Evanston, Ill., City Code § 5 § 5-5-6.5
SEXUAL HARASSMENT PROHIBITED (Evanston Housing Regulations)
Operative Text
(A) Section 5-5-6 of the Evanston Fair Housing Ordinance prohibits any owner, manager, lessee or sublessee of real property, real estate broker, lender, financial institution, advertiser, real estate appraiser or agent having the right to sell or rent any dwelling, or any agent of any of these from discriminating against any person because of his or her sex in any of the terms and conditions of housing. This prohibition includes sexual harassment as defined in Section 5-5-5 . (B) In addition to the conduct prohibited by Subsection (A) and Section 5-5-5 , it is a violation for any owner, manager, lessee or sublessee of real property, real estate broker, lender, financial institution, advertiser, real estate appraiser or agent to grant housing opportunities or benefits because of a person's submission to sexual advances or requests for sexual favors with respect to the person in question or to deny housing opportunities or benefits because of a person's refusal of sexual advances or requests for sexual favors.
Under Evanston, Ill., City Code § 5-5-6.5, housing providers and their agents are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of sex, including through sexual harassment. The provision extends this protection to cover situations where housing opportunities are granted or denied based on a person's response to sexual advances or requests for sexual favors. This means that conditioning housing access, benefits, or terms on submission to—or penalizing refusal of—such conduct is explicitly forbidden.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Evanston, Ill., City Code § 5-5-6.5 applies to owners, managers, lessees, sublessees, brokers, lenders, appraisers, and their agents involved in selling or renting dwellings. Compliant operators maintain policies that prohibit sexual harassment in all housing transactions and ensure that no housing benefit, opportunity, or condition is ever tied to a person's response to sexual advances. Training staff and documenting anti-harassment procedures are practices commonly associated with compliance under this provision.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Evanston, Ill., City Code § 5-5-6.5 gives tenants and housing applicants the right to be free from sexual harassment and from having housing opportunities conditioned on their response to sexual advances. If a housing provider or their agent violates this provision, affected individuals may have grounds to raise the violation as a defense in a housing proceeding or to file a complaint with the appropriate local or state fair housing authority. Consulting a tenant-rights organization or fair housing agency can help individuals understand the options available to them under this provision.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated September 18, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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