at the property.
14        (7) The person has an apparent permanent residence
15    elsewhere.
16    (c) Minor contributions made for the purchase of household
17goods, or minor contributions towards other household
18expenses, do not establish residency.
 
19    (735 ILCS 5/23-110 new)
20    Sec. 23-110. Occupancy and termination of occupancy by
21transient occupant. A transient occupant unlawfully detains a
22residential property if the transient occupant remains in
23occupancy of the residential property after the party entitled
24to possession of the property has directed the transient
25occupant to leave. A transient occupancy terminates when a

 

 

HB5109- 3 -LRB103 33372 LNS 63184 b

1transient occupant begins to reside elsewhere, surrenders the
2key to the dwelling, or leaves the dwelling when directed by a
3law enforcement officer in receipt of an affidavit under
4Section 23-115, the party entitled to possession, or a court.
5A transient occupancy is not extended by the presence of
6personal belongings of a former transient occupant.
 
7    (735 ILCS 5/23-115 new)
8    Sec. 23-115. Sworn affidavit for surrender of residential
9property; violation; wrongful removal remedy.
10    (a) Any law enforcement officer may, upon receipt of a
11sworn affidavit of the party entitled to possession that a
12person who is a transient occupant is unlawfully detaining
13residential property, direct a transient occupant to surrender
14possession of residential property. The sworn affidavit must
15set forth the facts, including the applicable factors listed
16in subsection (b) of Section 23-105, which establish that a
17transient occupant is unlawfully detaining residential
18property.
19    (b) A person who fails to comply with the direction of the
20law enforcement officer to surrender possession or occupancy
21violates Section 19-4 of the Criminal Code of 2012. In any
22prosecution of a violation of Section 19-4 of the Criminal
23Code of 2012 related to this Article, whether the defendant
24was properly classified as a transient occupant is not an
25element of the offense, the State is not required to prove that

 

 

HB5109- 4 -LRB103 33372 LNS 63184 b

1the defendant was in fact a transient occupant, and the
2defendant's status as a permanent resident is not an
3affirmative defense.
4    (c) A person wrongfully removed pursuant to this Section
5has a cause of action for wrongful removal against the person
6who requested the removal, and may recover injunctive relief
7and compensatory damages. However, a wrongfully removed person
8does not have a cause of action against the law enforcement
9officer or the agency employing the law enforcement officer
10absent a showing of bad faith by the law enforcement officer.
 
11    (735 ILCS 5/23-120 new)
12    Sec. 23-120. Remedies for party entitled to possession.
13    (a) A party entitled to possession of real property has a
14cause of action for unlawful detainer against a transient
15occupant under subsection (b). The party entitled to
16possession is not required to notify the transient occupant
17before filing the action. If the court finds that the
18defendant is not a transient occupant but is instead a tenant
19of residential property, the court may not dismiss the action
20without first allowing the plaintiff to give the transient
21occupant the notice required by that part and to thereafter
22amend the complaint to pursue eviction under that part.
23    (b) A person entitled to possession of real property,
24including constructive possession by a record titleholder, has
25a cause of action against a person who obtained possession of

 

 

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1that real property by forcible entry, unlawful entry, or
2unlawful detention and may recover possession and damages. The
3person entitled to possession is not required to notify the
4prospective defendant before filing the action.
5    If the court finds that the entry or detention by the
6defendant is willful and knowingly wrongful, the court must
7award the plaintiff damages equal to double the reasonable
8rental value of the real property from the beginning of the
9forcible entry, unlawful entry, or unlawful detention until
10possession is delivered to the plaintiff. The plaintiff may
11also recover other damages, including, but not limited to,
12damages for waste.
 
13    (735 ILCS 5/23-125 new)
14    Sec. 23-125. Recovery of personal belongings.
15    (a) The party entitled to possession of a dwelling shall
16allow a former transient occupant to recover his or her
17personal belongings at reasonable times and under reasonable
18conditions.
19    (b) Unless otherwise agreed to, a reasonable time for the
20recovery of the former transient occupant's personal
21belongings generally means a time period within 10 days after
22termination of the transient occupancy, when the party
23entitled to possession of the dwelling or a trusted third
24party can be present at the dwelling to supervise the recovery
25of the belongings.

 

 

HB5109- 6 -LRB103 33372 LNS 63184 b

1    (c) If the party entitled to possession of the dwelling
2reasonably believes that the former transient occupant has
3engaged in misconduct or has a history of violence or drug or
4alcohol abuse, it is reasonable for the party entitled to
5possession of the dwelling to impose additional conditions on
6access to the dwelling or the personal belongings. These
7conditions may include, but are not limited to, the presence
8of a law enforcement officer, the use of a mover, or the use of
9a trusted third party to recover the personal belongings. As
10used in this subsection, "misconduct" includes, but is not
11limited to:
12        (1) the intentional damage to the dwelling, to
13    property owned by the party entitled to possession of the
14    dwelling, or to property owned by another occupant of the
15    dwelling;
16        (2) the physical or verbal abuse directed at the party
17    entitled to possession of the dwelling or another occupant
18    of the dwelling; or
19        (3) the theft of property belonging to the party
20    entitled to possession of the dwelling or property of
21    another occupant of the dwelling.
22    (d) The person entitled to possession of a dwelling may
23presume that the former transient occupant has abandoned
24personal belongings left at the dwelling if the former
25transient occupant does not seek to recover them within a
26reasonable time after the transient occupant surrenders

 

 

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1occupancy of the dwelling. The time period to recover personal
2belongings may be extended due to the unavailability of the
3party entitled to possession of the dwelling to supervise the
4recovery of the personal belongings. Circumstances that may
5shorten the time include, but are not limited to, the poor
6condition of or the perishable or hazardous nature of the
7personal belongings, the intent of the former transient
8occupant to abandon or discard the belongings, or the
9significant impairment of the use of the dwelling by the
10storage of the former transient occupant's personal
11belongings.
12    (e) If the person entitled to possession of the dwelling
13unreasonably withholds access to a former transient occupant's
14personal belongings, the former transient occupant may bring a
15civil action for damages or the recovery of the property. The
16court shall award the prevailing party reasonable attorney's
17fees and costs.
 
18    (735 ILCS 5/23-130 new)
19    Sec. 23-130. Application. This Article shall be construed
20in recognition of the right to exclude others as one of the
21most essential components of property rights.