Leaving a Lease Because of Violence
765 ILCS 750/15 — no rent after leaving under a credible threat, with written notice within 3 days
In a landlord's suit for rent for breach of lease, a tenant has a defense, and owes no rent for the period after moving out, where the court finds both of these.
Who handles this in Illinois: legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the Illinois directory.
- When the tenant moved out, the tenant or a member of the household was under a credible imminent threat of domestic or sexual violence at the premises.
- Before moving out or within 3 days after, the tenant gave the landlord written notice that this was the reason.
The same defense covers sexual violence that already happened on the premises, where the notice gives its date and the tenant gave the landlord medical, court or police evidence, or a statement from a victim services or rape crisis organization, and the violence was not more than 60 days before the notice, or as soon after as practicable where hospitalization or seeking shelter or counseling prevented it.
The defense does not reach rent for the time before the tenant gave notice and moved out.
Sources for this section (1)
- 765 ILCS 750/15 — Affirmative defense
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Illinois attorney.