Owning firearms while living in an apartment

[Desert Scorpion]

Hi, I live in Illinois and have an FOID card to own firearms, I live in an apartment complex and am not sure if it is legal to have firearms while living in an apartment, is it considered your own private property or are you subject to some kind of law in regards to owning firearms while living in an apartment. Can the owner of the apartment complex tell you, you cant own firearms and you have to listen to him, or can you still own them.

 

[Treo]

I have not a clue as to Illinois laws but my rule is no one who doesn't live under my roof ( and not all of them) needs to know that I own fire arms unless I am legally required to inform them

 

[jdc1244]

You should contact your local authorities for the correct answer – the interweb is not the best place to have such questions answered.

But for fun I’ll say there is no law against it – you have a right to privacy in your apartment and are entitled to due process. The police must have a warrant, for example, to enter and/or search your apartment.

The landlord may be another matter, however. If he can say no kids, pets, or visitors after 11 he may be able to say no firearms.

Post when you find out.

 

[damien]

There is no law against it. Read your apartment agreement, that is the only possible hangup. In my rental days there never was any stipulation against firearms. I live in Illinois too. I rented in DeKalb and Carol Stream.

 

[Trebor]

Read your lease. See if it mentions firearms. If they are not specifically prohibited, your OK.

I wouldn't tell the apartment management about them though, just on general principles.

 

[Treo]

I'm surprised no ones hit on this topic yet, but you are not the only person W/ keys to your apartment. I know of at least two people who have had guns vanish out of their apartments IIWY I'd invest in a gunsafe

 

[never_retreat]

Install an alarm system. That way if the landlord or whoever else decided to go in your place the cops will be en route. Weather they are entering legally or illegally they wont be to quick to swipe something with an alarm going off.A camera hooked to your computer is cheap piece of mind also.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

A prohibition or restriction on guns may be in the lease. You might be in violation of the lease and could be evicted/forfeit your desposit, etc. It is possible that local law may address the issue (although I have never heard of such a thing) or restrict ownership as IL has no pre-emption.

You're probably fine if you may lawfully own whatever weapons you have in the place you live in. That said, it is well-advised to keep a low profile about fireams and keep them secreted from view and obvious places while out. Also, not to be preachy, but be cautious and mindful of the safety of your neighbors in selecting defensive ammo for in-apartment use.

Oh, and if you're in Cook County-move.

 

[k_dawg]

In Florida, it is illegal for the owner to put in said restriction [ unless it is an official University affiliated housing ] into the lease.

 

[Desert Scorpion]

I am going to view the lease and if it doesnt specify anything about firearms then I am keeping them. I am very strict on theft issues, so I have invested in a safe from cabelas, since they have a store right next to me. I am going to keep low about owning guns and wont be telling anyone in the apartment complex. Saftey first. Iwill post my findings when I read the Lease.

 

[Jaenak]

Um ... if you install an alarm your landlord will have every right to evict you. Since they own the place they are granted legal access whenever they want and if you install an alarm, they can and probably will kick you out. Do yourself a favor and don't do that. Also, an apartment isn't considered your private property, it's the owner's property and the landlord (if different from the owner) is considered a legal agent of the owner to serve as the owner in authority and right in his/their stead. Basically, you don't own the apartment, you rent it. Therefore since you don't own it, then it's not yours. Since the owner is not you, the owner of the landlord is usually allowed to say what can happen and what cannot happen on their property and if they say "no guns" then that means "no guns". However, if they don't know it and no one tells them, then you should be fine ignoring their order.

BTW, even if they do have all those rights, they cannot remove anything from your apartment that you purchased without your knowledge and consent. If they say "no guns" and you bring them into your apartment anyways and they figure it out, enter your apartment and remove the firearm then you can be evicted for violating the lease but you can file criminal charges and have the landlord AND the owner jailed for theft. It's kind of a sticky situation.

 

[brickeyee]

"Since they own the place they are granted legal access whenever they want and if you install an alarm, they can and probably will kick you out. Do yourself a favor and don't do that. Also, an apartment isn't considered your private property, it's the owner's property and the landlord (if different from the owner) is considered a legal agent of the owner to serve as the owner in authority and right in his/their stead. Basically, you don't own the apartment, you rent it. Therefore since you don't own it, then it's not yours. Since the owner is not you, the owner of the landlord is usually allowed to say what can happen and what cannot happen on their property and if they say "no guns" then that means "no guns". However, if they don't know it and no one tells them, then you should be fine ignoring their order."

Where did you get all this nonsense?
The landlord can normally enter for emergencies and with notice to the tenant.
NOT "access whenever they want".

The tenant is entitled to peaceable possession of the premises.

Renting means you do own the use of the apartment subject to the specific terms of the lease.

Some state have laws preventing a landlord from attempting to restrict firearms, and in the rest you could make a decent argument that the landlord is attempting to force you to relinquish your civil rights, an activity generally not allowed.

Do you think a landlord could insert a clause that you will not vote?
Will follow his religion?
Will not attend church?

There have been any number of cases that have consistently ruled that you cannot sign away your rights.

 

[41magsnub]

Jaenek, I would love to see a reference for your version of this. It contradicts everything I have ever seen and read on the topic.

 

[VARifleman]

The only time they can enter my apartment is through court order, emergencies (those are spelled out later in the lease), and by request. All other times it's breaking and entering.

 

[kurtmax]

I'm in AL, so this might not apply to IL.

The landlord cannot enter 'whenever'. The only times permitted are for regular inspections, but only when given written notice ahead of time, and during emergences (like a pipe bursts or something). These are the ONLY times they can enter.

When you rent you essentially become a 'de facto' owner of the 'use' of the property. So all the castle doctrine laws and such apply. My apartment complex says 'no illegal concealed weapons' in the lease... so they aren't prohibited (although I don't think it would be legal to prohibit it).

Also, recent laws introduced in alabama make it illegal for a landlord to 'change' the lease contract. For example, my lease says 'the landlord reserves the right to change rules and regulations at whim' or something like that. Now the state law requires written permission from the renter before any changes to the 'rules and regs' sheet can legally apply.

Landlords surprisingly aren't too aware of many of these laws. They regularly open apartments/rooms for police without warrants. Of course, courts throw out evidence real quick if anything is found, and the landlords get money drained out of them

 

[Gator]

Definitely not the law in Illinois. Here a landlord can enter whenever he wants without notice, if you are lucky they will leave a note.

 

[Ed Ames]

In most places I'm familiar with...

Owning, renting, or leasing a property gives you basically identical rights from a legal perspective. Doesn't matter if you've owned the property for 50 years or you are renting a hotel room over night -- it is yours and you can do anything you would be legally allowed to do in any other property you possess. If it's a residence you have the same legal rights regardless.

In fact... in some states those legal rights extend to anything you use as a residence however temporarily. In California, for example, you are legally allowed to have a gun in your tent when you are camping because that tent is your home. You can concealed carry a loaded .45 inside that tent and nobody can stop you even if you are in the middle of an "gun free" state park. You may not be able to legally get the gun to the tent, and if they find out you had it they may wait until you leave and arrest you then, but while your tent is "home" they can't arrest you for having a loaded gun because in California you can have guns in your home.

All types of possession give you basically identical rights, including the right you grant those rights to others. Many leases, for example, specifically grant the landlord permission to enter in specific conditions. That may include stipulations that you not change the locks, or not add alarm systems, or whatever. That's a negotiated part of the price between you and the landlord. If the lease doesn't include permission the landlord can't enter.

Not all leases grant those permissions by the way. I was once renting office space and got a call from the landlord... they wanted to come over and do some maintenance for another suite by going through mine. What they wanted to do was legitimate and it wouldn't have been a major problem but I refused because it would've been a disruption. Their response was, "OK, it's your property and we can't come in without your permission." Of course there, when I took possession of the property, the first thing I did was call a locksmith out to rekey the locks. Same can be true with rented residences. My family used to rent houses and first thing we did when we moved in was change the locks.

 

[foob]

1. No state or federal laws bans keeping firearms in apartments.

2. It all depends on your lease. 99% of the time your lease won't ban firearms, because landlords generally have no problems with them. Why would they, other than personal reasons. They have more important problems like pets, parking, damage, etc. Unless you start shooting in your apartment, you are fine.

3. You can just call your landlord you know. People say if they don't know they can't kick you out. Well, even if they know, they can't kick you out if it's not in the lease. 99% of landlords have no problems with firearms. My firearms are out in the open, I'm building one right now, the landlord comes in once a while to do maintenance like smoke detector, or show the apartment to others. It's no biggie.

4. Unless you have roommates that have issues with them, or your only rent a room in an apartment, you are fine. And that's only because you should be considerate to others you live with.

 

[Desert Scorpion]

Thanks for the information, when I sighn the lease I will make sure to look for firearms listed in there policy. If there is nothing there then I wont even ask.

 

[Elvishead]

I'd worry more about the ammo you use. Like maybe Glaser or Magsafe "safety slugs"?

 

[TexasRifleman]

Like maybe Glaser or Magsafe "safety slugs"?

If you actually want an intruder to stop, prolly better not use those.

Sort of veering from the topic but something to keep in mind.

http://www.firearmstactical.com/briefs5.htm

PFBs are less hazardous to bystanders than JHP bullets in theory only. However, if you keep a handgun for home defense and you’re concerned about wall penetration, then the MagSafe SWAT cartridge is the only choice that meets your requirements for limited wall penetration. None of the other cartridges discussed in this article are designed to fragment as they pass through wallboard. The tradeoff for this limited penetration of interior walls is significantly lessened wounding effectiveness.

 

[larry_minn]

When I lived in a apt one of the FIRST things I did is take a GOOD lock at door/lock. Then I go and buy the EXACT same/look/type of lock and replace THEIR lock with mine. IF they notify me they will be entering the apt for a legit reason (repairs/replacement of stove burners,spraying for bugs) I would change lock back (3 minute job)
Well the manager yells at me one day "How come my key does not work on your door?" So I told him the lock broke one night late so I went to 24hr wally world and got another since I didn't want to wake him at 3am and I was NOT going to sleep with door unlocked. THEN I asked him *** he was doing trying to enter my apt without givine written notice as per lease???? He got quiet so I went on offensive and we ended that I would KEEP MY lock on doors and he wouldn't bother me. When I left I put their lock back on. (IIRC it was a dang cheap lock set $18) IMO well worth having control. Even if I would have had to let them put their lock back how can they do anything when you give them (line) that their lock failed and you just never got around to report it. (or some places I would put a "gripe" in "Lock on 342 sticks"
Never have anything sitting out/unlocked you don't mind walking off.

 

[Wes Janson]

You can concealed carry a loaded .45 inside that tent and nobody can stop you even if you are in the middle of an "gun free" state park. You may not be able to legally get the gun to the tent, and if they find out you had it they may wait until you leave and arrest you then, but while your tent is "home" they can't arrest you for having a loaded gun because in California you can have guns in your home.

The obvious solution here is to keep standing inside the tent while everybody picks it up and runs for it until out of danger.

I should note that I once saw four kids pick up a Hummer body shell from inside and exit the vicinity quite swiftly. Quite an odd sight in the middle of the woods..