Illinois Landlord-Tenant Law Guide (2026)

Last reviewed: October 2026

⚠️ Important Legal Disclaimer

This guide is general information about Illinois state landlord-tenant law, not legal advice. Chicago, Evanston, Cook County and other localities have their own ordinances that can be stricter. Always consult a qualified Illinois real estate attorney about your specific situation.

Illinois does not cap security deposits, but to keep any part of one for damage you must send an itemized statement with receipts within 30 days of move-out. If you send nothing, the full deposit is due within 45 days. Properties with 25 or more units must also pay interest. Evictions start with a 5-day notice for unpaid rent or a 10-day notice for other lease breaches, and only a court can order a tenant out.

Illinois law is spread across several acts: the Security Deposit Return Act, the Security Deposit Interest Act, the Landlord and Tenant Act, the Landlord Retaliation Act, the Eviction Act (Article IX of the Code of Civil Procedure) and the Illinois Human Rights Act. This guide summarizes each and links to the official text on the Illinois General Assembly website.

If your rental is in Chicago

Chicago’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO) adds its own rules on security deposits and interest, landlord access, habitability, remedies and retaliation. According to the city, it covers most Chicago rentals except owner-occupied buildings of six units or fewer and certain hotels, dormitories, shelters and co-ops, and you must attach the city’s RLTO summary to every written lease and renewal. This guide does not detail the RLTO. The city also announced proposed RLTO changes in 2026, so read the current ordinance on the city’s page before relying on any Chicago rule.

1. Lease requirements and disclosures

Illinois leases can be written or oral; Part 2 of the Eviction Act treats both as leases (735 ILCS 5/9-214). A written lease protects both sides, and several state disclosures only work in writing:

Flood disclosure. Before the lease is signed, you must disclose in writing if the property is in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area (100-year floodplain) and, if you actually know of it, any flooding of the property or its parking areas and how often. For garden, basement and first-floor units, you must also disclose flooding in the last 10 years. The disclosure goes in the lease or renewal and both parties sign it (765 ILCS 705/25).
Radon. The Illinois Radon Awareness Act requires landlords to give tenants the state’s “Radon Guide for Tenants” pamphlet, the radon disclosure form, and any records showing a radon hazard in the unit, on the schedule set out in Section 26. Tenants have 90 days from the start of the lease to test. If the result exceeds the state action level and you choose not to mitigate, the tenant may end the lease (420 ILCS 46/26). Units on the third story or higher are excluded (46/20).
Lead-based paint (federal). For housing built before 1978, provide the federal lead disclosure form and EPA pamphlet before the lease is signed (EPA guidance).

Terms Illinois limits or voids

Liability waivers: a residential lease clause excusing you from liability for your own negligence is void (765 ILCS 705/1).
Electronic payment: for leases signed after the law took effect on January 1, 2024, you cannot require rent to be paid by electronic funds transfer (705/4). If you use a payment portal that charges tenants a fee, you must offer a fee-free way to pay, such as a paper check (705/3.5, for leases signed after January 1, 2025).
On-site offices: properties with 100 or more units and an on-site office with regular hours must accept rent there without a fee (735 ILCS 5/9-218).
Jury trial: in residential evictions either party may demand a jury, whatever the lease says (735 ILCS 5/9-108).
Rekeying (Cook County only): in counties with more than 3,000,000 people, you must change or rekey the unit lock between tenants, with exceptions for small owner-occupied buildings (705/15).

Coming in 2027: for leases signed after it takes effect on January 1, 2027, a new Section 35 of the Landlord and Tenant Act requires all non-optional fees to appear on the first page of the lease, and bans a list of “junk fees”, such as charges for renewals, maintenance calls and move-in or move-out walk-throughs. It does not apply to owner-occupied buildings of six units or fewer (765 ILCS 705/35, P.A. 104-479). Start our lease agreement template early and have an Illinois attorney review it.

2. Security deposits

Illinois statutes set no maximum deposit. The Security Deposit Return Act (765 ILCS 710/1) controls how you return it:

30-day itemized statement: to keep any part of the deposit for damage, you must provide an itemized statement of the damage and the estimated or actual cost of each repair, with paid receipts or copies. Deliver it within 30 days of the date the tenant vacated or their right of possession ended, whichever is later, in person, by postmarked mail to the last known address, or by email to a verified address the tenant gave you.
Estimates: if you list estimated costs, you must send the paid receipts within 30 days of sending the statement. If you do the work yourself, you can include the reasonable cost of your own labor.
45-day full return: if you do not send the statement and receipts as required, you must return the entire deposit within 45 days of the date the tenant vacated.
Lease-specified costs: if the written lease sets a cost for cleaning, repairing or replacing a specific component, you may withhold that amount for damage beyond normal wear and tear, with a reference to the lease and a copy of that part of it.
Penalty: if a court finds you refused to provide the statement, or provided it in bad faith, and failed to return the deposit on time, you owe twice the deposit plus court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees (710/1(c)).

Worked example: the 30/45-day timeline (hypothetical)

A tenant with a $2,000 deposit hands back the keys on March 31. You find $350 of damage beyond normal wear and tear.

Deadline for the itemized statement with receipts: 30 days after March 31 = April 30. Refund owed: $2,000 − $350 = $1,650.
If you send no statement, the full $2,000 is due 45 days after March 31 = May 15.
If a court finds bad faith and late return, your exposure is 2 × $2,000 = $4,000, plus the tenant’s attorney’s fees and costs. That is far more than the $350 you meant to keep.

Interest for 25+ unit properties

Under the Security Deposit Interest Act (765 ILCS 715), a landlord of residential property with 25 or more units, in one building or a complex on contiguous parcels, must pay interest on any deposit held more than six months. The rate is what the largest commercial bank with its main office in Illinois paid on minimum-deposit passbook savings accounts on December 31 of the year before the lease began. Within 30 days after each 12-month rental period, pay any interest that has reached $5 or more, in cash or as a rent credit, unless the tenant is in default. Pay all remaining interest, whatever the amount, when the tenancy ends. A willful failure to pay makes you liable for an amount equal to the deposit, plus costs and attorney’s fees. Public housing is excluded.

Worked example: interest below the $5 threshold (hypothetical rate)

In a 40-unit complex, a tenant pays a $1,500 deposit. Suppose the benchmark passbook rate for the relevant year was 0.10%. A year’s interest is $1,500 × 0.10% = $1.50. That is under $5, so nothing is due at the 12-month mark. It accrues, and after three years the $4.50 total must be paid when the tenant moves out. At a hypothetical 0.40%, interest would be $6.00 a year and payable within 30 days of each anniversary. Look up the actual benchmark rate each year. Use our security deposit calculator to model it.

3. Application fees, screening and late fees

Application and screening fees. Since January 1, 2025, if a prospective tenant gives you a qualifying reusable tenant screening report, you may not charge them an application screening fee or a fee to access the report. A qualifying report was prepared by a consumer reporting agency within the previous 30 days, is available to you at no cost, and includes the criteria you consistently use (765 ILCS 705/30). From January 1, 2027, Section 35 also caps application fees, including background checks, at $50, unless a third-party check actually costs more and you follow the receipt-and-billing rules in the statute. Owner-occupied buildings of six units or fewer are exempt from Section 35.

Late fees. The Illinois statutes reviewed for this guide do not set a statewide dollar or percentage cap on late fees for private rentals. That does not mean any fee is safe: put any late fee in writing in the lease, keep it a reasonable reflection of your actual costs, and check local ordinances, including Chicago’s RLTO, before setting one.

Screen with consistent, written criteria applied to every applicant. Illinois protects source of income and arrest records (see fair housing below), so blanket bans on voucher holders or on anyone with an arrest are unlawful. Our tenant screening checklist can help structure the process.

4. Rent increases and ending tenancies

No rent control. The Rent Control Preemption Act (50 ILCS 825) bars every unit of local government, including home rule cities such as Chicago, from controlling the amount of rent for private residential property. Illinois has no statewide cap on increases.

Notice depends on the tenancy. Illinois has no separate statutory notice period specifically for rent increases. During a fixed-term lease, rent can change only as the lease allows. At the end of a fixed term the lease simply expires and no notice to quit is needed (735 ILCS 5/9-213), so you can offer renewal at a new rent. For periodic tenancies, you change terms by giving the notice needed to end the tenancy:

Tenancy type	Written notice to terminate	Statute
Week-to-week	7 days	735 ILCS 5/9-207(a)
Month-to-month (any term under a year)	30 days	735 ILCS 5/9-207(b)
Year-to-year	60 days before the end of the year	735 ILCS 5/9-205

Worked example: raising a month-to-month rent

A month-to-month tenant pays $1,400 and you want $1,500 from July 1, a 7.1% increase ($100 ÷ $1,400). Give written notice at least 30 days ahead, so before June 1 with some margin for service, ending the current tenancy on June 30 and offering a new month-to-month term at $1,500 from July 1. Annual difference: $100 × 12 = $1,200. Check Chicago or local rules, which may require more notice, and remember that an increase timed right after a repair complaint can look retaliatory. See our rent increase templates.

5. Landlord entry

Illinois has no general statewide statute setting a notice period for landlord entry into private rentals. Outside Chicago, your entry rights generally come from the lease, so include a clear access clause covering reasonable notice, reasonable hours and emergencies. Chicago’s RLTO has its own access rules. Read them on the city’s RLTO page if your property is in Chicago.

6. The warranty of habitability

Illinois recognizes an implied warranty of habitability in residential leases through case law rather than a single statute. The Illinois Supreme Court adopted it in Jack Spring, Inc. v. Little, 50 Ill. 2d 351 (1972), and tenants can raise a breach as a defense in an eviction for unpaid rent. Local building and housing codes set the practical standards. Separately, residential properties limited to tenants aged 55 or older must meet the heating and cooling standards in 765 ILCS 705/20. Keep repair requests and completion dates in writing; our maintenance checklist helps.

7. Retaliation

The Landlord Retaliation Act (765 ILCS 721), effective January 1, 2025, replaced the older Retaliatory Eviction Act. You may not knowingly terminate a tenancy, raise rent, reduce services, sue or threaten to sue for possession, or refuse to renew because a tenant in good faith complained to a government agency, official or community organization about code violations, asked you for repairs required by code or the lease, joined a tenants’ union, testified about the premises, or exercised any legal right. If the action comes within one year after protected activity, retaliation is presumed (721/20). Remedies include a defense to eviction, termination of the lease with return of the deposit and prepaid rent, and the greater of two months’ rent or twice the tenant’s damages, plus attorney’s fees (721/10). Your defense is to prove a legitimate, non-retaliatory reason, or that you started the action before the tenant’s protected activity (721/15).

8. Illegal lockouts and self-help

The legal route to recover possession is an eviction action under Article IX of the Code of Civil Procedure, enforced by the sheriff under a court order. Section 9-101 provides that no one may enter property except where entry is allowed by law, and then only peaceably, not with force (735 ILCS 5/9-101). Changing locks, removing doors or belongings, or shutting off utilities to force a tenant out, without a court order, exposes you to legal liability, and local ordinances such as Chicago’s RLTO add their own rules. Never use self-help, even on a tenant who has stopped paying.

9. Notices and the eviction process

Illinois evictions follow the Eviction Act, 735 ILCS 5/9. Typical steps:

Serve the right notice. Unpaid rent: a written demand giving at least 5 days after service to pay (9-209). Include the statutory sentence: “Only FULL PAYMENT of the rent demanded in this notice will waive the landlord’s right to terminate the lease under this notice, unless the landlord agrees in writing to continue the lease in exchange for receiving partial payment.” Other lease breaches: a 10-day notice to quit (9-210). Ending a periodic tenancy: the 7, 30 or 60-day notices above. Fixed term expired: no notice needed (9-213).
Serve it properly. Deliver it to the tenant, leave it with someone aged 13 or older living at the premises, or send it by certified or registered mail with a return receipt. If no one is in possession, post it on the premises (9-211). Keep an affidavit of service.
File the complaint. File in the circuit court of the county where the property is located. A claim for unpaid rent can be joined (9-106, 9-209). Do not name minors as defendants; a complaint naming a minor is dismissed as to all defendants (9-106(b)–(c)).
Hearing. Either side may demand a jury (9-108). Tenants may raise defenses such as habitability, retaliation, protections for victims of domestic or sexual violence (9-106.2), or that the demand is based on immigration status (9-106.3).
Eviction order and enforcement. If you win, the court enters an eviction order on the statewide standardized form (9-109.6). Only the sheriff can enforce it, and it cannot be enforced more than 120 days after entry unless the court extends it (9-117).

A landlord must also take reasonable measures to mitigate damages when a tenant defaults, for example by trying to re-rent (9-213.1). A tenant who willfully holds over after the term ends and after a written demand for possession can owe double the yearly rental value for the holdover period (9-202). To weigh the cost of a case against a negotiated move-out, use our eviction cost calculator.

10. Fair housing, including Illinois’s added protected classes

The federal Fair Housing Act covers race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status and disability. The Illinois Human Rights Act, 775 ILCS 5/3-102, also prohibits housing discrimination based on ancestry, age (40 and over), marital status, order of protection status, military status, unfavorable military discharge, sexual orientation (which the Act defines to include gender-related identity), pregnancy, reproductive health decisions, immigration status, source of income, and arrest record (definitions in 775 ILCS 5/1-103). Source of income means the lawful manner by which a person supports themselves and their dependents, which covers housing vouchers. Arrest record covers arrests not leading to conviction, juvenile records, and records ordered expunged or sealed.

There is a limited exemption for renting a unit in a building of no more than four units where the owner lives in one of them, and for renting rooms in an owner-occupied private home. Neither exemption allows discriminatory advertising (3-106). Complaints go to the Illinois Department of Human Rights. See our fair housing cheat sheet.

11. Selling a tenant-occupied rental in Illinois

A sale does not end a lease. The buyer steps into your shoes: a grantee of leased property gets the landlord’s remedies under the lease (735 ILCS 5/9-215), and the tenant has the same remedies against the buyer that they had against you (9-216). Fixed-term leases continue to their end date unless the lease says otherwise.

Deposit liability follows the property: on a sale or other transfer of residential property (other than to a lienholder), the buyer becomes liable to the tenant for any security deposit, including statutory interest, and any prepaid rent. You, as seller, remain jointly and severally liable with the buyer (765 ILCS 710/1.1). Transferring the money does not, by statute, release you, so document the transfer and the buyer’s written assumption of the deposits.
Foreclosure transfers follow a separate rule in 710/1.2, including a 21-day posted notice by the new holder.
Interest: in 25+ unit properties, make sure accrued interest under 765 ILCS 715 is either paid to tenants or credited to the buyer.

Worked example: deposit proration at closing (hypothetical)

You sell a four-unit building with deposits of $1,200, $1,200, $1,350 and $1,500, totaling $5,250, plus $1,400 of rent one tenant prepaid for the month after closing. The buyer should receive a credit of $5,250 + $1,400 = $6,650 at closing. Because you stay jointly liable under 710/1.1, keep the settlement statement and send each tenant a letter naming the buyer as the new deposit holder.

Buyers will ask for leases, a rent roll and deposit records, and often for tenant estoppel letters. Before deciding to sell, compare holding against selling with our keep-or-sell rental property calculator, which accounts for sale costs and taxes. If you might reinvest, see the 1031 exchange calculator.

12. Common mistakes Illinois landlords make

Sending a deposit statement without paid receipts or copies, or missing the 30-day window.
Assuming the deposit rules only apply to larger buildings. The Return Act’s 30/45-day rules contain no unit-count threshold.
Forgetting interest in a 25+ unit complex, or not paying the balance at move-out.
Leaving out the “only FULL PAYMENT” sentence in a 5-day notice, then accepting a partial payment.
Rejecting voucher holders or applicants with arrests but no convictions.
Raising rent or declining renewal right after a repair complaint without a documented, legitimate reason.
Leaving out the flood and radon disclosures, or the RLTO summary in Chicago.
Treating the deposit as the buyer’s problem after a sale, when the seller stays jointly liable.

13. Illinois landlord checklist

Check whether your property is in Chicago or another city with its own landlord-tenant ordinance.
Use a written lease with flood, radon (if applicable) and pre-1978 lead disclosures. In Chicago, attach the RLTO summary.
Do not require electronic rent payment, and offer a fee-free option if your portal charges fees.
Accept qualifying reusable screening reports without a fee, and prepare for the $50 application-fee cap from 2027.
Apply written screening criteria that respect source-of-income and arrest-record protections.
Document move-in condition with photos; our inspection checklist helps.
Diary 30-day (statement) and 45-day (full return) deposit deadlines from move-out.
For 25+ units, track the annual interest rate and pay interest within 30 days of each lease anniversary when it is $5 or more.
Use the statutory language in 5-day notices and keep proof of service.
Never lock out a tenant or cut utilities. Use the court and the sheriff.
On a sale, credit deposits, interest and prepaid rent to the buyer and keep records, since you remain jointly liable.

New to owning rentals? Start with the first-time landlord playbook.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a limit on security deposits in Illinois?

State law does not set a maximum. Neither the Security Deposit Return Act (765 ILCS 710) nor the Security Deposit Interest Act (765 ILCS 715) caps the amount. Local ordinances, including Chicago’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, can add their own rules, so check your city.

How long does an Illinois landlord have to return a security deposit?

To keep any of the deposit for damage, you must give the tenant an itemized statement of the damage and repair costs, with paid receipts or copies, within 30 days after the tenant vacates or their right of possession ends, whichever is later (765 ILCS 710/1). If you do not send that statement, you must return the full deposit within 45 days of move-out.

Do Illinois landlords have to pay interest on security deposits?

Under state law, only if the property has 25 or more units in one building or a complex on contiguous parcels, and the deposit is held more than six months (765 ILCS 715/1). The rate is the minimum passbook savings rate paid on December 31 of the year before the lease started by the largest commercial bank with its main office in Illinois. Chicago and some other cities have separate interest rules.

What notice is required to evict for unpaid rent in Illinois?

A written demand giving the tenant at least 5 days after service to pay (735 ILCS 5/9-209). To avoid having a partial payment invalidate the notice, it must state that only full payment of the rent demanded will waive your right to terminate, unless you agree in writing to accept partial payment. If the tenant does not pay in full, you can file an eviction action.

Can I change the locks if an Illinois tenant stops paying rent?

You should not. The Eviction Act (735 ILCS 5/9) is the legal route to recover possession, and 9-101 prohibits entering with force. Lockouts, removing belongings or cutting utilities without a court order expose you to legal liability, and local ordinances such as Chicago’s RLTO add their own rules. Have the sheriff enforce a court eviction order instead.

Can Illinois landlords refuse tenants who use housing vouchers?

No. The Illinois Human Rights Act makes it a civil rights violation to discriminate in real estate transactions based on source of income, defined as the lawful manner by which a person supports themselves and their dependents (775 ILCS 5/1-103 and 5/3-102). Immigration status and arrest records are also protected in housing.

What happens to the security deposit when I sell an Illinois rental?

The buyer becomes liable to the tenant for the deposit, including any statutory interest, and you remain jointly and severally liable with the buyer (765 ILCS 710/1.1). In practice, transfer the deposits to the buyer at closing and tell tenants in writing who now holds them. The lease itself survives the sale.

Can an Illinois city impose rent control?

No. The Rent Control Preemption Act (50 ILCS 825) bars local governments, including home rule units such as Chicago, from enacting or enforcing ordinances that control the amount of rent charged for private residential property.

Related resources

Primary sources: Illinois Compiled Statutes on ilga.gov (765 ILCS 705, 710, 715 and 721; 735 ILCS 5/Art. IX; 775 ILCS 5; 420 ILCS 46; 50 ILCS 825) and the City of Chicago Department of Housing RLTO page. Last reviewed: October 2026.

Illinois Landlord-Tenant Law Guide