Do you have text or audio evidence of your landlord’s sexual harassment?
If so, we can help you take him down.
What counts as evidence?
✅ Text messages
✅ Audio recordings
✅ Photos or video
✅ Emails or DMs
⚠️ Right now, we can only help if you have at least one of these forms of hard evidence.
Click the button above to see if you qualify for a case. You won't pay anything unless we win. And he won't know a thing unless you decide to file a case.
Tell us your story. We'll see if you qualify for compensation.
There’s nothing worse than being sexually harassed in the one place you’re supposed to feel safe: your home
For many women, the sexual harassment starts off pretty subtle. Their landlord or property manager makes the occasional comment here and there:
“Hey, you should wear those jeans more – they make your butt look good”
“Your hair looks nice like that”
“You’re so pretty”
If you’ve been on the receiving end of those comments, then you know:
It feels inappropriate and makes you uncomfortable. But this guy has keys to your apartment – the last thing you want to do is piss him off.
So you politely say “thank you” or ignore the comments – and try to just forget about it.
Then gradually, things start to escalate.
The comments become more intense. More sexual. More disgusting. He starts stopping by your place unannounced. Driving by to see if you’re home.
He knows that things aren’t good financially and that you’ve got a house full of mouths to feed. Maybe you even confided in him — and now he’s turned against you, deliberately taking advantage of your vulnerability in this situation.
If you’re late on rent one month, he texts you “don’t worry, just send me a nude pic and I’ll let you pay whenever you get the money.” Or “if you have sex with me, I’ll give you free rent this month.”
Then he starts setting house rules. Telling you when to be home and who you can and can’t have over.
You find yourself sneaking into your home so he doesn’t see you. Unable to sleep because you’re worried he might walk through the door in the middle of the night.
The fear and anxiety start to consume your entire life. You’re genuinely concerned for your and your children’s safety. After all, you don’t know what this man is capable of.
The worst part of all?
You’re scared to say “no” or reject him – because getting evicted will come with a whole new set of problems.
So you respond to his messages and inappropriate comments. Politely try to change the subject. Maybe you even give into his advances sometimes because you’re terrified of what will happen if you don’t.
You feel trapped in this never-ending cycle of abuse.
If the sexual harassment isn’t physical, maybe you hesitate to call it “abuse.”
But listen: No matter what anybody tells you, you are not overreacting. Sexual harassment isn’t a “compliment.” And you don’t have to “just deal with it.”
If it feels like sexual harassment, then it probably is
Sexual harassment doesn’t always come in the most obvious forms. It can sneak up on you in ways so subtle that you wonder am I being sexually harassed right now?
Things like…
Making sexual innuendos. Asking about your sex life. Giving you back rubs to “help you relax.”
Those are all forms of sexual harassment.
Legally speaking, there are two types of sexual harassment claims you can file:
Quid pro quo harassment and hostile environment harassment.
Quid pro quo harassment is when your landlord or property manager offers some type of housing benefit in exchange for a sexual favor.
For example…
Your landlord lets you pay the rent late in exchange for a nude selfie
Your service repair guy says he will fix your broken stove if you spend one night with him
Your landlord says he will waive the rent fee one month if you have sex with him
Or he denies a housing benefit if you don’t comply with his demands:
Your property manager refuses to fix your faucet unless you give him a lap dance
The property manager refuses to accept your housing application unless you give into his sexual demands
Your landlord increases the rent (or threatens to evict you) if you refuse to go on a date with him
Hostile environment harassment is any unwelcome sexual behavior (oral, physical or written) that creates a severe or pervasive hostile environment.
That could come in a variety of forms. For example:
Stalking
Showing up at your home repeatedly for no reason
Letting himself into your home without permission
Calling or driving by to “check on you”
Telling you that you’re not allowed to have male guests over
Filming you or taking photos of you without your knowledge or consent
Offers
Asking you out on dates
Asking you for nude or sexual photos
Asking you for kisses, hugs, or other touching
Asking you for sex
Touching
Touching you (anywhere) without your permission
Touching an intimate part of your body
Kissing you
Sexual assault or rape
Offers
Telling you how pretty you are
Making comments about your sex life or dating life
Making comments about your hair or body
Making comments about his sex life or dating life
Making comments about his body to you
Making comments about sex
Many landlords don’t know this – but he can’t just waltz into your house whenever he feels like it. If he doesn’t give you enough notice or have a good reason, entering your home without your permission is considered trespassing. Even if he owns the property.
You have the right to safe, harassment-free housing – and nothing you did in the past justifies the harassment you received
Many women blame themselves for the sexual harassment. They wonder:
Did I provoke this in some way?
Is this my fault?
Maybe I was too nice to him…
If only I was a good tenant and paid my rent on time…
Why did I send him that nude selfie?!
But whatever you did (or didn’t do), you did not deserve this. If you gave into his advances or flirted back, you did that because you had no choice. You did what you had to do to keep yourself and your kids safe. And that makes you a hero.
The law is on your side here: According to the Fair Housing Act, sexual harassment in housing is illegal. So if your landlord or property manager has been sexually harassing you, you can sue him.
It doesn’t matter if you flirted back. Sent 100 nude selfies. Lied on your rental application. Were behind on rent a few months. Or slept with the sleazeball.
What he did was illegal. And you can sue.
Protect future tenants (and their kids) from the harassment that you suffered
Unfortunately, almost all sexual harassers are repeat offenders. So you probably aren’t the only woman that he has done this to - and if you don’t stop him, you won’t be the last.
By filing a claim, you have the power to make your harasser stop. Once and for all.
How?
Well sometimes, just shining light on his behavior (and making him pay a settlement) is enough to stop him. In the settlement, we may be able to include a condition that requires him to leave the housing business for good.
Or we may find so many other victims that the government gets involved – and certain government lawyers have the authority to seek court orders that bar harassers from the rental business.
Whatever the case, you’ll walk away feeling empowered for taking action. With a newfound confidence for having stood up for yourself, your kids and other women.
Click the button above to schedule a free, confidential consultation with one of our lawyers. Your harasser won’t know anything unless you decide to file a case. And you won’t pay anything until we win.
If you’re feeling skeptical, I get it.
Because when you’ve been brushed off by authorities and ignored by everyone, it can feel discouraging (to say the least)
Maybe you’ve already spoken with the police.
But cops have a way of making people (especially women) feel bad for asking for help.
They’ll make you feel guilty by insinuating that you caused the problem:
“How did you make him think you were coming onto him? Did you flirt with him? What were you wearing? Did you invite him in?”
Or they’ll just say “oh this is a civil landlord/tenant matter. Nothing we can do here.”
Maybe you filed a complaint with the government– but they were slow to respond (if they responded at all).
They made you feel as if they weren’t listening – and didn’t care to listen.
If they did respond, they kept asking for more information. And then finally said “your word isn’t good enough – so we’re done” and closed the file.
Maybe you’ve even spoken with other lawyers. But they all said that if the harassment didn’t happen in the workplace, then they couldn’t help. Or they offered to help but asked for a big payment upfront (major red flag!).
Whatever the case, we can help.
We may be able to help you sue your harasser and get justice —
even if nobody else will
Hey, I’m Tom.
I started this practice group focused specifically on sexual harassment in housing. Because I care (a lot) about this issue.
It’s something I’m so passionate about that I even teach a class on housing sexual harassment at Northwestern University’s Pritzker’s School of Law.
Let’s rewind a bit…
I grew up in middle-class, mostly white suburban Chicagoland. I did pretty well in school and thought I was smart and worldly.
But that all changed when I started working on these housing sexual harassment cases.
My first job out of college was working with women who had been sexually harassed by their landlords.
In one case I was working on, I was trying to help get the woman ready for her testimony.
She had one of the worst cases I’ve ever seen. Her landlord did something unspeakable to her.
But afterward, she didn’t immediately leave his property. She stayed for another 6-8 months.
I didn’t get it. I was worried a jury wouldn’t believe her testimony about what happened because she hadn’t fled. I thought to myself: Why didn’t she just run away?!
When I asked, she explained it to me: She was a single mother with 3 kids, making minimum wage. With no money to move. It was either sexual harassment or homelessness.
After that experience, I realized how naive I had been. How little I knew about what other people were going through.
That first job made me want to be a better human being — and go to law school.
After that, I worked with more women who had to endure abuse just so that their kids would have a roof over their heads.
Others broke their leases to get away. Earning eviction records which made it difficult for them to keep their public housing assistance or rent elsewhere.
To get help, most of the women in that position need to get through people who thought like I did. Like the cops and judges who ask “why didn’t you get out of that situation sooner?” or “why did you respond to his advances?”
It’s no wonder that by the time many of our clients come to us, they feel like they’ve exhausted all of their options. And they’re on the verge of giving up.
That’s why I do this work. To listen when no one else will. To make sure victims like you are taken seriously. And to fight like hell to bring those predators to justice.
So if you’ve been sexually assaulted by your property manager or maintenance guy, then know this:
We’ll believe you. We’ll listen to you. And (if we can help you) we’ll do everything we can to take this guy down.
Let us investigate your case for free. You won’t pay anything unless we win.
Before we hop on a call, we’d like to ask you a few questions related to the sexual harassment. That will give us an idea of whether or not we can help.
If it sounds like you qualify, the next step will be a free, confidential call with someone from our team.
On the call, we’ll listen to your story, review your evidence, and explain your legal options. You’ll be able to ask us any questions — and decide whether you’d like to move forward.
Either way, it won’t cost you anything. And your harasser won’t know a thing unless we end up filing the case.
“What if I don’t have any hard proof of the assault — can you still help me?”
Unfortunately we’re only able to help if you have objective-evidence of the sexual harassment. Like sexual text messages from your landlord or audio or video recordings. If that’s the case, then there’s a good chance we can sue him.
“What if I flirted back? Or gave into his advances? Can I still sue?”
Absolutely! We can prove that you did that out of necessity, not desire. Remember: Your harasser was the one in the wrong here – not you.
There’s just one thing…
You must file a lawsuit within 2 years of the sexual harassment – so don’t put this off too long
These cases have time limits, which are called statutes of limitations.
For some cases involving sexual assault or rape, we have 10 years from the misconduct to file suit. But for most cases involving sexual harassment without assault or rape, we only have 2 years.
We’re not in this for the money — we’re in this to help people like you
Here’s how we’re different from other law firms...
We’re one of the only law firms that handles significant numbers of housing sexual assault cases
Which means… we’re able to get better results for our clients.
How?
Focusing on housing sexual harassment means that we know how landlords will respond to the lawsuit – so we know how to prepare for it.
For example, many harassers say “it’s a big money grab.” So we know that we have to prepare your bank records to show that you were paying rent, find witnesses who know you and prepare evidence that proves you aren’t in this for the money.
Housing sexual harassment isn’t something that the legal system sees a lot. So not many lawyers know what the claims are, how to argue them, how to present them in court, or what types of damages you can ask for (the money you can get).
Plus, these cases are often in federal court (not state court), which makes the cases even more complex.
We never assume we have all the answers
Even though we’ve done this countless times before, we never assume we know everything. For each case that we take to trial, we use focus groups to find out how we can improve (and win) the case.
We recruit people who know nothing about the case. And they give us their opinions about the evidence we’ve accumulated. This technique allows us to identify common themes that push the most people – and that’s what we focus on in trial.
We’ll fight to get you every lost dollar
Many lawyers who represent victims don’t actually want to go to trial. We do. Because we know that will get our clients the most money.
(There have been times where we’ve literally begged our clients to go to trial – but they decided to take the settlement instead.)
Being prepared to go to trial from day one helps us strengthen our case. For example, if the defense lawyer isn’t thinking about going to trial and hasn’t prepared their client yet, we can get them to admit a lot of things during the deposition that they might not admit otherwise.
(That’s one of the reasons why we started videotaping depositions!)
Even though we’ve done this countless times before, we never assume we know everything. For each case that we take to trial, we use focus groups to find out how we can improve (and win) the case.
We recruit people who know nothing about the case. And they give us their opinions about the evidence we’ve accumulated. This technique allows us to identify common themes that push the most people – and that’s what we focus on in trial.
Really… we’re relentless
Here’s an example:
In many cases, the abuser’s lawyer will tell me “you’ll never get those documents.” They’ll do everything they can to stop us from getting what we need.
Other lawyers will give up after a few tries. But not us. We’ll send them a letter and say “you have 5 days to give it to us or else we go to court.”
Finally, after countless hours spent writing letters and briefs and attending court hearings, we get the documents we need. It adds 3X as much work... but it’s worth it in the end.
We don’t care what your past looks like
Many lawyers will only take on your case if you have a clean record. Or paid all your rent on time. Why? Because they know that it’s easier to win that way.
Not us.
We don’t care if you have ten convictions under your belt. Or if you never paid your rent on time. We care about getting justice. That’s it.
Our winning tactic? We put the spotlight on the bad guy — not on our client.
You won’t be just another client
We take on fewer cases than many other lawyers. That way, we can dig deep with each case we take on and give our clients close one-on-one attention.
To give you an idea…
We often spend hours on the phone with our clients. And we begin and end every call answering their questions and making sure they’re comfortable with where things stand.
So if you want to text us at 9PM on a Tuesday, we’ll be there – and we’ll respond as soon as we can.
You’ll never be left in the dark, wondering what’s happening next. Because we’ll always keep you up to date with your case. Every step of the way.
How we help our clients get settlements that allow them to buy their own place – and never deal with another sleazy landlord (or property manager) again
You tell us your story. We’ll handle the dirty work.
Take a look at our step-by-step process to success.
You tell us what happened
Start by filling out this form (with a few questions about the sexual harassment).
If it sounds like you qualify, we’ll hop on a call where you can tell us what happened. We’ll explain our process, answer any questions you have and identify potential witnesses. By the end of the call, you’ll know if we can move forward or not.
You hire us
To move forward, you’ll sign our standard representation agreement.
You won’t have to pay anything upfront – but if you win your case, we will take a percentage of the recovery as a fee.
We start investigating (prefiling investigation phase)
Once all the papers are signed, we’ll start investigating. We’ll interview any witnesses and collect their documents. We’ll do a background investigation of the harasser and anyone else who may be legally on the hook for the harassment.
Using public records, we’ll also start a "me too" witness search to identify former female tenants we can talk to. You may hear from us with a follow-up question or two during this phase.
You decide if you want to file a case
After the prefiling investigation phase is done, we’ll report back to you. We’ll tell you if we think you have a legal case and what we think it might be worth.
If we don’t think we can help you pursue a lawsuit, we’ll tell you. If we think we can, you can ask us any questions you have and then decide whether you want to move forward. If you choose not to move forward, there’s no cost to you.
We file the case
Most of the work is in our hands now. We’ll just need you to answer a few questions along the way. But we’ll be in constant communication, so you’ll never wonder what’s happening.
If we win… you walk away with a hefty settlement!
While we can’t make any promises, our clients in these cases often make enough money to buy a new house in a safe neighborhood. So they never have to rent (or deal with another landlord) again.
Proof that our process works?
In a case we recently filed, we spent about $1,000 just getting the public records we needed. We ended up with 3,000 pages of police reports related to the landlord’s properties.
Among those reports were several detailed complaints by other tenants the landlord harassed. Those women became key witnesses – which put pressure on the landlord to settle the case fast.
Stand up for yourself, your kids and all other women who are trapped in the cycle of sexual harassment
If you take action today, you can be a hero to all the other women who have faced sexual harassment -– and let your kids know that there is justice in this world.
If you aren’t ready to take action yet, that’s 100% okay too. We’ll be here whenever you’re ready.*
*Just remember that, due to the statute of limitations, you must file a lawsuit within two years of the sexual harassment. For some cases involving sexual assault , you have 10 years to file.
“Will my landlord come after me?” and other smart questions women like you had before suing their landlord
Will my landlord come after me if I sue him?
It’s illegal for your landlord to retaliate. So if he evicts you, punishes you or comes after you in any way, you can sue him for that too.
That said, we can’t promise that he won’t retaliate. But we will do everything in our power to help you stay safe.
Will I get evicted? I can’t afford to get evicted and taken to eviction court.
Depending on the circumstances, we may be able to get a federal judge to halt the eviction process.
Worst case scenario, if you do face an eviction case, we can help you find an eviction lawyer. And we may be able to pause the eviction while the harassment case plays out.
Will you really be able to help me?
If we take on your case, it’s because we believe there’s a (very) good chance we’re going to win.
To give you an idea…
In the last several years, our team has not had a single case lost at trial or thrown out by a judge.
Let’s put it this way: After winning your lawsuit, you’ll likely be able to afford much better housing for you and your kids (and never have to deal with a property manager again).
Will my landlord/property manager find out that I’m suing him?
Not until we’ve actually filed the case – and by then, we’ve already got a leg up.
If you decide not to move forward, you can back out anytime before we file your case – and he’ll never know a thing.
Does it matter what state I’m in?
Nope! Our firm is based out of Chicago but we help clients all across the US. Most of our work will be done virtually. When it comes time for the deposition, we’ll fly (or drive) to wherever you are.
This sounds too good to be true… what’s the catch?
If we win your case, we’ll take 40% of your earnings to compensate for our time — and you’ll get to keep the rest. If 40% sounds like a lot, it’s because we put a great deal of time into each case that we take on. So we need to take that percentage in order for our business to be viable.
If we don’t win, then you won’t pay anything. Good news is that we win most of the cases that we file (which is how we’re able to take on a bit of risk).
But… I hate lawyers. They don’t listen. They all have an attitude. And they make me feel stupid.
Totally get it. I used to hate lawyers too… until I became one!
(Although to be honest…I still don’t love a lot of ‘em.)
But unlike many other money-hungry lawyers, we didn’t get into this business for the money – we got into it because we love helping women like you.
With us, you’ll never feel rushed. Or dumb for asking a “stupid question”. We’ll listen to you, believe you and always tell you what’s going on with your case – every step of the way.
Don’t let this monster get away with the sexual harassment. Make him pay.
If you don’t take action, the sexual harassment won’t stop. Your landlord or property manager will get away with what he’s done – and keep hurting you and other women. Maybe even escalating the harassment.
On top of that, you won’t be able to get the settlement you deserve – and the money to guarantee safe housing and a safe future for you and your children.
Tap the button above to schedule a free consultation with one of our lawyers.
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