Unmarried NIU students and DeKalb residents wanting to live together in apartments next fall might not be able to because of an Elgin ruling.

A panel of appellate court judges ruled Thursday that landlords do not have to rent to unmarried couples wanting to live together.

The decision stemmed from the cases of two unmarried couples prohibited from renting by Wheaton landlords.

The two couples filed suit against the landlords claiming they were discriminated against under the Illinois Human Rights Act, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The ruling affects counties in the 2nd District Appellate Court which includes counties north of Interstate 80, including DeKalb, but not Cook County. The decision probably will be appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.

DuPage Judge John Teschner ordered the landlords to continue renting to unmarried couples until the case was decided, the Tribune stated.

However, the order was appealed last month. The state appeals court reversed Teschner’s order, saying that the Human Rights Act does not protect the couples. The act protects individuals against discrimination based on race, color or ancestry.

The decision, however, will not influence DeKalb landlords’ actions. “Unmarried tenants are as responsible as married tenants. It’s the way things are now,” said Jim Mason, owner of Colonial Townhouses and Old Orchard Place Apartments on West Lincoln Highway.

“As long as they keep the noise down, pay the rent on time and keep it clean, I have no problems with what the tenants do,” said Bernard Elsner from Elsner Realty, 100 W. Lincoln Hwy. Elsner runs Ellwood View Apartments at 102 Augusta Ave.

“The ruling is stupid because it is a violation of privacy. It shouldn’t matter to landlords whether people are living together, as long as they are good tenants,” said NIU junior Patty Wagner, 431 Russell Road, Apt. 8.

NIU student Trisha Olle, 820 N. Annie Glidden Road, Apt. 605, said, “A lot of people decide not to get married these days, and they should not be excluded from certain places.”