Illinois Landlord-Tenant Laws
Security deposits, eviction, landlord entry, rent increases, habitability and more – the full Illinois framework in one place, with links to every detailed guide.
Illinois landlord-tenant law is a blend of state statutes and unusually strong local ordinances. The state code sets the baseline: deposits under 765 ILCS 710, eviction and lease termination under 735 ILCS 5/9, the right to repair under 765 ILCS 742, and rent increases under 765 ILCS 705. On top of that, Chicago’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO) and suburban Cook County add protections that override weaker lease terms. This overview ties those pieces together and points you to a detailed Illinois guide for each one.
Whether you own a two-flat in Peoria or manage a downtown Chicago high-rise, the pattern is the same across Illinois law: written notice, a legitimate reason, statutory timelines, and no self-help shortcuts. If you are setting up a new tenancy, our guide to how to screen tenants step by step pairs well with the rules below.
Video: a plain-language walkthrough of Illinois landlord-tenant rules – deposits, eviction, entry, and rent increases.
Key Takeaways: Illinois Landlord-Tenant Laws
- Deposits are clock-driven. No statewide cap, but the deposit must be returned within thirty to forty-five days with an itemized statement, and wrongful withholding runs to two times the deposit plus attorney fees (765 ILCS 710).
- Eviction is court-only. A five-day notice to pay or quit precedes a forcible entry and detainer action in the Circuit Court (735 ILCS 5/9) – self-help lockouts are illegal.
- Entry has no state statute. Reasonable notice statewide, customarily twenty-four to forty-eight hours, with a firm two-day rule in Chicago and suburban Cook County.
- Rent is uncapped statewide. No statewide rent-increase cap and rent control preempted since 1997, but thirty days’ notice is customary and Chicago uses a sliding scale (765 ILCS 705).
This guide is organized the way a tenancy actually unfolds – screening and lease signing, then rent and entry during the term, then repairs, and finally the many ways a tenancy can end. Each section below summarizes the Illinois rule and links to a full guide with statutes, examples, and compliance checklists. Every figure here matches our detailed Illinois pages.
| Topic | Illinois rule | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Security deposit cap | No statewide cap; Chicago and some cities set local limits | 765 ILCS 710 |
| Deposit return | Thirty to forty-five days; two times deposit plus fees if wrongful | 765 ILCS 710 |
| Landlord entry notice | No state statute; reasonable notice, two days in Chicago and Cook County | Common law / RLTO |
| Rent increase cap | No statewide cap; rent control preempted since 1997 | 765 ILCS 705 |
| Rent increase notice | Thirty days; Chicago thirty, sixty, or one hundred twenty days | 765 ILCS 705 / RLTO |
| Late fee | Must be in the lease and reasonable; Chicago RLTO caps it | Chicago RLTO |
| Habitability | Implied warranty; repair-and-deduct capped at five hundred dollars | 765 ILCS 742 |
| Eviction (nonpayment) | Five-day notice to pay or quit; ten-day for a lease violation | 735 ILCS 5/9 |
| Month-to-month termination | Thirty days (under one year); sixty days (one year or more) | 735 ILCS 5/9-207 |
| Assistance animals | No pet fee or deposit; not a pet | Fair Housing Act |
Chicago and Cook County add stricter rules. Illinois sets a statewide floor, but the Chicago RLTO and suburban Cook County ordinance layer on deposit interest, firmer entry notice, and stronger habitability remedies. Always check the local ordinance for the property before relying on the statewide rule alone.
Illinois Security Deposit Laws
No state cap · Return: 30-45 daysIllinois security deposit law lives in 765 ILCS 710, layered with the Chicago RLTO. There is no statewide cap on the deposit, though Chicago and some municipalities impose local limits, so one to two months’ rent is the customary range. Once the tenant surrenders the unit and provides a written forwarding address, the landlord must return the deposit – with an itemized statement of any deductions – within thirty to forty-five days. Wrongful withholding is expensive in Illinois: the tenant can recover two times the deposit plus attorney fees, and bad faith is typically presumed when the deadline is missed or the statement is not itemized.
Deductions are limited to unpaid rent and damage beyond normal wear and tear, each backed by documentation. Read the full Illinois security deposit guide for the deduction rules, the move-out checklist, and the penalty math.
Illinois Eviction Notice Laws
Nonpayment: 5-day notice · Circuit CourtEviction in Illinois runs through the Circuit Court as a forcible entry and detainer action under 735 ILCS 5/9. It begins with the correct written notice – a five-day notice to pay rent or quit for nonpayment, or a ten-day notice to cure or quit for a lease violation. Only after the notice period expires and a judge issues an order can the tenant be removed, and the writ of possession is executed by the sheriff, never by the landlord.
Self-help eviction – changing locks, removing belongings, or shutting off utilities – is illegal and carries statutory penalties, and Chicago layers additional procedural rules on top of the state process. Read the full Illinois eviction guide for the notice types, court timeline, and sheriff’s role.
Illinois Landlord Entry Laws
No state statute · Chicago 2 daysUnlike most states, Illinois has no statewide statute setting an entry-notice period. The governing standard is reasonableness under the tenant’s covenant of quiet enjoyment, and twenty-four to forty-eight hours’ written notice is the customary, defensible window for a non-emergency entry. Chicago and suburban Cook County are the exception: their ordinances require at least two days’ notice, a firm minimum that overrides a weaker lease clause.
A landlord may enter without notice only in a genuine emergency such as a fire, flood, or gas leak, and repeated entry without notice can breach quiet enjoyment or amount to harassment. Read the full Illinois entry guide for the notice methods, permitted hours, and emergency exceptions.
Illinois Rent Increase Laws
No cap · Rent control preempted 1997Illinois has no statewide cap on rent increases under 765 ILCS 705, and statewide law has preempted local rent control since 1997, though that preemption remains the subject of legislative debate. For a month-to-month tenancy, thirty days’ written notice is the customary requirement, while Chicago applies a sliding scale – thirty, sixty, or one hundred twenty days – based on how long the tenant has lived in the unit.
A landlord generally cannot raise rent mid-lease unless the lease expressly permits it, and an increase that follows a tenant’s protected activity, such as a habitability complaint, can trigger a retaliation presumption. Read the full Illinois rent increase guide for the notice math, the Chicago sliding scale, and retaliation protections.
Illinois Late Fee Laws
Must be in lease · Chicago RLTO caps itIllinois has no statewide statutory cap on late fees, but a fee must be written into the lease and must be reasonable to be enforceable – courts routinely strike down fees that function as a penalty. In Chicago, the RLTO sets a firm ceiling: a late fee cannot exceed twenty dollars for rent under five hundred dollars, plus twenty percent of any amount above five hundred dollars, and a five-day grace period applies.
Statewide, a fee in the range of five to ten percent of monthly rent is generally defensible, while fees at fifteen to twenty percent or more invite challenge, and daily late fees are allowed only if the lease provides for them and the total stays reasonable. Read the full Illinois late fee guide for the enforceability test and the Chicago cap.
Illinois Habitability Laws
Right to Repair Act · Repair-and-deductEvery Illinois landlord owes an implied warranty of habitability – a duty to keep the unit safe and livable that cannot be waived by lease. The Illinois Residential Tenants’ Right to Repair Act, 765 ILCS 742, lets a tenant who gives written notice and waits fourteen days repair a defect and deduct the cost from rent, capped at five hundred dollars. Chicago’s RLTO provides broader remedies and faster timelines.
Emergencies – a gas leak, no heat in extreme weather, sewage backup – demand a far quicker response, often within twenty-four to seventy-two hours, and retaliation against a tenant who asserts these rights is prohibited under 765 ILCS 720. Read the full Illinois habitability guide for the repair timelines, tenant remedies, and the retaliation window.
Illinois Lease Termination Laws
Month-to-month: 30 / 60 days · 735 ILCS 5/9-207Ending a tenancy in Illinois turns on the tenancy type. Under 735 ILCS 5/9-207, terminating a month-to-month tenancy requires written notice of thirty days when the tenant has lived there under one year and sixty days once the tenancy reaches one year or more. A fixed-term lease generally ends on its own date, though a Chicago RLTO overlay can require notice of non-renewal.
A tenant who stays past the lease end becomes a holdover, and Illinois permits double rent against holdovers under 735 ILCS 5/9-202, enforced through the same Circuit Court eviction action. Using the wrong notice period – a thirty-day notice where sixty is required – invalidates the termination. Read the full Illinois lease termination guide for the tenancy types, delivery methods, and holdover rules.
Illinois Breaking Lease Laws
Safe Homes Act · Duty to mitigateA fixed-term lease binds both sides, but Illinois recognizes several legal grounds to end one early. A tenant escaping domestic or sexual violence may terminate under the Safe Homes Act (765 ILCS 750) with written notice and documentation; an active-duty service member may terminate under state and federal military-relief law; and a tenant in an uninhabitable unit may claim constructive eviction.
When no ground applies, the tenant still owes the remaining rent – but the landlord’s statutory duty to mitigate under 735 ILCS 5/9-213.1 requires a good-faith effort to re-rent, which caps what the departing tenant ultimately pays. Read the full Illinois breaking-lease guide for each statutory exit and the mitigation math.
Illinois Pet and ESA Laws
Assistance animal is not a pet · No pet feeIllinois draws a sharp line between an ordinary pet and an assistance animal. For an actual pet, a landlord may set pet rules and charge a reasonable pet deposit or pet rent – Illinois sets no statewide cap, though cities such as Chicago add their own rules. A service animal or emotional support animal, by contrast, is not a pet under the federal Fair Housing Act.
That means no pet deposit, fee, or rent may be charged for an assistance animal, and no breed or weight limit applies, though the tenant remains liable for actual damage the animal causes. Illinois’s Assistance Animal Integrity Act sets the documentation a landlord may reasonably request. Read the full Illinois pet and ESA guide for the documentation rules and when an animal may be denied.
Illinois Tenant Screening Laws
FCRA and Human Rights Act · Fair HousingScreening Illinois applicants is governed primarily by the federal FCRA, the Illinois Human Rights Act, and Chicago’s local disclosure rules. A landlord must obtain the applicant’s written consent before pulling a consumer report, and the standard lookback window is seven years. When a report causes a rejection, a higher deposit, or other adverse terms, the landlord must send an adverse-action notice.
Screening criteria must be applied consistently to every applicant to satisfy fair-housing law, and FCRA violations can cost up to one thousand dollars per violation plus actual damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees, so a documented, consistent process matters. Read the full Illinois tenant screening guide for the consent rules, lookback windows, and adverse-action steps.
How These Illinois Laws Work Together
The individual Illinois statutes are easier to apply when you see how they connect across the life of a tenancy. Compliance is less about memorizing code sections and more about doing the right thing at the right moment – and keeping proof that you did.
Before Move-In
Screen applicants under the FCRA and the Illinois Human Rights Act with written consent, then send an adverse-action notice if you reject an applicant based on a report. Set the deposit within any local Chicago limit, put every fee and any late-fee formula in the written lease, and confirm any assistance animal is accommodated without a pet charge. A clean start here prevents most later disputes.
During the Tenancy
Give reasonable written notice before entering – two days in Chicago and Cook County – respect the thirty-day (or Chicago sliding-scale) rent-increase notice, and respond to repair requests promptly to satisfy the implied warranty of habitability and the Right to Repair Act. If you charge a late fee, apply only the reasonable amount written into the lease. Retaliation against a tenant who reports a habitability problem is prohibited under 765 ILCS 720.
Ending the Tenancy
Match the exit to the situation: a thirty- or sixty-day notice under 735 ILCS 5/9-207 for a month-to-month termination, a five-day pay-or-quit notice before a forcible entry and detainer action for nonpayment, or a recognized statutory ground when a tenant breaks the lease early. Then return the deposit within thirty to forty-five days with an itemized statement. Following the correct path – and never resorting to self-help – is what keeps an Illinois landlord out of court.
Self-Help Is Always Illegal in Illinois
No matter how far behind a tenant is on rent, an Illinois landlord may never change the locks, remove belongings, or shut off utilities to force a tenant out. The only lawful path is a court-ordered eviction executed by the sheriff. Self-help exposes the landlord to statutory penalties and damages.
Illinois Compliance: Do and Avoid
Do
- ✓Return the deposit within thirty to forty-five days with a written itemized statement.
- ✓Give reasonable written notice before entering, two days in Chicago and Cook County.
- ✓Give the correct rent-increase notice and confirm any Chicago sliding-scale period.
- ✓Accommodate assistance animals with no pet deposit, fee, or rent.
- ✓Use the Circuit Court for every eviction and document each step.
Avoid
- ✕Missing the deposit deadline or withholding without an itemized statement.
- ✕Entering without notice outside a genuine emergency.
- ✕Using a thirty-day notice where the statute requires sixty.
- ✕Treating a service animal or ESA as a pet subject to fees.
- ✕Using self-help – locks, utilities, or removing belongings.
Illinois Landlord-Tenant Laws: FAQ
What are the main Illinois landlord-tenant laws?
Illinois landlord-tenant law is a mix of state statutes and strong local ordinances. Key provisions include 765 ILCS 710 (security deposits), 735 ILCS 5/9 (eviction and lease termination), 765 ILCS 742 (the tenant’s right to repair), and 765 ILCS 705 (rent increases). In Chicago and suburban Cook County, local ordinances such as the Chicago RLTO add protections that override weaker lease terms. Federal FCRA and Fair Housing rules also apply to screening.
Is there a security deposit cap in Illinois?
Illinois has no statewide cap on security deposits, though Chicago and some other municipalities set local limits. Under 765 ILCS 710 the deposit must generally be returned within thirty to forty-five days with an itemized statement, and wrongful withholding can expose a landlord to two times the deposit plus attorney fees.
How much notice does an Illinois landlord give before eviction?
Under 735 ILCS 5/9, a landlord serves a five-day notice to pay rent or quit for nonpayment and a ten-day notice for a lease violation. Eviction runs through the Circuit Court as a forcible entry and detainer action; only a court can order removal, and self-help lockouts are illegal in Illinois.
Does an Illinois landlord have to give notice before entering?
Illinois sets no statewide entry-notice statute, so the standard is reasonableness under the covenant of quiet enjoyment, customarily twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Chicago and suburban Cook County require at least two days’ notice by ordinance. A genuine emergency such as a fire, flood, or gas leak allows entry without notice.
How much notice is required for a rent increase in Illinois?
Illinois has no statewide rent-increase cap under 765 ILCS 705, and statewide law has preempted local rent control since 1997. For a month-to-month tenancy the customary notice is thirty days, and Chicago requires a sliding thirty, sixty, or one hundred twenty days based on how long the tenant has lived there.
What notice ends a month-to-month tenancy in Illinois?
Under 735 ILCS 5/9-207, ending a month-to-month tenancy requires written notice of thirty days for tenancies under one year and sixty days for tenancies of one year or more. A tenant who stays past the lease end becomes a holdover, and Illinois permits double rent against holdovers under 735 ILCS 5/9-202.
When can an Illinois tenant break a lease early?
Illinois recognizes early exits for domestic or sexual violence under the Safe Homes Act (765 ILCS 750), active military service, or an uninhabitable unit. Where no ground applies, the tenant owes the remaining rent, but the landlord’s statutory duty to mitigate under 735 ILCS 5/9-213.1 requires a good-faith effort to re-rent, which caps the bill.
Can an Illinois landlord charge a pet deposit for an emotional support animal?
No. Under the federal Fair Housing Act an emotional support or service animal is an assistance animal, not a pet, so no pet deposit, fee, or rent may be charged and no breed or weight limit applies. Illinois’s Assistance Animal Integrity Act sets the documentation a landlord may request. The tenant remains liable for actual damage.
Is this page legal advice for Illinois renters and landlords?
No. This overview summarizes Illinois landlord-tenant law for general education and is not legal advice. Statutes change and Chicago and Cook County ordinances often add stricter rules. For a specific situation, consult a licensed Illinois attorney.
Related Illinois Landlord-Tenant Guides
- Illinois security deposit laws – no cap, deductions, and the thirty-to-forty-five-day return.
- Illinois eviction notice laws – notice types and the Circuit Court timeline.
- Illinois landlord entry laws – reasonable notice and the Chicago two-day rule.
- Illinois rent increase laws – no cap and the Chicago sliding scale.
- Illinois late fee laws – what makes a late fee enforceable and the Chicago cap.
- Illinois habitability laws – repair duties and repair-and-deduct.
- Illinois lease termination laws – month-to-month and holdover rules.
- Illinois breaking lease laws – statutory exits and the duty to mitigate.
- Illinois pet and ESA laws – pet policies and assistance animals.
- Illinois tenant screening laws – consent, lookback, and adverse action.
Screen Illinois Tenants the Compliant Way
Most tenancy disputes trace back to a tenant a thorough screening would have flagged. Order FCRA-ready credit, criminal, and eviction reports before anyone signs the lease.
Published by Tenant Screening Background Check · Editorial Team
Established 2004. Our editorial team has spent two decades helping landlords and property managers run lawful, FCRA-compliant tenant screening across all 50 states. We translate state landlord-tenant codes and federal screening rules into processes you can actually follow.
Legal Disclaimer
This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Illinois and federal laws change, Chicago and Cook County ordinances often add stricter rules, and how they apply depends on your specific facts. Before acting on any deposit, entry, rent, eviction, or fair housing question, consult a licensed attorney in Illinois. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
