It is declared to be against public policy of the City of
Chicago for a landlord to take
retaliatory action against a tenant,
except for violation of a rental agreement or violation of a law or
ordinance. A landlord may not knowingly terminate a tenancy, increase
rent, decrease services, bring or threaten to bring a lawsuit against a
tenant for possession or refuse to renew a lease or tenancy because the
tenant has in good faith:
(a) Complained of code violations applicable to the
premises to a competent governmental agency, elected representative or
public official charged with responsibility for enforcement of a
building, housing, health or similar code; or
(b) Complained of a building, housing, health or
similar code violation or an illegal landlord practice to a community
organization or the news media; or
(c) Sought the assistance of a community organization
or the news media to remedy a code violation or illegal landlord
practice; or
(d) Requested the landlord to make repairs to the
premises as required by a building code, health ordinance, other
regulation, or the residential rental agreement; or
(e) Becomes a member of a tenant's union or similar
organization; or
(f) Testified in any court or administrative
proceeding concerning the condition of the premises; or
(g) Exercised any right or remedy provided by law.
If the landlord acts in violation of this section, the
tenant has a defense in any retaliatory action against him for
possession and is entitled to the following remedies: he shall recover
possession or terminate the rental agreement and, in either case,
recover an amount equal to and not more than two months' rent or twice
the damages sustained by him, whichever is greater, and reasonable
attorneys' fees.
If the rental agreement is terminated, the landlord
shall return all security and interest recoverable under Section
5-12-080 and all prepaid rent. In an action by or against the tenant, if
there is evidence of tenant conduct protected herein within one year
prior to the alleged act of retaliation, that evidence shall create a rebuttable presumption that the landlord's conduct was retaliatory. The
presumption shall not arise if the protected tenant activity was
initiated after the alleged act of retaliation.
