How long is squatters' rights in Illinois?
Twenty years, or seven if the occupant holds a deed that looks valid and has paid every tax bill. Separately, Senate Bill 1563 changed what police may do about a trespasser from January 1, 2026.
If someone is living in your home now, the clock matters far less than getting them out lawfully, and that is where we can help.
- Statutory period
- 7 to 20 years
- What's different here
- 7 years with a deed defect and every tax paid, plus a police removal law since 2026
- Statute
- 735 ILCS 5/13-101, 13-107, 13-109
Someone living in your home in Illinois? Dardaris helps you get them out.
Changing the locks or cutting the power turns the law against you. We hand it to people who remove squatters lawfully, for a living.
If they are moving in right now, call the police first. Once they have settled in, it takes a formal process, and that is where we come in.
Your contact at Dardaris
Dardaris is not a law firm and removes nobody itself. If you hire the specialist we introduce, they pay us a referral fee, and you deal with them under their own terms. We pass your details on only once you agree.
- Tell us what is happening, by email or on a call. Talking to us costs nothing.
- We put you in touch with a removal specialist who works through the court and the sheriff, never around them.
- Once the home is free, Dardaris manages the letting for you.
The ordinary Illinois period is 20 years. Under 735 ILCS 5/13-101, nobody may bring an action to recover land, or make an entry on it, after 20 years from when the right first accrued, and an occupant who has been there hostile, open, exclusive and continuous for that long can claim the land. A bare squatter with no paperwork and no tax receipts is held to that clock, and it says nothing about property taxes.
Two shorter routes exist, and both need paper. Under 13-109, a person in actual possession under claim and color of title made in good faith, who stays seven successive years and pays every tax legally assessed in that time, is held to be the owner to the extent of the paper title. Under 13-107, seven years of actual residence under a title connected of record to the State, the United States, a tax sale or a judgment sale does the same. Neither fits someone who simply walked in.
The newer change is about removal, not ownership. Senate Bill 1563, signed in July 2025 and in force since January 1, 2026, states that the civil eviction article does not restrict police from enforcing trespass law. It draws a line between a lawful tenant and an unlawful squatter, and officers may remove a trespasser once the owner shows valid ownership and the trespass is evident.
Where Illinois sits against the rest of the United States, in years
Of 50 places in the United States on these pages, 5 have a shorter clock and 33 a longer one or none at all.
Sources checked
- rulesofcivilprocedure.com/il/section-13-101/
- rulesofcivilprocedure.com/il/section-13-107/
- rulesofcivilprocedure.com/il/section-13-109/
- gov-pritzker-newsroom.prezly.com/gov-pritzker-signs-sb1563-protecting-property-owners-from-squatters
- chicagoagentmagazine.com/2025/07/24/squatter-bill-becomes-law-giving-police-more-power-to-act/
From the day someone moves in to the day a claim is possible
The same three stages in most places. The exact rule, and whether the last stage exists at all, is on each place's own page.
- Day oneMoving inCaught in the act, it is usually a matter for the police: a trespass, not a tenancy.
- Weeks to yearsSettled inOnce someone lives there, removing them usually takes a court order, the same route as for a tenant.
- After 7 to 20 yearsA claim becomes possibleOnly if every test held, without a break, for the whole period. Where the law allows no such claim, this stage never comes.
Not yours to do, once they have moved inChanging the locks, cutting the water or power, or removing belongings yourself. It is illegal in every US state and most places on these pages forbid it too. Each page says how removal works there.
The record a court asks for, kept as you go
Wherever your property stands, removing an occupant usually comes down to showing who had the right to be there, and since when. Dardaris files every lease, message and document for a building by date, so that record already exists on the day you need it.
- Every lease, with who signed it and when
- Every message with a tenant, on the thread it was sent in
- Every document, filed against the building it concerns
Frequently asked questions
What are the squatting laws in Illinois?
Adverse possession is 735 ILCS 5/13-101: 20 years, with 7-year routes in 13-107 and 13-109 for an occupant who holds a deed or title and, under 13-109, has paid every tax. What sets Illinois apart is Senate Bill 1563, in force since January 1, 2026, which confirms that police can act on criminal trespass. Squatting is trespassing, and an owner never changes the locks or cuts the utilities on someone who has settled in.
How long is squatters' rights in Illinois?
Twenty years of hostile, open, exclusive and continuous possession under 735 ILCS 5/13-101. The period drops to 7 years only for an occupant with color of title made in good faith who also pays every tax (13-109), or with a title connected of record to the State, the United States, a tax sale or a judgment sale (13-107).
What applies to an ordinary squatter with no deed in Illinois?
The 20-year period. A squatter with no deed, no color of title and no tax receipts cannot use the 7-year routes in 13-107 or 13-109, and the 20-year section does not make paying taxes a condition.
What is the recent Illinois squatter law?
Senate Bill 1563 (2025), in force January 1, 2026. It states that the civil eviction article does not restrict law enforcement from enforcing trespass laws, and it separates lawful tenants from unlawful squatters. When an owner can show valid ownership and the trespass is evident, officers have authority to remove the trespasser. It governs removal, and it does not change the adverse possession periods.
Can I remove a squatter in Illinois without a court order?
Not by your own hand. Changing locks, removing belongings or cutting utilities on someone who has settled in is unlawful self-help. Since January 1, 2026 you can ask the police to remove a trespasser, with proof of ownership in hand, and call them while someone is still moving in. If the occupant shows a lease or a claim to be a tenant, expect the matter to go to the eviction courts.
Can someone help me get squatters out of my home in Illinois?
Yes. Removal specialists do it through the court and the sheriff. Changing the locks or cutting the power would put you in the wrong. Dardaris can put you in touch with one, and once the home is free, manage the letting for you.
Elsewhere in the United States
The same question, on a different clock. Every place sets its own period and its own shortcuts.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- See every place
This is general information, not legal advice.Laws change, and a county or a city can add its own wrinkle on top of the state rule, the way New York City does. Confirm the current rule for your address before acting on it, and talk to a local attorney before relying on any of it in a real dispute.