New Illinois laws NOW in effect for 2026
Squatters Bill
Effective Jan. 1, 2026
SB 1563 | PA 104-0029 allows law enforcement to enforce criminal trespass rather than having to go through the long eviction process when someone is occupying a vacant property with no valid lease.
County Records Fraud Alert
Effective Jan. 1, 2026
SB 1523 | PA 104-0382 requires county recorders to notify owners when anything is placed on file related to a property. Allows for a private right of action so people harmed by this type of fraud may sue for damages.
Summary of Rights for Safer Homes Act
Effective Jan. 1, 2026
PA 103-1031 IL Dept. of Human Rights (IDHR) must prepare a summary sheet to be attached to every residential lease noting IL protections for survivors of domestic and sexual violence – where they can go for assistance and what are their housing rights.
About the writer: Elizabeth A. (Betsy) Urbance, General Counsel and Vice President of Legal Services has served the association’s members as General Counsel since 2018 and prior to that she was Legal Hotline Attorney since 1994. Urbance is a 1984 graduate of Western Illinois University and received her law degree from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1987. She is licensed in both Illinois and Missouri.
