How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Illinois?

45 days. That deadline reaches only landlords of buildings with five or more units; below five, no state return deadline applies at all. Where it does apply, the 45 days run from the date the tenant vacated, and any withholding requires an itemized damage statement within 30 days (765 ILCS 710/1).

What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Illinois?

Bad-faith withholding costs the landlord two times the security deposit, plus court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. It reaches only buildings of five or more units, the only ones the Act covers (765 ILCS 710/1(c)).

Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Illinois?

Yes — Illinois requires interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. The interest duty reaches only residential property with 25 or more units, and only deposits held more than six months. Those earn interest at the rate paid on minimum-deposit passbook savings by the state's largest commercial bank, a rate published annually (Security Deposit Interest Act, 765 ILCS 715).

What are the security deposit rules in Illinois?

Verified July 8, 2026 All Illinois topics →

Legislative changes ahead — not yet in force. The rules on this page reflect the law in force today. The following measure would change it:

SB 1260 (104th General Assembly, 2025-2026) — Would repeal the Rent Control Preemption Act (50 ILCS 825), ending the statewide bar on local rent regulation and leaving home-rule and non-home-rule units free to consider rent-control ordinances. Repeal bills of this kind have been introduced in most recent sessions without passing.Status: Introduced February 2025; in Senate committee with no floor action. Alive until the 104th General Assembly adjourns in January 2027. (checked 2026-08-12).

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.

Cited to 765 ILCS 710/1 (Security Deposit Return Act) (a)-(c) and 2 more Illinois statutes · Verified July 8, 2026

Bad-faith withholding costs the landlord double the deposit plus court costs and attorney's fees. In buildings of 25 or more units, deposits held over six months earn interest at the state-published passbook rate, payable annually, with willful nonpayment penalized at the full deposit amount plus fees. The state statutes do not reach most small landlords: below five units the Return Act doesn't apply at all, leaving disputes to the lease and common law — though Chicago and suburban Cook County impose much stricter local ordinances. On sale of the building, the deposit obligation transfers to the new owner.

Illinois security deposits at a glance

Maximum deposit	No statutory cap
Return deadline	45 days
Deadline conditions	That deadline reaches only landlords of buildings with five or more units; below five, no state return deadline applies at all. Where it does apply, the 45 days run from the date the tenant vacated, and any withholding requires an itemized damage statement within 30 days (765 ILCS 710/1). Applies to lessors of residential property containing 5 or more units. If no deductions are claimed (or the required statement is not furnished), the full deposit must be returned within 45 days of the date the lessee vacated. To withhold for property damage, the lessor must furnish an itemized statement of damage within 30 days of vacatur, with paid receipts attached or, if repairs aren't complete, estimates followed by paid receipts within 30 additional days. Delivery may be personal, by postmarked mail to the last known address, or by e-mail to a verified address.
Itemization required	Yes
Itemization rules	Itemized statement of alleged damage with estimated or actual repair/replacement cost for each item, plus paid receipts (or estimates followed by receipts within 30 days). Deductions must be for damage beyond normal wear and tear and reasonable to restore the premises to move-in condition; amounts tied to lease-specified costs must reference the lease and attach the applicable portion. 5+ unit buildings only.
Separate account required	No
Interest owed to tenant	Yes
Account & interest rules	The interest duty reaches only residential property with 25 or more units, and only deposits held more than six months. Those earn interest at the rate paid on minimum-deposit passbook savings by the state's largest commercial bank, a rate published annually (Security Deposit Interest Act, 765 ILCS 715). Accumulated interest of $5 or more must be paid in cash or rent credit within 30 days after each 12-month rental period, and all accrued interest is due at termination. Willful failure to pay makes the lessor liable for the full amount of the deposit plus costs and attorney's fees. The annual rate is tracked by IDFPR. Below 25 units, state law requires no interest and no separate account. Chicago and Cook County impose stricter local rules, out of scope for this state-level record.
Pet deposits	No separate statutory category; no state cap applies to any deposit type.
Non-refundable fees allowed	Not addressed by statute
Penalty for violation	Bad-faith withholding costs the landlord two times the security deposit, plus court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. It reaches only buildings of five or more units, the only ones the Act covers (765 ILCS 710/1(c)). The penalty applies to a lessor who in bad faith refuses to return the deposit or who furnishes a statement in bad faith. Separately, failing to furnish the 30-day itemized statement forfeits the right to withhold anything and triggers the 45-day full-refund duty.
Tenant forwarding-address duty	Not addressed by statute

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Illinois Security Deposit Laws (verified July 8, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/security-deposits/illinois/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Every figure above is cited to the Illinois statute in the citations section below.

Generate a Illinois security-deposit return letter — free, no signup, built on the same verified Illinois rules as this page.

Notes and caveats

The 5-unit and 25-unit thresholds are the facts that matter most — For small landlords, building size is the single most important thing on this page: the state deposit-return rules reach only buildings of 5 or more units, and the interest requirement only buildings of 25 or more.
Chicago and Cook County are far stricter — The Chicago RLTO and Cook County RTLO require deposit segregation, interest, and receipts. Those local ordinances are out of scope for this state-level record, but landlords there operate under much tighter rules than state law implies.
Why there is no deposit cap or account rule here — No Illinois statute caps deposit amounts, and at the state level there is no storage or segregation statute — which is why no cap is shown and the separate-account answer is 'no' rather than a gap in the data.
No forwarding-address duty on the tenant — The statute directs delivery of the itemized statement to the tenant's last known address without imposing any duty on the tenant to supply a forwarding address — no duty is shown because none exists, not because it is unknown.

Common questions: Illinois security deposits

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Illinois?: No statutory cap.
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Illinois?: 45 days. That deadline reaches only landlords of buildings with five or more units; below five, no state return deadline applies at all. Where it does apply, the 45 days run from the date the tenant vacated, and any withholding requires an itemized damage statement within 30 days (765 ILCS 710/1).
What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Illinois?: Bad-faith withholding costs the landlord two times the security deposit, plus court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. It reaches only buildings of five or more units, the only ones the Act covers (765 ILCS 710/1(c)).
Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Illinois?: Yes — Illinois requires interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. The interest duty reaches only residential property with 25 or more units, and only deposits held more than six months. Those earn interest at the rate paid on minimum-deposit passbook savings by the state's largest commercial bank, a rate published annually (Security Deposit Interest Act, 765 ILCS 715).
Can a landlord charge a non-refundable fee in Illinois?: Not addressed by statute.

Statute citations

765 ILCS 710/1 (Security Deposit Return Act) (a)-(c) (verified 2026) Official source
765 ILCS 710/1.2 (deposit transfer on sale) (verified 2026) Official source
765 ILCS 715/1-2 (Security Deposit Interest Act) (verified 2026) Official source

How this record was verified: Web verification against ilga.gov (official Illinois General Assembly ILCS database) for the Security Deposit Return Act (765 ILCS 710), Security Deposit Interest Act (765 ILCS 715), Landlord and Tenant Act (765 ILCS 705), Rent Control Preemption Act (50 ILCS 825), and 735 ILCS 5/9-207, with statute text confirmed via current-year compiled-statute mirrors of the ilga.gov database and IDFPR official guidance on deposit interest rates.