Understanding Lockout: What is an Illegal Lockout?

An attempt to illegally evict a tenant is called a "lockout." A landlord cannot use force to lock a tenant out of their rental unit without going through the proper legal eviction process. The landlord can NOT: 

• Change, remove, or add locks;
• Remove or block doors and windows;
• Remove appliances or fixtures;
• Cut off utility services like electricity, gas, heat, and water;
• Remove personal property;
• Cause injury to to the tenant or tenant's property;
• Threaten to do any of the above.

Although the landlord is the owner of the property, a tenant has legal possession of the apartment. A landlord cannot remove a tenant from the rental or from prevent the tenant's use of it without an eviction order. Even the United States Supreme Court has said that a tenant can only be forced out after an eviction order. Soldal v. Cook County, Illinois, 506 U.S. 56, 58 (1992).

If the landlord wants to evict a tenant, s/he must terminate the tenancy by serving a proper notice, wait the time period of the notice, start an eviction case, and obtain a judgment after trial. Only after the whole process, the landlord can have the Sheriff remove a tenant from the premise. 

If experiencing a lockout, then visit this link.