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Illinois landlord-tenant law.

Updated August 2026. Statewide law bars any local government from enacting rent control (50 ILCS 825/5, the Rent Control Preemption Act); no Illinois locality currently has rent control, including Chicago, whose RLTO regulates deposits and notice but not rent amounts.

Deposit limit

No statutory cap statewide; landlord and tenant set the amount by agreement. Chicago's RLTO does not cap the amount either, but requires deposit interest for most buildings regardless of size (owner-occupied buildings of 6 units or fewer are exempt).

Deposit return

If withholding any amount, landlord must send an itemized statement of damages (with receipts, or estimates followed by receipts within 30 days) within 30 days of the date the tenant vacated; if no deductions, the full deposit must be returned within 45 days of vacating. Noncompliance or bad-faith withholding makes the landlord liable for twice the deposit plus court costs and attorney fees (765 ILCS 710/1). Buildings of 25 or more units in a single building or contiguous complex must also pay interest on deposits held 6 months or more, at a rate tied annually to the largest Illinois bank's passbook savings rate (765 ILCS 715/1).

Notice to pay

5 days' written notice demanding payment before the landlord may terminate the lease for nonpayment; only full payment of the demanded rent waives the landlord's termination right, unless the landlord agrees in writing to accept partial payment (735 ILCS 5/9-209).

Landlord entry

No statewide statute sets a landlord entry notice period; entry is governed by the lease and common-law reasonableness. Chicago's RLTO requires at least 2 days' written notice before non-emergency entry, a rule that applies only inside Chicago.

Security deposits

Deposit limit. No statutory cap statewide; landlord and tenant set the amount by agreement. Chicago's RLTO does not cap the amount either, but requires deposit interest for most buildings regardless of size (owner-occupied buildings of 6 units or fewer are exempt).

Getting it back. If withholding any amount, landlord must send an itemized statement of damages (with receipts, or estimates followed by receipts within 30 days) within 30 days of the date the tenant vacated; if no deductions, the full deposit must be returned within 45 days of vacating. Noncompliance or bad-faith withholding makes the landlord liable for twice the deposit plus court costs and attorney fees (765 ILCS 710/1). Buildings of 25 or more units in a single building or contiguous complex must also pay interest on deposits held 6 months or more, at a rate tied annually to the largest Illinois bank's passbook savings rate (765 ILCS 715/1).

Late fees and rent

No statewide statutory cap on residential late fees was confirmed against primary Illinois Compiled Statutes text; absent a specific cap, general contract reasonableness and liquidated-damages principles apply. Chicago's RLTO is commonly cited by secondary sources as separately capping late fees (often stated as $10 for the first $500 of monthly rent plus 5% of any amount above $500, Chicago Municipal Code 5-12-080(g)), but this could not be independently verified against the primary ordinance text, so treat the Chicago figure as unconfirmed pending direct verification.

Ending a tenancy

Nonpayment of rent. 5 days' written notice demanding payment before the landlord may terminate the lease for nonpayment; only full payment of the demanded rent waives the landlord's termination right, unless the landlord agrees in writing to accept partial payment (735 ILCS 5/9-209).

Month-to-month termination. 30 days' written notice to terminate (735 ILCS 5/9-207). The statute's text addresses a tenant holding over without a new agreement for a term less than a year, and is applied in practice as the standard month-to-month notice period for either party. Chicago's RLTO does not shorten this.

Landlord entry

No statewide statute sets a landlord entry notice period; entry is governed by the lease and common-law reasonableness. Chicago's RLTO requires at least 2 days' written notice before non-emergency entry, a rule that applies only inside Chicago.

Required disclosures

  • Federal lead-based paint disclosure for housing built before 1978 (42 U.S.C. Section 4852d)
  • Security deposit interest statement for buildings of 25 or more units where a deposit has been held 6 months or more (765 ILCS 715/1)
  • Chicago's RLTO requires additional disclosures (a summary of the ordinance attached to the lease, and heat and utility responsibility) that apply only within Chicago

Lease clauses that do not hold up

  • Clauses exempting the landlord from liability for its own negligence in operating or maintaining the property (765 ILCS 705/1)
  • Continuing to collect rent from a tenant who vacates and gives timely written notice due to a qualifying domestic or sexual violence situation (765 ILCS 750/15, the Safe Homes Act)
  • Local ordinances imposing rent control on private residential or commercial property (50 ILCS 825/5); this is a limit on municipalities rather than individual leases, but it reflects the state's public policy against rent caps

Notes for landlords

Illinois is a genuine two-tier state: statewide law is comparatively light (no deposit cap, no confirmed late-fee cap, no entry-notice statute), while Chicago's RLTO layers on stricter deposit-interest, entry-notice, and likely late-fee rules that apply only to property inside Chicago city limits. Confirm a property's city before applying anything beyond the statewide rules.

Sources

This guide is general legal information for landlords, not legal advice. Statutes change and local ordinances can add stricter rules on top of state law. Confirm any requirement with the current statute or a licensed attorney in your state before acting on it.

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