Illinois Landlord-Tenant Laws

Local rent regulation in Illinois

Illinois's Rent Control Preemption Act forbids every unit of local government, including home-rule cities such as Chicago, from controlling the amount of rent charged for private residential or commercial property; the only exception is housing the local government itself has an interest in.

• Chicago — Rent Control (none; barred by state law)

Cited to Rent Control Preemption Act, 50 ILCS 825 · Verified August 12, 2026 · Full Illinois rent-increase rules →

Illinois Security deposits

Illinois sets no cap on security deposits, and in buildings of five or more units the landlord must send an itemized damage statement with receipts within 30 days of move-out and return the balance — or, if no valid statement is sent, the full deposit — within 45 days.

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Illinois Rent increase notice

Illinois has no statute setting a notice period for rent increases; the effective floor for a month-to-month tenancy is the termination rule in 735 ILCS 5/9-207 — 30 days' written notice — because a tenant who rejects the new rent is on notice the tenancy can end on that same timeline.

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Illinois Late fees

Illinois sets no statewide cap on residential late fees and mandates no grace period — the Landlord and Tenant Act is silent on them — so a late fee must appear in the lease to be collectable and, if challenged, is tested under general contract law as liquidated damages rather than a penalty.

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Illinois Entry notice

Illinois has no statewide statute requiring advance notice before a landlord enters an occupied rental unit — the lease governs entry, backstopped by the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment, and 24 hours' notice at reasonable times is the convention courts expect where the lease is silent.

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Illinois Eviction process

Illinois evictions start with a 5-day demand for rent — calendar days, with the deadline rolling forward if it lands on a weekend or holiday — and only full payment within those 5 days is guaranteed to save the tenancy; partial payments don't defeat a properly worded notice, and once the window closes the statute gives the tenant no right to force reinstatement by paying up.

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Illinois Application fees

Illinois does not cap residential rental application or screening fees today, but it does bar any application screening fee when an applicant hands the landlord a qualifying reusable tenant screening report, and a $50 limit on application and background-check fees begins on January 1, 2027.

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Illinois mobile home park laws

Illinois governs lot tenancies through the Mobile Home Landlord and Tenant Rights Act, 765 ILCS 745, which applies to any park containing five or more mobile homes and is unusual in two ways: the park owner must offer every tenant a written lease of at least 24 months, and every rent increase takes 90 days' written notice and cannot take effect any sooner.

Lot-rent, closure, park-sale and home-sale rules with statute citations →