Tenants in Champaign and Urbana may soon boast the same rights when it comes to their landlords entering their unit.

State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana, sponsored a bill which earned House approval by a 113-2 vote April 9.

The law would require landlords to provide 48 hours notice before entering a tenant’s apartment or house.

The Urbana Landlord-Tenant Ordinance, which was adopted in 1994, requires landlords to provide 24 hours’ notice within city limits. Champaign currently has no such law.

“When I think of my district, I know a lot of people are tenants,” Jakobsson said.

Jakobsson said the issue of landlords entering tenants’ units unannounced came to her attention through senior citizens who were required to leave their doors unlocked for a whole day at a time because the landlord wanted to get in at an undetermined time during the day.

“These people felt very vulnerable,” Jakobsson said.

“I always think it’s good to listen to constituents, and by doing that sometimes we come up with some good legislation, and I think this is a good example.”

Esther Patt, coordinator of the Tenant Union, said Chicago, Evanston, Mount Prospect and Urbana are the only places in Illinois with comparable laws. DeKalb’s law is comparable but requires one hour of notice.

“We got complaints every year from students showing apartments without giving notice and walking in when they are sleeping and in the shower,” Patt said.

“This would extend the rights few tenants enjoy to all tenants in Illinois.”

Jakobsson said she thinks a consistent standard of landlords giving 48 hours notice throughout the state is important to tenants’ rights and is a reasonable window of notice.

“I think this is obviously why we needed to have the bill passed because in some places landlords need to be held accountable sometimes by statute,” she said.

Emily Becker, senior in ACES, said her landlord has entered her apartment to perform maintenance without providing sufficient notice.

“My thought is that no harm comes from giving someone warning,” she said.

Jim Nogle, owner of Illini Manor, said he gives his tenants in both Champaign and Urbana 48 hours’ notice either by e-mail or phone before entering the unit.

“It does create some complexities, but for the most part, we can live with it,” he said. “We always show our apartments by appointment, so our tenants know when we’re coming.”