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Squatters and vacant property in Illinois: what the law says

Illinois gave police the power and gave them no way to use it. Every answer below is quoted from the statute it came from.

Every answer on this page is quoted from the statute it came from and linked to the source, so you can read the law yourself. Last checked against the statutes on 2026-07-14.

What to do now — this part is ours, not the law

There is no 30-day rule. Nobody becomes a tenant by standing in your house long enough — not in thirty days, not in ninety. They are not a tenant on day one and they are not a tenant on day ninety. What time does change is how hard they are to remove, and how much of your money it takes. That is a reason to move today, not a deadline you have already missed.

If someone is in the property right now

  1. Do not go in, and do not change the locks. It is the first thing everyone wants to do and it is how the owner becomes the defendant. Read that question above before you touch anything.
  2. Call the police non-emergency line. Ask them to look at it as a criminal trespass rather than a landlord–tenant dispute. Those are different outcomes and the words matter.
  3. Have your proof of ownership in your hand when they arrive — the deed, a recent tax bill, your ID. The officer's whole decision turns on whether he believes you own it.
  4. Photograph everything, and write down every date. When you last saw it empty. When you found them. What was said. Who you called, and when.
  5. Call a lawyer the same day. Not next week. The clock on every route above has already started.
The full checklist — what to record and what to ask →

If it has not happened yet

Everything on this page gets easier the earlier you do it. Photograph the property empty, keep the utility bills, and write down who is allowed inside — before you lock up and walk away. None of that is expensive. All of it is worth more than it looks at 2am.

The checklist for leaving a property vacant →

Is a squatter a tenant — and what rights do they have?

No — though Illinois never actually said so, despite the headlines. Its 2026 law is one sentence, and all it does is tell police the eviction rules do not stop them charging criminal trespass.

›Read the law

If a trespasser counts as a tenant, the owner is routed into housing court and every fast option closes.

735 ILCS 5/9-102(e) (P.A. 104-29, eff. 1 Jan 2026)

“(e) Nothing in this Article may be construed to prohibit law enforcement officials from enforcing the offense of criminal trespass under Section 21-3 of the Criminal Code of 1963 or any other violation of the Code or to interfere with the ability of law enforcement officials to remove persons or property from the premises when there is a criminal trespass.”

Widely reported as 'Illinois declares squatters are not tenants'. It does not. There is no such language anywhere in the Eviction Article. The Senate passed it 55–1, and it grants a permission — nothing more. (The enacted text says 'Criminal Code of 1963', which appears to be a drafting error; the Criminal Code is of 2012. We quote it as printed.)

Read it at the source →

Can I just change the locks?

No — and Illinois is unusually clear about it. The ban says “no person”, not “no landlord”, so it reaches an owner ejecting a squatter.

›Read the law

Lawful in a handful of states, a crime in most. Getting this wrong turns the victim into the defendant.

1 · 735 ILCS 5/9-101 — Forcible entry prohibited

“No person shall make an entry into lands or tenements except in cases where entry is allowed by law, and in such cases he or she shall not enter with force, but in a peaceable manner.”

Note what it does NOT say. It never says 'landlord', and it never mentions a tenancy. Unlike most states, Illinois's anti-self-help rule does not depend on the occupant being a tenant — so the usual argument that the ban does not reach a squatter is not available here.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

If police do act, what is the charge — and can they arrest for it?

Yes, legally. Illinois lets an officer arrest on probable cause for any offense, with no in-presence requirement — but arrest is discretionary, and Chicago PD has publicly declined to use it.

›Read the law — 2 provisions

A charge that only supports a citation does not remove anyone from a house. This is the link that killed the previous market.

1 · 720 ILCS 5/19-4(b) — the grading

“(b) Sentence. (1) Criminal trespass to a residence under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor. (2) Criminal trespass to a residence under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) is a Class 4 felony.”

Get this right, because it cuts against the felony reading. The Class 4 felony triggers on entering while PEOPLE ARE PRESENT — the occupied-home case, not the empty building. A squatter in a vacant house lands on the Class A misdemeanor.

Read it at the source →

2 · 725 ILCS 5/107-2(1)(c) — Arrest by peace officer

“(1) A peace officer may arrest a person when: … (c) He has reasonable grounds to believe that the person is committing or has committed an offense.”

No in-presence requirement, no misdemeanor carve-out. The authority runs to 'an offense', full stop — and a citation is merely an option the officer may take instead. Which is exactly why Chicago PD can lawfully decline, and exactly where the problem lies.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

What decides whether police arrest or walk away?

Authority — whether the occupant had permission. And the statute hands them an explicit defense that a forged lease fits perfectly.

DeedProof solves this

We verify you own the property and file your notarized statement — that no lease exists and nobody may enter — where police can check it. How it works →

›Read the law — 2 provisions

Every other question here is downstream of this one. The whole encounter, in one decision, made in a doorway in the dark.

1 · 720 ILCS 5/19-4(a)(1) — Criminal trespass to a residence

“(a)(1) A person commits criminal trespass to a residence when, without authority, he or she knowingly enters or remains within any residence, including a house trailer that is the dwelling place of another.”

Read it at the source →

2 · 720 ILCS 5/21-3(c) — the occupant's defense

“(c) This Section does not apply to any person… living on the land at the request of, or by occupancy, leasing or other agreement or arrangement with the owner or his or her agent…”

This is the gap in the legislature's own words. The intruder holds up a lease; that lease IS the statutory defense; the officer at 2am has no way to test it and no way to reach the owner.

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

What is the lawful way to get them out?

An eviction action in the circuit court — and Illinois has a specific ground for exactly this: entry into vacant property without right or title.

›Read the law

The route sets the real cost. A summary track is weeks; a full civil suit is months.

735 ILCS 5/9-102(a)(3)

“(a) The person entitled to the possession of lands or tenements may be restored thereto under any of the following circumstances: … (3) When entry is made into vacant or unoccupied lands or tenements without right or title.”

Read it at the source →

How long does it take, and what does it cost?

Four to ten months, six being typical. The court fees are the small part — your lawyer is the bill, and you do not get that back.

›Read the law

The two numbers every owner wants, and the one nobody warns them about: you do not get it back.

735 ILCS 5/9-106 — the only way in

“On complaint by the party or parties entitled to the possession of such premises being filed in the circuit court… the clerk of the court shall issue a summons.”

Filing and sheriff fees vary by county; check your county clerk's own schedule. We do not print a fee we have not read from the document that sets it. See our cost calculator for the county figures, which carry their own citations.

Read it at the source →

Can a sheriff remove them on the owner's affidavit alone, with no court?

No. Every removal in Illinois runs through a court order — there is no affidavit shortcut. Which means Illinois has not handed owners the mechanism, and the gap it left open is exactly the problem.

›Read the law

Where a state has passed this, it hands the owner the whole mechanism for free. This field tracks the existential risk.

What we looked for: any Illinois procedure letting a sheriff remove an occupant on the owner's sworn affidavit alone, without a court order

735 ILCS 5/9-106 — the only way in

“On complaint by the party or parties entitled to the possession of such premises being filed in the circuit court… the clerk of the court shall issue a summons.”

Chicago PD, on the new law: it enforces criminal trespass 'when officers can verify and establish whether an individual is illegally trespassing' (ABC7 Chicago, 2026-01-10 — SECONDARY, a news report). The legislature granted the authority; the department named verification as the blocker. That is the whole problem, stated by the people who would have to act.

Read it at the source →

How long before they can claim they own it?

20 years — or 7, if they hold color of title and pay all the taxes. Paying the taxes is the part owners never expect.

›Read the law — 2 provisions

The thing an owner of an empty building actually fears. Pure state statute.

1 · 735 ILCS 5/13-101 — Twenty years

“No person shall commence an action for the recovery of lands, nor make an entry thereon, unless within 20 years after the right to bring such action or make such entry first accrued…”

Read it at the source →

2 · 735 ILCS 5/13-109 — Seven years with color of title

“…every person in the actual possession of lands or tenements, under claim and color of title, made in good faith, and who for 7 successive years continues in such possession, and also, during such time, pays all taxes legally assessed on such lands or tenements, shall be held and adjudged to be the legal owner…”

Read it at the source →

These are the provisions, in order. We have not drawn a conclusion from them — that is not ours to draw.

This page is the law. What it costs you in Illinois — the filing fee, the sheriff’s bill, the months, and whether you ever see the money again.

Your deed proves you own it. It does not prove you never rented it.

That is the officer’s real question, and the lease in their hand does not contradict your deed. You can swear it is a forgery — but a statement you write the morning after, against a lease dated last year, is worth very little. The version that counts has to already exist.

How DeedProof verifies owners and files the affidavit in advance →

› Every source on this page (8)

735 ILCS 5/9-102(a)(3)735 ILCS 5/9-101 — Forcible entry prohibited720 ILCS 5/19-4(a)(1) — Criminal trespass to a residence725 ILCS 5/107-2(1)(c) — Arrest by peace officer720 ILCS 5/21-3(c) — the occupant's defense735 ILCS 5/9-106 — the only way in735 ILCS 5/13-101 — Twenty years735 ILCS 5/13-109 — Seven years with color of title

DeedProof is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice. We cite primary sources; we do not interpret them for your situation. Laws change — confirm current requirements with the relevant government office or a licensed attorney.