Have you been trying to rent an apartment or buy a house? If you believe that you're being discriminated against, you can use our Easy Form program to file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR). In this complaint, you will need to prove housing discrimination.

• Show direct evidence - this could be a statement by a landlord. It must state that they don't like people of a certain race, religion, ethnicity, or who have a disability. 
• Show indirect evidence - this could be a statement or actions toward other tenants. It can include anything that suggests that the landlord was discriminating against you. 
• Show proof that you are a member of a "protected class". Also prove that your landlord harassed or treated you unfairly based on your protected class. This proof should show that people outside of the protected class were treated better.

It is illegal for you to be discriminated against people because of your actual or perceived:

• Race,
• Color,
• Ancestry, 
• National Origin,
• Religion,
• Sex,
• Sexual orientation (including gender-related identity),
• Age (40 and over),
• Disability (physical or mental),
• Association with a person with a disability,
• Pregnancy,
• Marital or familial status (having children),
• Order of protection status,
• Military status,
• Unfavorable military discharge,
• Certain criminal records (juvenile record, expunged/sealed record, or arrest not leading to conviction), 
• Source of income (learn more about source of income discrimination), or
• Immigration status, starting January 1, 2024.

Common examples of housing discrimination

There are many ways landlords can discriminate. For example, the landlord could:

• Refuse to rent to you,
• Make an apartment harder to get,
• Mislead you about the availability of a rental unit,
• Have terms in the lease or put conditions on renting that they do not have for other people,
• Offer a reduction in rent in return for sexual favors,
• Make sexual advances or demands,
• Discriminate in the:
  • Privileges,
  • Services, or
  • Facilities provided at the apartment building or complex.
• Discriminate in advertising for the apartment,
• Threaten, coerce, intimidate, or interfere with you for exercising a fair housing right or assisting others who are using that right, or
• Deny you a reasonable accommodation.

Disabilities and housing discrimination

Landlords may not discriminate against people with disabilities. This includes people who: 

• Have a physical or mental impairment. This impairment must substantially hinders or impairs one or more of his or her major life activities.
• Have a record of such an impairment, or
• Are regarded as having such an impairment. 

Examples of major life activities include:

• Caring for yourself,
• Walking,
• Seeing,
• Hearing,
• Speaking,
• Breathing,
• Learning,
• Working,
• Bathing,
• Dressing,
• Eating,
• Interacting with others,
• Reading,
• Sitting,
• Standing,
• Sleeping,
• Thinking, and
• Concentrating.

The violation of any of these rights is housing discrimination: 

• With certain exceptions, a landlord cannot legally ask whether you have a "handicap". They can not ask its nature or severity.
• Your right to have a guide, hearing, or support dog.
• Your right to make reasonable modifications to places they rent, if those modifications are necessary to let them use or enjoy the premises. Landlords are not required to pay for these modifications, but they must allow them to be made at the expense of the tenant.
• If the building was financed with federal funds, however, the landlord must pay for the modifications. Examples of changes include:
  • Installation of flashing light to enable a person with a hearing impairment to see that someone is ringing the doorbell,
  • The construction of a ramp to allow a person in a wheelchair to enter the unit, and
  • The replacement of doorknobs with lever handles for a person with severe arthritis.
• Your right to request reasonable accommodations from landlords. This means cognitive changes or exceptions in rules, policies, practices, or services when this is necessary to allow a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use or enjoy the premises. 

These videos may provide more details:

• Housing discrimination based on citizenship status or national origin: Your right to Fair Housing
• Housing discrimination based on sexual orientation: LGBT Rights and Fair Housing