If the tenant refuses to allow lawful access, the landlord
may obtain injunctive relief to compel access or terminate the rental
agreement pursuant to Section 5-12-130(b)
of this chapter. In either
case, the landlord may recover damages.
If the landlord makes an unlawful entry or a lawful entry
in an unreasonable manner or makes repeated unreasonable demands for
entry otherwise lawful, but which have the effect of harassing the
tenant, the tenant may obtain injunctive relief to prevent the
recurrence of the conduct, or terminate the rental agreement pursuant to
the notice provisions of Section
5-12-110(a).
In each case, the tenant
may recover an amount equal to not more than one month's rent or twice
the damage sustained by him, whichever is greater.
This section of
the RLTO awards tenants damages in the more common situation
where their landlord makes an unlawful entry. What's a
lawful entry? See RLTO 050,
which outlines in more detail exactly what makes an entry lawful
or unlawful. In general, advance notice of two-days is
required by a landlord who wants to enter the rented unit for
non-emergency purposes.
