HOTEL PROCEDURE-EVICTION

From the Legislature

Adds a Failure to Pay for Lodging Part to the Eviction Article of the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that an occupant who fails to pay the full amount of lodging charges for the rental, usage, or occupation of a room or unit in a hotel when due and who remains on the hotel premises without the consent of the operator is a trespasser and not a tenant. Allows the operator of the hotel to remove the occupant after providing written notice to vacate. Authorizes a peace officer to remove the nonpaying occupant as a trespasser under certain conditions and to arrest the occupant for criminal trespass to real property if the occupant refuses to vacate after the notice. Provides that nothing in the Act may be construed to affect the rights or remedies of an occupant who is a tenant under a lease agreement governed by Illinois landlord and tenant law. Exempts from the definition of "hotel" any facility that provides emergency shelter or emergency housing to persons who are unhoused or unsheltered if (1) a person's admission to the facility is limited to a single overnight stay or is renewable on a daily basis and (2) the facility does not require the payment of any fees by these persons for admission to the facility. Provides that the new provisions do not apply to any occupant placed in a hotel under a government-funded emergency, disaster relief, or transitional housing program under certain conditions. Provides that an operator or employee acting in good faith and in substantial compliance with the Act is not civilly or criminally liable for requesting law enforcement assistance or for the peaceful removal of a nonpaying occupant. Provides that an operator may not remove an occupant until 90 days after its effective date if the occupant is occupying a room or unit in a hotel on the effective date and has failed to pay the full amount of lodging charges when due. Provides that an operator must provide such an occupant written notice of the operator's intent to remove the occupant not less than 30 days before the expiration of that 90-day period. Limits home rule powers. Effective January 1, 2027.