Illinois security deposit law

Illinois does not cap the amount of a security deposit for apartments and houses. None of the three acts that govern deposits and leases statewide (the Security Deposit Return Act, the Security Deposit Interest Act and the Landlord and Tenant Act) sets a maximum. A lease of a mobile home or lot in a mobile home park of 5 or more homes may not require more than one month's rent as a deposit.

765 ILCS 710 765 ILCS 715 765 ILCS 705 765 ILCS 745/12 765 ILCS 745/1

• When you sell or otherwise transfer the property, the new owner becomes liable to the tenant for the deposit, any statutory interest and any prepaid rent, and you remain jointly liable with the new owner. 765 ILCS 710/1.1
• A buyer at a foreclosure sale who takes over the deposits must post a notice on the main entrance of each unit within 21 days after receiving the deposits and the tenants' names and addresses, saying it now holds the tenant's deposit. 765 ILCS 710/1.2
• The Mobile Home Landlord and Tenant Rights Act covers any lease of a mobile home or mobile home lot in a park containing five or more mobile homes, and a lease term that conflicts with it cannot be enforced. 765 ILCS 745/1
• For a home covered by Cook County's RTLO, the deposit cannot exceed 1.5 months' rent. The tenant may elect to pay the portion above one month's rent in up to six equal installments within six months. The county also requires a receipt, a separate federally insured Illinois account and disclosure of the institution in the signed lease. Confirm local coverage before applying these rules. Cook County Code § 42-111(a)-(b), (d), (f), (h)-(i)
• Check Chicago coverage separately: section 5-12-020 excludes owner-occupied premises with six or fewer units and several other arrangements, with specified provisions still applying. An exclusion from the city chapter does not establish an exemption from statewide deposit law or every other housing rule. Chicago Code §§ 5-12-010–020

To keep any part of the deposit for damage, you must give the tenant an itemized statement of the damage and the estimated or actual cost of each repair, with paid receipts attached, within 30 days after the later of the day the tenant moved out or the day the tenant's right of possession ended. If you give no statement and receipts, you must return the whole deposit within 45 days after the tenant moved out.

765 ILCS 710/1(a)

• Deliver the statement in person, by postmarked mail to the tenant's last known address, or by email to a verified email address the tenant gave you. 765 ILCS 710/1(a)
• If the statement uses estimated costs, provide paid receipts or copies within 30 days after furnishing it. The statute specifies personal delivery or postmarked mail to the last known address or another address the tenant provided for this follow-up; its email option for the initial statement does not appear in this follow-up sentence. 765 ILCS 710/1(a)
• If you do the repair work yourself, you may include the reasonable cost of your own labor. 765 ILCS 710/1(a)
• If a written lease lists a specific cost for cleaning, repairing or replacing a component, you may withhold that amount for damage beyond normal wear and tear; the statement must reference the amount and include a copy of that part of the lease. 765 ILCS 710/1(a)
• If, through no fault of yours, you cannot produce receipts, give an itemized list of costs, any other evidence of the cost, and a verified statement explaining why you cannot produce the receipts. 765 ILCS 710/1(b)
• If the tenant gives you no mailing or email address, you are not liable for damages or penalties caused by the missing address. 765 ILCS 710/1(a)
• If a court finds you refused to give the statement, or gave it in bad faith, and did not return the deposit due on time, you owe twice the deposit due plus court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. 765 ILCS 710/1(c)
• Deadlines are counted by leaving out the first day and counting the last; if the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, the deadline moves to the next day that is not. 5 ILCS 70/1.11
• For a home covered by Cook County's RTLO, return the deposit within 30 days after move-out, subject to lawful deductions. Damage deductions require an itemized statement and paid receipts within 30 days; when estimated costs are used, provide the final receipts or qualifying employee-cost certification within 30 days after the statement. Ordinary wear is excluded; attorney's fees are not a deposit deduction. Cook County Code § 42-111(c)
• For Chicago rentals covered by the RLTO, the ordinary refund period is 45 days; qualifying termination under section 5-12-110(g) has a seven-day rule. Damage itemization is due within 30 days, with final receipt or employee-cost certification rules. Check subsection (f)'s remedies and deficient-interest cure. Preserve transfer records and apply the distinct notices in subsection (e), rather than treating every sale as the state's 21-day foreclosure case. Chicago Code § 5-12-080(d)–(f)
• Build a deduction file from dated move-in and move-out photographs, condition notes, the actual damage, repair evidence and the required statement. Painting or replacing an old item does not alone prove tenant-caused damage. Compare a disputed charge with those records before responding; preserve the lease, receipts, estimates, correspondence and delivery evidence. 765 ILCS 710/1

If the property has 25 or more units in one building or in a complex of buildings on contiguous parcels, you must pay interest on any deposit you hold for more than 6 months. The rate is the passbook savings rate paid by the largest commercial bank with its main office in Illinois as of December 31 of the year before the lease began.

765 ILCS 715/1

• Within 30 days after the end of each 12-month rental period, pay any interest that has built up to $5 or more, in cash or as a credit against rent, unless the tenant is in default under the lease. 765 ILCS 715/2
• When the tenancy ends, pay all unpaid interest, whatever the amount. 765 ILCS 715/2
• If a court finds you willfully failed or refused to pay the interest, you owe an amount equal to the deposit plus court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. 765 ILCS 715/2
• The interest rule does not apply to deposits for public housing. 765 ILCS 715/3
• Neither statewide deposit act requires you to keep the deposit in a separate account or in an Illinois bank. Chicago has its own rule. 765 ILCS 710 765 ILCS 715
• For covered Chicago rentals, hold deposits in a separate federally insured Illinois interest-bearing account. Disclose its name and address in the signed lease; specified account changes require notice. Give a signed receipt recording amount, receiver, date and unit; electronic transfers have their own receipt requirements. A combined rent/deposit payment has a five-business-day segregation condition. These local requirements need a separate coverage check. Chicago Code § 5-12-080(a)–(b) Chicago Code § 5-12-020
• Chicago's interest rule uses the city rate tied to the rental agreement, including the made-or-renewed timing in section 5-12-081. Confirm the applicable announcement and agreement year; a prior year's state rate notice does not establish the current city rate. Chicago Code § 5-12-080(c) Chicago Code § 5-12-081

None of the Illinois acts read for this page requires a move-in inspection or a move-in condition report.

765 ILCS 705 765 ILCS 710

• For leases signed after January 1, 2027, you may not charge a fee for an in-person walk-through of the unit at move-in or move-out, unless the unit is in an owner-occupied building of 6 or fewer units. 765 ILCS 705/35(c)(11) 765 ILCS 705/35(e)
• A written record of the unit's condition helps when you later itemize deposit deductions for damage, and any cleaning or repair cost your lease specifies must be for damage beyond normal wear and tear. 765 ILCS 710/1(a)