Illinois Eviction Law 2026: Minors Can't Be Named
by Platuni | 30 Sep, 2026 | 5 mins read
Platuni
30 September, 2026
5 mins read
1. What actually triggers dismissal
Illinois' Code of Civil Procedure now requires dismissal of an eviction complaint that names a defendant who is a minor at the time of filing, or who was a minor at the time the lease agreement at issue was entered into.
[Cite: 735 ILCS 5/9-121, as amended by Illinois Public Act 104-0317]
That's two separate triggers, and either one alone is enough. A defendant who was 17 when the lease was signed but has since turned 18 by the time the eviction is filed still triggers dismissal, because the lease-signing condition is satisfied even though the filing-date condition isn't. The reverse is also true: someone who was an adult at signing but is somehow under 18 at the time of filing would trigger it as well.
2. How "minor" is actually defined here
The statute defines a minor as a person under the age of 18, unless that person has been ordered emancipated under the Emancipation of Minors Act.
[Cite: 735 ILCS 5/9-121, as amended by Illinois Public Act 104-0317]
That emancipation carve-out matters for a landlord doing due diligence. A tenant under 18 who has gone through the formal emancipation process isn't treated as a minor for this statute's purposes, even though they haven't reached the standard age of majority.
3. The dismissal reaches the entire case, not just the minor
This is the detail with the most practical consequence. The statute doesn't simply remove the minor from the case and let the action proceed against the remaining adult defendants. It requires dismissal of the complaint in its entirety against all defendants.
[Cite: 735 ILCS 5/9-121, as amended by Illinois Public Act 104-0317]
For a landlord pursuing an eviction against a household with multiple named occupants, that means one improperly named minor can take down the entire case against every co-defendant, adults included, not just against that one person.
4. The case is immediately sealed
Once dismissed under this provision, the action is immediately sealed.
[Cite: 735 ILCS 5/9-121, as amended by Illinois Public Act 104-0317]
Sealing the record limits the visibility of that eviction filing going forward, which matters given how eviction filings, even dismissed ones, can affect a person's tenant screening history in future rental applications. This protects the minor named in the case from having that filing surface later, in a screening report or elsewhere.
5. Why intent doesn't matter here
This is the point most worth understanding clearly, because it changes how a landlord should think about risk. The statutory language requiring dismissal doesn't include any requirement that the landlord knew, or should have known, that a named defendant was a minor. The complaint "shall be dismissed," full stop, once that condition is met.
[Cite: 735 ILCS 5/9-121, as amended by Illinois Public Act 104-0317]
A landlord who mistakenly listed a household member as a co-defendant, not realizing that person was under 18 at lease signing, doesn't get an exception for that mistake. The same is true for the statutory damages described next; nothing in the amended text conditions those remedies on the landlord having acted deliberately.
6. The remedies available to an improperly named minor
A minor who was improperly named as a defendant is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees, actual damages, and liquidated damages of $1,000.
[Cite: 735 ILCS 5/9-121, as amended by Illinois Public Act 104-0317]
That $1,000 liquidated damages figure functions as a guaranteed minimum, separate from whatever actual damages might also be proven. Combined with attorney's fees, the total exposure for a landlord who names a minor, even by honest mistake, is a real and specific financial consequence, not a nominal one.
7. Refiling is allowed, but it isn't free
Dismissal under this provision doesn't permanently bar a landlord from pursuing the eviction against the defendants who were properly named. The statute specifically preserves the ability to refile an action against any defendants who may be properly named.
[Cite: 735 ILCS 5/9-121, as amended by Illinois Public Act 104-0317]
But that refiling comes at a cost. The court may not waive any fees associated with refiling the action, which means the landlord has to absorb a second round of filing fees on top of whatever exposure the original dismissal created.
[Cite: 735 ILCS 5/9-121, as amended by Illinois Public Act 104-0317]
8. Why the lease-signing trigger matters as much as the filing-date one
It's tempting to think of this law as simply "check the age of everyone you're about to sue," which covers the filing-date trigger. But the lease-signing trigger reaches back further, to a point that might be years before the eviction is ever filed. A landlord verifying defendant ages only as of the complaint's filing date could still miss a defendant who was a minor back when the lease itself was originally signed, even if that person is now well into adulthood.
[Cite: 735 ILCS 5/9-121, as amended by Illinois Public Act 104-0317]
That means genuinely confirming compliance requires checking both dates, not just the more obvious, more recent one.
9. Why this sits in the Eviction Article specifically
This provision was added to the Eviction Article of Illinois' Code of Civil Procedure, the same body of law governing the mechanics of eviction filings generally, including sections 9-106 and 9-121.
[Cite: 735 ILCS 5/9-106, 9-121, as amended by Illinois Public Act 104-0317]
Placing it there, rather than in a separate standalone statute, means this dismissal requirement functions as a procedural gate built directly into how any Illinois eviction complaint has to be structured, not a separate cause of action a minor has to independently bring.
10. What property managers should do now
The practical starting point is building an age-verification step into the eviction-filing process itself, checking not just the current age of every proposed defendant but also, where records allow it, their age at the time the original lease was signed. Since the dismissal and damages exposure apply regardless of intent, this isn't a step that can be skipped on the assumption that an honest mistake won't carry consequences.
Coordinating with legal counsel on how to structure a complaint when a household includes someone who may have been a minor at signing, whether that means omitting that person from the defendant list from the outset rather than risking a full dismissal, is worth doing before filing rather than after a case gets thrown out and sealed.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as being a "minor" under this law?
Anyone under 18, unless they've been ordered emancipated under the Emancipation of Minors Act.
Does the whole eviction case get dismissed, or just the claim against the minor?
The entire complaint is dismissed against all defendants, not just the minor.
Does it matter whether the landlord knew the defendant was a minor?
No. The statute requires dismissal and makes the remedies available regardless of the landlord's intent or knowledge.
What can a minor recover if they were improperly named?
Reasonable attorney's fees, actual damages, and $1,000 in liquidated damages.
Can a landlord refile the eviction against the properly named adult defendants?
Yes, but the court can't waive the fees for refiling the action.
Does the minor status have to exist at the time of filing, or can it be based on the lease-signing date?
Either one triggers dismissal. A defendant who was a minor at the time the lease was signed, or a minor at the time the complaint was filed, meets the requirement.
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