Every person who is hereafter evicted from any land for which he or she can show a plain, clear and connected title deduced from the record of some public office, without actual notice of an adverse title in like manner derived from record, shall be exempt and free from all and every species of action, process or prosecution for or on account of any rents, profits, or damages, which have been done, accrued or incurred at any time prior to receipt of actual notice of the adverse claim by which the eviction may be effected, provided such person obtained peaceable possession of the land.
6-140.When mesne profits not recoverable.
Article VI. Ejectment · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceExempts a person evicted from land, who held a plain, clear, and connected record title without actual notice of an adverse record title and who obtained peaceable possession, from liability for rents, profits, or damages accrued before receiving actual notice of the adverse claim.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/6-140
Plain-English Summary
This section protects a specific kind of good-faith possessor from being charged with rents and profits for the period before the possessor even knew of a competing claim. It applies to a person later evicted from land, but only if that person can show a plain, clear, and connected title deduced from the record of some public office, and had no actual notice of an adverse title similarly derived from the record.
A person meeting those conditions, and who obtained peaceable possession of the land, is exempt and free from every species of action, process, or prosecution for rents, profits, or damages that were done, accrued, or incurred at any time before that person received actual notice of the adverse claim by which the eviction may be effected.
The protection is bounded by knowledge, not by outcome. Once the occupant receives actual notice of the adverse claim, the exemption stops covering rents, profits, or damages going forward; the section shields only the period of good-faith, record-supported possession before that notice arrived. 6-141 supplies the specific mechanics for how that notice of an adverse claim is given.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who does this exemption protect?
A person evicted from land who can show a plain, clear, and connected title deduced from the record of a public office, held without actual notice of an adverse record title, and who obtained peaceable possession.
What is that person exempt from?
All actions, process, or prosecution for rents, profits, or damages accrued before receiving actual notice of the adverse claim.
Does the exemption last forever, even after the occupant learns of the competing claim?
No. It covers only rents, profits, or damages accrued before the occupant receives actual notice of the adverse claim.
What kind of possession must the occupant have obtained to qualify?
Peaceable possession of the land.
How is notice of the adverse claim given under this Article?
6-141 sets out the specific ways notice of an adverse claim or title may be given.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 82-280.)
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Compiled Statutes, published by the
Illinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois General Assembly / Legislative Reference Bureau. Last verified July 20, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: good faith possessor exempt from rents illinoisrecord title defense to mesne profitswhen mesne profits not recoverable illinoispeaceable possession before notice of adverse claim