Black v. Village of Park Forest
Fourth Amendment Rental Inspection 

The Institute represented rental housing tenants in Park Forest, Ill., in its challenge to a housing inspection law that allow local officials to conduct warrantless, nonconsensual inspections of rented single-family homes. Government officials justified their inspections on the basis of preserving "the housing stock of the community," a purpose that if upheld by the courts could just as easily apply to all residential property.  Our objective in this lawsuit was simple: if government officials wish to enter rented property, they must first ask for and receive the explicit consent of tenants. If tenants do not wish to grant inspectors access, they must obtain a search warrant based on reasonable belief (probable cause) that a housing code violation exists.

The law allowed government inspectors to roam through bedrooms and bathrooms without the knowledge or consent of tenants. The Institute sought to protect the Fourth Amendment rights of renters and to further recognition that Fourth Amendment rights are property rights.

On February 23, 1998, Judge Joan B. Gottschall struck down over half of the Village's inspection law as a violation of the Fourth Amendment. The court denied judgment for both sides on one of the counts in the complaint and set the case for trial. However, rather than continuing to defend the constitutionality of the ordinance, the Village decided during the summer of 1998 to drop its inspection program entirely, handing the tenants in Park Forest a victory for their property and privacy rights.