Illinois residential lease agreement

Illinois does not yet cap application fees, but you may not charge an application screening fee to an applicant who gives you a qualifying reusable tenant screening report. For leases signed after January 1, 2027, an application fee, including background checks, is capped at $50.

765 ILCS 705/30 765 ILCS 705/35(c)(1)

• A reusable report qualifies if a consumer reporting agency prepared it in the last 30 days at the applicant's request and expense, it states the date its information is current through and includes the applicant's name, contact information, income verification, last known address and eviction history check, it reaches you directly or through a qualifying third-party website at no cost, and it covers all the criteria you consistently use to screen applicants. 765 ILCS 705/30(b)(1) 765 ILCS 705/30(a)
• You may ask the applicant to state that nothing in the reusable report has materially changed, and you may still process an application as long as you charge no screening fee. 765 ILCS 705/30(b)(2) 765 ILCS 705/30(d)
• A local rule that gives applicants more protection than the reusable report rule applies instead. 765 ILCS 705/30(c)
• From 2027, you may charge more than $50 only for a third-party background check that actually costs more, that you paid for up front, and that you bill to the applicant with receipts within 14 days; otherwise the charge is waived. It can never be the basis for an eviction in the first year of the lease. 765 ILCS 705/35(c)(1)
• From 2027, you also may not charge an extra fee at application that duplicates screening costs or covers costs unrelated to screening. 765 ILCS 705/35(c)(2)
• The 2027 limits do not apply to owner-occupied buildings of 6 or fewer units. 765 ILCS 705/35(e)

The Illinois Human Rights Act bars discrimination in renting because of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, marital status, order of protection status, disability, military status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, reproductive health decisions, unfavorable military discharge, familial status, immigration status, source of income or arrest record.

775 ILCS 5/3-102 775 ILCS 5/1-103

• Source of income means the lawful manner by which a person supports themselves and their dependents. 775 ILCS 5/1-103
• The rental rules do not apply to an owner-occupied building of 4 or fewer units or to renting rooms in the owner's home, but the ban on discriminatory ads and statements still does. 775 ILCS 5/3-106
• Screening criteria that have a discriminatory effect are unlawful unless they are necessary to achieve a substantial, legitimate, non-discriminatory interest. 775 ILCS 5/3-102
• You may not tell a prospective landlord that a tenant used Safe Homes Act rights, or share information the tenant gave you to use them; doing so can cost up to $2,000 in damages. 765 ILCS 750/27 765 ILCS 750/29
• Cook County's Just Housing guidance requires applicants to be evaluated against noncriminal criteria before a criminal check. Arrests without convictions cannot support denial. Covered convictions within three years require an individual assessment of demonstrable safety or property risk; current sex-offender registration and child-sex-offender residency restrictions have separate exceptions. The county does not require a criminal check, and the RTLO's small-owner exclusions should not be treated as a Just Housing exemption. Cook County Just Housing: landlord guidance
• The county guidance calls for criteria and dispute-right disclosures before application fees, delivery of the background report within five business days, five business days for the applicant to dispute it, and three business days after dispute information to decide. A conviction-based denial needs a written risk explanation; review the county rules and their exceptions before using this procedure. Cook County Just Housing: dispute and notice guidance
• The state definition of an arrest record includes an arrest without a conviction, a juvenile record, and criminal history information ordered expunged, sealed or impounded under Section 5.2 of the Criminal Identification Act. The housing provisions protect against discrimination based on that defined record, including in application questions and rental terms. Section 3-106 preserves an inquiry or use otherwise authorized by state or federal law. Check coverage and what a screening entry actually represents before using it; a broad criminal-history label does not establish that the information may lawfully be considered. 775 ILCS 5/1-103(B-5) 775 ILCS 5/3-102 775 ILCS 5/3-106(K)

Since January 1, 2026, every written residential lease, new or renewal, must have the state's summary of housing rights for survivors of domestic and sexual violence attached as its first page, with each tenant signing the acknowledgment at the bottom of each page. Other disclosures depend on the property.

765 ILCS 752/20

• The Illinois Department of Human Rights prepares the summary. If you do not comply, you owe the tenant actual damages up to $2,000 or $100, whichever is greater, plus court costs and attorney's fees; missing tenant signatures create a presumption that you did not comply. 765 ILCS 752/15(a) 765 ILCS 752/25 765 ILCS 752/30
• Before the lease is signed, disclose in writing whether the property is in a FEMA flood hazard area and any flooding you know of. 765 ILCS 705/25 See Flood disclosure on the Illinois page
• For a unit below the third story, give the state's radon pamphlet for tenants, any records showing a radon hazard, and the radon disclosure form at application or before the lease is signed, or on request during the lease; the tenant then has 90 days to test. 420 ILCS 46/26(a) 420 ILCS 46/26(b) 420 ILCS 46/20
• A written lease must tell the tenant that using the home for a felony or Class A misdemeanor lets you void the lease. 735 ILCS 5/9-120(a)
• If the tenant will pay a utility account that also serves common areas or other units, before offering the lease you must give a written statement of what the meter serves, the last 12 months of bills (unless waived in writing) and any rent reduction offered, and you may not ask the tenant to collect from neighbors. 765 ILCS 735/1.2(a)
• If tenants pay a share of a master-metered utility, the lease or another writing must give the allocation formula, and you must show the utility bill on request. 765 ILCS 740/5
• For leases signed after January 1, 2027, all non-optional fees must be on the first page of the lease. 765 ILCS 705/35(b) See Rent and late fees on the Illinois page
• An owner of a building with more than 4 units who does not live or keep an office there must post the manager's and insurer's contact details, or put them in the lease. 735 ILCS 5/9-320 See Landlord and manager identity on the Illinois page

Before the lease is signed, you must tell the tenant in writing whether the property is in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area and, if you know it, whether the property or its parking has flooded and how often. For a garden, basement or first-floor unit, disclose any flooding in the last 10 years and how often. The disclosure goes in the lease and both parties sign it.

765 ILCS 705/25

• The disclosure must look substantially like the form in the statute. 765 ILCS 705/25(d)
• If you do not disclose a flood hazard area location, the tenant may end the lease within 30 days of learning of it, and you must refund prepaid rent and fees within 15 days. 765 ILCS 705/25(e)
• If you fail to disclose and a flood damages the tenant's property or the home, the tenant may end the lease within 30 days of the flood and sue for lost or damaged belongings. 765 ILCS 705/25(e)
• The rule does not apply to farm leases, concession leases or property of the Department of Natural Resources. 765 ILCS 705/25(e)

If you own a building with more than 4 units and neither you nor a manager lives or keeps an office there, you must post a notice of at least 20 square inches next to the mailboxes, or inside where all residents can see it, with the name, address and phone number of the person managing the building and of the company insuring it against fire, or say it is uninsured.

735 ILCS 5/9-320

• Instead of posting, you may put the notice in the written lease or mail it by first-class mail to each tenant. 735 ILCS 5/9-320(b)
• If the fire insurance is cancelled, post notice of the cancellation within 24 hours of learning of it. 735 ILCS 5/9-320(a)
• Failing to give a required notice is a petty offense with a fine of up to $100 a day. 735 ILCS 5/9-320(c)

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)

None of the Illinois acts read for this page caps a late fee or requires a grace period for apartments and houses; the amount and timing come from your lease. A lease in a mobile home park of 5 or more homes must give the tenant at least 5 days after the due date before a late fee. Chicago caps late fees by ordinance.

765 ILCS 705 735 ILCS 5, Article IX 765 ILCS 745/12 765 ILCS 745/1

• You may not require a tenant to pay rent or other amounts by electronic funds transfer, including automatic recurring transfers, under a lease signed after January 1, 2024. 765 ILCS 705/4
• If you collect rent through a third-party portal that charges a fee for e-checks or other methods, you must let the tenant pay by paper check or cash at your office, or another way that carries no fee (leases signed after January 1, 2025). 765 ILCS 705/3.5
• If a building or complex has 100 or more units and an on-site office with regular hours, you must accept rent there during those hours without any extra charge, though you may refuse cash. 735 ILCS 5/9-218
• For leases signed after January 1, 2027, every non-optional fee, one-time or recurring, must appear on the first page of the lease or the tenant does not owe it, and the lease or listing must say whether utilities are included in the rent. 765 ILCS 705/35(b)
• From 2027, you also may not charge fees for renewing or changing the lease, for an eviction notice or filing before the court orders eviction, for maintenance requests, after-hours or travel charges, routine upkeep, or pest removal the tenant did not cause. 765 ILCS 705/35(c)
• If you give a rent concession, such as free months or a rent credit, that the lease does not mention, the lease must carry the words Concession Granted across its face in letters at least one-half inch high, with a note of each concession. 765 ILCS 730/2 765 ILCS 730/3
• A lease of a mobile home or lot in a park of 5 or more homes may not charge a late fee without giving the tenant at least 5 days after the due date to pay, and may not require fees the lease does not list. 765 ILCS 745/12 765 ILCS 745/1
• For a home covered by Cook County's RTLO, a monthly late fee cannot exceed $10 on the first $1,000 of rent plus 5% of the amount above $1,000. A landlord may not apply a rent payment to another charge, and credit-check or move-in fees cannot exceed the reasonable cost of the expense. Cook County Code § 42-104(f)(9), (11)-(12)

A person who writes a check or draft that bounces because of insufficient funds or no account owes the holder $25 or the costs of collecting it, including reasonable attorney's fees, whichever is greater, plus interest. That is a rule for checks and drafts; none of the landlord and tenant acts read sets a separate returned-payment rule for rent.

810 ILCS 5/3-806

• To recover more than $25 in collection costs without a lawsuit, first send a written demand by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the writer's last known address, asking for payment within 30 days and stating that the writer will owe the costs. 810 ILCS 5/3-806

None of the Illinois acts read for this page sets a notice period for a rent increase on an apartment or house. During a fixed term the lease controls; a month-to-month tenancy can be ended with 30 days' written notice, which is how terms usually change. A mobile home park of 5 or more homes must give 90 days' notice of any rent increase. Cities and counties may not adopt rent control.

765 ILCS 705 735 ILCS 5, Article IX 765 ILCS 745/6 765 ILCS 745/1

• A local government may not enact or enforce any rule that controls the amount of rent charged for private residential property. 50 ILCS 825/5
• You may not raise the rent because a tenant made a good-faith complaint or exercised another protected right. 765 ILCS 721/5 See Retaliation on the Illinois page
• You may not raise rent to recover utility payments a tenant lawfully deducted after you failed to pay a utility bill you owed. 765 ILCS 735/4
• You may not switch a tenant from landlord-paid to tenant-paid utilities during a lease term unless you and the tenant sign a written lease amendment, and you must give each affected tenant at least 30 days' notice of the change, or for a tenant under a lease, at least 30 days before the lease ends. 765 ILCS 735/1.2(b)
• A mobile home park of 5 or more homes must give 90 days' notice of any rent increase, and the increase cannot take effect until 90 days after the notice. 765 ILCS 745/6 765 ILCS 745/1
• For Chicago tenancies governed by 5-12-130(j), give written notice of a rent increase, periodic termination or fixed-term nonrenewal at least 30 days before the stated termination date for a tenancy under six months, 60 days for six months to three years, and 120 days for more than three years. The owner-occupied, six-or-fewer-unit exclusion expressly preserves this notice provision. Check the other coverage exclusions, the listed breach/abandonment exceptions and any pilot rule before using a tier. Insufficient or defective notice can extend possession at the prior terms; do not assume a defective 30-day notice produces only a 30-day extension. Chicago Code 5-12-130(i)-(j) Chicago Code 5-12-020
• The Jackson Park pilot in 5-12-135 supersedes the ordinary notice tiers for qualifying leases within its defined area. It lists longer 90-, 120- and 180-day tiers and applies its lease-start and duration conditions. Check the street boundaries, effective date and lease history before selecting a deadline. The published text overlaps at exactly twelve months; obtain a current local interpretation rather than choosing the shorter tier automatically. This review did not verify the enacting ordinance's exact start-date mechanics. Chicago Code 5-12-135

None of the Illinois acts read for this page sets a notice period or rules for entering an occupied unit, so put your entry terms in the lease. Chicago's ordinance sets its own notice rule.

765 ILCS 705 735 ILCS 5, Article IX

• A tenant must give you access to fix a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm problem the tenant has reported to you in writing. 425 ILCS 60/3(d) 430 ILCS 135/10(c)
• For a home covered by Cook County's RTLO, give at least two days' written notice for permitted nonemergency entry. Entry between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., or another time the tenant expressly requests, is presumed reasonable. Emergency entry may proceed without consent, followed by written notice within two days; access may not be used to harass the tenant. Cook County Code § 42-108(b)

The Illinois acts read for this page do not set a general statewide standard for keeping a rental fit to live in; that duty comes mainly from court decisions and local housing codes, which were not read. The statutes read set these specific duties.

765 ILCS 705 765 ILCS 742

• A lease clause that excuses you from liability for injury or property damage caused by your own negligence, or your agents', in operating or maintaining the property is void. 765 ILCS 705/1
• In housing limited to people 55 or older that has a heating or cooling system serving the whole premises, cooling must run when the heat index is above 80 degrees from June 1 to September 30, and heat must reach 68 degrees from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. when it is below 55 outside and 62 degrees overnight from October 1 to May 31. Without building-wide cooling, you must provide one cooled common room if the building has an indoor common gathering space. 765 ILCS 705/20
• If you agreed to pay for water, gas or electricity, you must pay on time so service is not interrupted. 765 ILCS 735/1
• Tenants may make certain repairs and deduct the cost from rent. 765 ILCS 742/5 See Tenant repair remedies on the Illinois page

If a needed repair costs no more than $500 or half a month's rent, whichever is less, the tenant may send you written notice by registered or certified mail or another restricted delivery service. If you do not make the repair within 14 days, or sooner in an emergency, the tenant may have it done and deduct the cost from rent.

765 ILCS 742/5

• The notice goes to the address for you or your agent shown in the lease, or your last known address if none is listed. 765 ILCS 742/5
• An emergency is a condition that will cause irreparable harm to the unit or its fixtures if not fixed at once, or that poses an immediate threat to anyone's health or safety. 765 ILCS 742/5
• Before deducting, the tenant must give you a paid bill from a tradesman or supplier unrelated to the tenant; the deduction cannot exceed the limit or the usual price for the repair. 765 ILCS 742/5
• The tenant may not use the remedy for a condition the tenant, the tenant's family or a guest caused on purpose or through negligence. 765 ILCS 742/5
• The tenant must make sure the work is done properly and to code by a licensed and adequately insured tradesman, and is liable for damage that tradesman causes; a tenant who does not follow these rules loses the remedy. 765 ILCS 742/15
• The Act does not cover public housing, condominiums, housing cooperatives, owner-occupied buildings of 6 or fewer units, or mobile homes. 765 ILCS 742/10
• A tenant can defend an eviction or rent case with a deduction only if every requirement of the Act was met, and a home rule city may not reduce these rights. 765 ILCS 742/20 765 ILCS 742/30
• If you fail to pay a utility you agreed to pay, the tenant may pay it and deduct the amount from rent, or end the lease. 765 ILCS 735/1

In counties with more than 3,000,000 residents, you must change or rekey the lock to a unit after it is vacated and on or before the day the new tenant takes possession. Anywhere in Illinois, survivors of domestic or sexual violence can require a lock change.

765 ILCS 705/15 765 ILCS 750/20

• Changing or rekeying includes replacing the lock or cylinder, changing a combination or electronic code, or any other change so the old tenant's way in no longer works. 765 ILCS 705/15(b)
• If you skip it and a theft results, you are liable for the damages. The rule does not apply if the lease gives the tenant the right to rekey, or to owner-occupied buildings of 4 or fewer units or rooms in an owner-occupied home. 765 ILCS 705/15(c) 765 ILCS 705/15(d) 765 ILCS 705/15(e)
• On written notice from the tenants required by section 20, with its required evidence, change the locks or permit the tenant to do so within 48 hours. The Act has specific rules when a threatening person is a co-tenant, so do not require that person's signature when the qualifying exclusive-possession order permits the request without it. A charge may not exceed the customary reasonable lock-change price. 765 ILCS 750/20(a) 765 ILCS 750/20(b)
• If you do not act within 48 hours, the tenant may change the locks with a lock of similar or better quality and must try in good faith to give you a key within 48 hours. 765 ILCS 750/20(b)(2)
• For a written lease and a threat from someone who is not a lessee, section 20 accepts the listed medical, court, police or victim-services evidence. A threat from a lessee requires the qualifying plenary protection or civil no-contact order granting exclusive possession. For an oral lease, the statute likewise requires that qualifying exclusive-possession order; the threatening lessee's signature is not required when the order conditions are met. 765 ILCS 750/20
• A landlord who changes the locks must make a good-faith effort to provide the tenant a key as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours after the change. Section 25 provides lock-specific injunction and damages remedies, including consequences when a party fails to make the required effort to supply a key. Do not use the lock-change procedure as a reason to obstruct a qualifying request. 765 ILCS 750/20 765 ILCS 750/25

Every unit needs a working smoke detector within 15 feet of every sleeping room, and a carbon monoxide alarm within 15 feet of every sleeping room unless the building is exempt. You must supply and install them, make sure their batteries work when the tenant moves in, and give one tenant in each unit written information on testing and maintenance. A battery-only smoke detector that you newly install, or that is more than 10 years old or fails testing, must have a sealed, non-removable long-term battery unless it is wired into the building's power.

425 ILCS 60/3 430 ILCS 135/10

• A building is exempt from the carbon monoxide rule if it burns no fossil fuel for heat, ventilation or hot water, is not connected to a garage, and is not close enough to another carbon monoxide source for the local building commissioner to find a risk; a unit the commissioner finds is not at risk is also exempt. 430 ILCS 135/20
• A single-family home also needs a smoke detector on every story, including the basement, and a multi-unit building needs one at the top of each interior stairwell. 425 ILCS 60/3(b) 425 ILCS 60/3(c)
• The tenant tests and maintains the alarms in the unit, replaces batteries, tells you in writing about problems the tenant cannot fix, and lets you in to fix them. 425 ILCS 60/3(d) 430 ILCS 135/10(c)
• You must make reasonable efforts to test and maintain smoke detectors in common stairwells and hallways. 425 ILCS 60/3(d)
• Willfully failing to install or maintain a required carbon monoxide alarm is a misdemeanor, and tampering with or disabling one is a crime. 430 ILCS 135/15

You may not knowingly end a tenancy, raise rent, cut 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, asked for repairs, joined a tenants' union, testified about the property's condition, or used any legal right.

765 ILCS 721/5

• If the protected activity happened within one year before your action, the law presumes retaliation unless you rebut it; the presumption does not arise if the activity started after your action. 765 ILCS 721/20
• An action is not retaliatory if you prove a legitimate, non-retaliatory reason, or that you started it before the tenant's protected activity. 765 ILCS 721/15
• A tenant who proves retaliation has a defense to your case and may end the lease and get back the deposit, interest and prepaid rent, recover possession, and recover 2 months' rent or twice the damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees. 765 ILCS 721/10
• The Landlord Retaliation Act replaced the repealed Retaliatory Eviction Act on January 1, 2025. 765 ILCS 721/95

Among the statutes read, Illinois names no lockout penalty, but no one may take possession of property except where the law allows it, and then only peaceably; the eviction case is how a landlord recovers possession from a tenant who stays after the tenancy ends. You may not cause a tenant's utilities to be cut off. Court decisions on self-help were not read.

735 ILCS 5/9-101 735 ILCS 5/9-102 765 ILCS 735/1.4

• You may not cause water, gas, electric or sanitary service to be interrupted by not paying bills you are responsible for or by tampering with equipment. Short shutoffs are allowed for emergencies, or for repairs after 7 days' written notice to each affected tenant. 765 ILCS 735/1.4 765 ILCS 735/1.1
• A tenant whose service is cut off in violation of that rule gets a full rent abatement for the time without service plus consequential damages, and a court may add up to $300 per tenant (or $5,000 split among affected tenants, whichever is less) for bad-faith conduct. 765 ILCS 735/2.1
• Survivors of domestic or sexual violence may require a lock change; a landlord who changes locks must try in good faith to give the tenant a key within 48 hours. 765 ILCS 750/20(b) See Locks and rekeying on the Illinois page

You may end a month-to-month tenancy, or any periodic tenancy of less than a year other than week to week, with 30 days' written notice. A week-to-week tenancy needs 7 days' written notice, and a year-to-year tenancy needs 60 days' written notice before the end of the year.

735 ILCS 5/9-207 735 ILCS 5/9-205

• For a year-to-year tenancy, you may give the 60-day notice any time in the 4 months before the last 60 days of the year. 735 ILCS 5/9-205
• Once the tenancy has ended by notice, you need no further demand before filing an eviction case. 735 ILCS 5/9-208
• A lease for a fixed term ends on its end date with no notice needed. 735 ILCS 5/9-213
• A lender or buyer who takes control of a property in foreclosure must give a tenant with a bona fide lease at least 90 days' written notice. 735 ILCS 5/9-207.5
• For a home covered by Cook County's RTLO, a landlord must give at least 60 days' written notice to end a month-to-month tenancy or decline renewal. If that notice is missing, the tenant may remain for up to 120 days after proper written notice is given, under the previous month's terms. Cook County Code § 42-109(c)(2)

Illinois gives no general right to break a lease early. It does let servicemembers end a lease, gives survivors of domestic or sexual violence a defense to rent after they leave, and requires you to take reasonable steps to re-rent when a tenant leaves early.

765 ILCS 705/16 765 ILCS 750/15 735 ILCS 5/9-213.1

• Under the Illinois statute, a service member is an Illinois resident in a component of the U.S. Armed Forces or a state, district or territorial National Guard. A qualifying tenant who enters military service for more than 29 consecutive days after signing, or receives permanent-change-of-station or deployment orders of at least 90 days while serving, or a family member residing with that tenant, may terminate as section 16 provides. 765 ILCS 705/16
• The servicemember's termination takes effect 30 days after you receive the notice; with monthly rent, 30 days after the next rent due date. Return unearned prepaid rent and the deposit, less actual damages. Refusing to accept a valid termination is a civil rights violation. 765 ILCS 705/16(d) 765 ILCS 705/16(e)
• The Safe Homes Act provides a rent defense when a tenant leaves because the tenant or a household member faces a credible imminent threat of domestic or sexual violence at the premises. Written notice stating that reason must be given before or within three days after leaving, and the court must find the statutory facts by a preponderance of the evidence. The defense concerns rent after departure, not a general cancellation of every pre-existing obligation. 765 ILCS 750/15(a)
• The sexual-violence route covers the tenant or a household member when the incident occurs on property owned or controlled by the landlord and the tenant leaves because of it. Give written notice before or within three days after leaving, stating the reason and incident date, with medical, court or police evidence or a statement from a victim-services or rape-crisis employee. The incident must be within 60 days before notice, or notice must follow as soon as practicable when related circumstances prevent it. This defense does not excuse rent before the required notice and departure. 765 ILCS 750/15(b)
• These Safe Homes Act rights cannot be waived or changed in a lease. 765 ILCS 750/30
• A tenant may also end the lease under the flood disclosure rule, the radon rule or the utility payment rule when their conditions are met. 765 ILCS 705/25(e) 420 ILCS 46/26(b) 765 ILCS 735/1
• For the state military right, provide the orders calling the member to service for more than 29 consecutive days and any orders extending the service. Section 16 defines military service to include qualifying full-time training or duty ordered by the President, a governor or other appropriate military authority. Federal protections have separate coverage and requirements. 765 ILCS 705/16
• Do not tell a prospective landlord that the tenant or a household member exercised Safe Homes Act rights, or disclose information supplied for that purpose, except in proceedings under the Act, when required by law, or with the qualifying person's written consent. Providing evidence does not itself waive an existing third-party privilege. A disclosure violation can lead to actual damages up to $2,000 and a possible award of attorney fees and costs. 765 ILCS 750/27 765 ILCS 750/29
• The Safe Homes Act excludes public housing assisted under the federal Housing Act of 1937, including qualifying mixed-finance units, while excepting the tenant-based Housing Choice Voucher program from that exclusion. Identify the housing program before relying on this state Act; independent federal and program protections need separate review. 765 ILCS 750/35

Any time after rent is due, you may give the tenant a written demand saying the lease will end unless the rent is paid within a stated time of at least 5 days after the notice is served. If the tenant does not pay in full, you may treat the lease as ended and file an eviction case without further notice.

735 ILCS 5/9-209

• For partial payments not to cancel the notice, it must prominently state: "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." 735 ILCS 5/9-209
• Serve the notice by handing it to the tenant, leaving it with someone 13 or older who lives at or is in possession of the home, or sending it by certified or registered mail with a return receipt from the tenant. Post it on the premises only if no one is in possession. 735 ILCS 5/9-211
• Accepting past-due rent after you file the eviction case for the rent demanded does not cancel the case. 735 ILCS 5/9-209
• Count the days by leaving out the day of service and counting the last day; if the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, it moves to the next day that is not. 5 ILCS 70/1.11

When a tenant breaks another term of the lease, a written notice to quit of 10 days is enough to end the tenancy. The statute does not give the tenant a right to stop the notice by fixing the problem.

735 ILCS 5/9-210

• The notice may follow the statute's form: it names the default, describes the home, says you have elected to end the lease, and tells the tenant to leave within 10 days. You or your agent sign it. 735 ILCS 5/9-210
• Serve it the same ways as a rent demand. 735 ILCS 5/9-211 See Notice for unpaid rent on the Illinois page
• If a tenant or occupant uses or allows the home to be used for a felony or Class A misdemeanor, you may declare the lease void, give a written notice to vacate, and file for possession if the tenant has not left within 5 days after receiving it; a written lease must tell the tenant this right, though leaving it out does not waive it. 735 ILCS 5/9-120(a) 735 ILCS 5/9-120(d)
• If a tenant or occupant is charged with a Class X felony on the premises and a court finds probable cause at a preliminary hearing or a grand jury indicts, you may void the lease with a 5-day posted notice on the circuit clerk's form, but only if the parties signed a drug-free housing addendum. 765 ILCS 705/5
• For direct evidence of illegal drug activity, prohibited firearms or listed violent crimes on the premises, you may file a verified emergency eviction complaint without first serving a notice ending the tenancy, and the complaint and demand must be served at least 14 days before the hearing. 735 ILCS 5/9-118
• For a home covered by Cook County's RTLO, a material lease breach notice must identify the breach and allow at least ten days before termination, with a right to remedy the breach during that period. The notice is withdrawn if the landlord does not file within 30 days after notification of termination or the end of the next rental period, whichever is longer. Accepting rent with knowledge of the alleged breach can waive termination for it. Cook County Code § 42-109(b)(1), (c)(1)

To recover possession you file an eviction complaint in the circuit court for the county where the property is. The court enters an eviction order only if you prove your case by a preponderance of the evidence.

735 ILCS 5/9-106 735 ILCS 5/9-109.5

• In a residential case either side may demand a jury, even if the lease waives one. 735 ILCS 5/9-108
• You may not name a minor (under 18 and not emancipated) as a defendant; a complaint that does is dismissed against everyone and sealed, and a minor named willfully and wantonly can recover attorney's fees, actual damages and $1,000 in liquidated damages. 735 ILCS 5/9-106(b) 735 ILCS 5/9-106(c) 735 ILCS 5/9-106(d)
• A claim for unpaid rent may be joined with the eviction case. 735 ILCS 5/9-209
• The statewide eviction order form set by the Supreme Court must be used, and an eviction order cannot be enforced more than 120 days after it is entered unless the court extends it. 735 ILCS 5/9-109.6 735 ILCS 5/9-117
• It is a defense if the eviction is based solely on the tenant being a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence or stalking, or based solely or in part on the tenant's citizenship or immigration status, or, once the lease has begun and the tenant has moved in, on the tenant's failure to provide a social security number, credit report information or identification you accept. 735 ILCS 5/9-106.2 735 ILCS 5/9-106.3
• The court may seal an eviction file when the case lacked a basis in fact or law, and must seal certain foreclosure-related cases and cases dismissed for naming a minor. 735 ILCS 5/9-121
• You may not threaten to report a tenant's immigration status to harass the tenant or to push the tenant out, or file for possession based on that status. 765 ILCS 755/10(f)
• If an Illinois service member tenant in military service, or a family member living with the tenant, has given you orders for more than 29 consecutive days of service, the court may, and on the tenant's motion must, stay the eviction for 90 days (unless justice requires a different period) or adjust the rent obligation when the service materially affects the ability to pay; a violation is a civil rights violation. 735 ILCS 5/9-107.10
• The Illinois Courts forms page requires residential eviction summons to include the Court-Based Rental Assistance notice in both English and Spanish. Check the local court's instructions as well, because counties such as Cook and DuPage may require different or additional information. Use the current approved eviction complaint and summons forms. Illinois Courts: eviction forms and assistance
• The court lists different orders for a move-out settlement, a pay-and-stay settlement, dismissal after compliance and dismissal that may be reinstated if an agreement is broken. Choose the document that matches the actual agreement and understand its conditions. A conversation about settlement does not itself establish that the court case has been dismissed. Illinois Courts: eviction forms and assistance
• Rental assistance may be available through the statewide Court-Based Rental Assistance Program for people with an eviction case already in court. The court page also directs qualifying residents to legal-aid and mediation services, with separate resources for Cook County and the rest of Illinois. Check current eligibility and deadlines while continuing to follow court instructions. Illinois Courts: eviction forms and assistance

None of the Illinois acts read for this page sets a procedure, notice or storage period for belongings a tenant leaves behind. The only abandonment section in the Eviction Article concerns crops on the land. Get legal advice before disposing of a tenant's belongings.

735 ILCS 5, Article IX 765 ILCS 705

• When a tenant abandons the premises, the landlord may seize and harvest crops grown there to pay the rent; that section says nothing about furniture or other belongings. 735 ILCS 5/9-318

Illinois small claims cases are defined by Illinois Supreme Court Rule 281, which the courts publish only as a PDF. It was not read for this page, so no dollar limit is stated here; check the rule or the circuit court clerk.

Ill. S. Ct. Rules, Article II (Rule 281 listing)

• Deposit claims can be large: a court can award twice the deposit due, plus costs and attorney's fees, when a landlord refused to give the itemized statement or gave it in bad faith. 765 ILCS 710/1(c)

An unauthorized occupancy dispute and a claim to ownership by adverse possession are different questions. Illinois section 13-101 generally sets a 20-year limit for an action to recover land, subject to statutory exceptions; merely staying in a home does not establish all the requirements for ownership. Check any lease, permission, title documents and the actual history before choosing a removal procedure.

Illinois General Assembly: selected land-recovery limitation provisions

• Section 13-109 describes a narrower seven-year route requiring actual possession under claim and color of title made in good faith, plus payment of all legally assessed taxes for those successive years. Other title-based provisions have different conditions. These are not general waiting periods after which any unauthorized resident automatically becomes the owner. A disputed title claim needs individual legal review. Illinois General Assembly: selected land-recovery limitation provisions
• Do not assume an unpaid tenant, former tenant or permitted guest is a trespasser. Identify how possession began and which notice, court process and service rules apply. Do not reuse a generic five-day notice for every occupant. Use the eviction guidance on this page for tenant disputes and get legal help when status or title is disputed. 735 ILCS 5/9-106 735 ILCS 5/9-101
• For a genuinely vacant property, keep dated inspection and maintenance records, ownership documents, written permissions and reports of unauthorized entry. Maintain working doors and windows and arrange regular checks. Report suspected crimes or immediate danger to the appropriate authorities; do not turn preventive security measures into a lockout of someone with disputed occupancy rights. 735 ILCS 5/9-101

Illinois bars cities and counties from enacting or enforcing rent control. Local governments may still adopt other landlord and tenant rules, and Chicago and Cook County have their own ordinances.

50 ILCS 825/5

• A home rule city or county may not regulate leases in a way that reduces a tenant's repair-and-deduct rights. 765 ILCS 742/30
• A local rule that gives applicants more protection than the state reusable screening report rule applies instead of it. 765 ILCS 705/30(c)
• From 2027, local rules on tenant fees must restrict fees at least as much as the state rule does. 765 ILCS 705/35(d)
• The Rent Control Preemption Act preserves a local government's right to manage and control residential property in which it has a property interest. Its restriction on private-property rent control does not establish the rules for every assisted or publicly owned home. Review the actual property and program requirements separately. 50 ILCS 825/5(b)