Peoria, IL Rental Inspections: Tenant Complaint Process (2026)

Sec. 5-294(d) gives any tenant or household member the right to contact the City of Peoria directly to complain of a building, housing, health or similar code violation, or an illegal landlord practice; the city must investigate every complaint, which includes conducting a rental housing inspection and determining whether the landlord is in violation of the applicable codes and ordinances, and the city is required to prominently display and promote information about where tenants can call in a complaint. That complaint right is backed by Sec.

5-294(a)'s retaliation ban: an owner or lessor can't evict, refuse to renew a lease, raise rent or cut services solely because the tenant complained to the city or the courts, called the police, went to a community organization or the news media, asked for code-required repairs, or joined a tenant's union. Sec. 5-294(c) gives a tenant hit with retaliation a private right of action and a defense against any eviction action: the tenant can recover possession or terminate the lease and collect two months' rent or twice their actual damages, whichever is larger, plus attorneys' fees, and if evidence shows protected tenant conduct within the year before the alleged retaliation, the law presumes the landlord's conduct was retaliatory unless the landlord initiated the retaliatory act before the protected conduct happened.