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Illinois room rental agreement
Written for Illinois law, checked October 1, 2026 General information, not legal advice
Rentari offers a general room-rental agreement form, but it is not tailored to Illinois or every local rule. Review the room, shared spaces, occupancy requirements, and applicable Illinois and city rules before using a form. The state table below covers selected deposit and entry rules, not every room-rental requirement.
Illinois rules that apply
- Security deposit limit
- None for homes
- no statewide cap for apartments and houses; a mobile home park of 5 or more homes may take no more than one month's rent
- 765 ILCS 710765 ILCS 715765 ILCS 705765 ILCS 745/12
- Entry notice
- No state rule
- no statewide statute sets one; Chicago has its own rule
- 765 ILCS 705735 ILCS 5, Article IX
Security deposit limit
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
More detail (5)
- 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
The Rentari Illinois lease states the deposit amount and says Illinois has no statewide cap on it.
Landlord entry
Not set by statuteNone 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
More detail (2)
- 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 lease says no statewide statute sets an entry notice and, as a lease term, promises at least 24 hours' written notice (or the number of hours you choose) before non-emergency entry, and 2 days for a Chicago unit.