Breaking a Lease in Illinois: 2024 Landlord/Tenant Guide

Breaking a lease in Illinois is an extremely impactful decision for tenants and landlords alike.

Regardless of your situation, prematurely terminating a rental contract could have considerable legal and financial consequences that linger for years. Needless to say, understanding the implications of a broken lease will help you navigate your circumstances mindfully.

To guide you, we’ll carefully analyze Illinois landlord-tenant law, highlight legally supported reasons for lease-breaking, provide tips to avoid messy legal battles, and delve into other relevant topics in this comprehensive post.

Keep reading to get up to speed.

Review Your Lease Before All Else

Whether you’re a tenant or landlord considering breaking a rental contract, thoroughly re-read the lease before making any consequential decisions. Analyzing your legally binding contract might clear up some of your biggest questions.

If you’ve agreed to a week-to-week or month-to-month lease, you can likely exit the contract by issuing a seven- or 30-day notice to the landlord.

Fixed-term leases with specific end dates are often more difficult to exit, however. Landlords and tenants who have agreed to these set-in-stone contracts might have a more challenging time maneuvering out of them without facing ramifications.

Legal Reasons for Tenants Breaking a Lease in Illinois

According to the Illinois General Assembly’s Landlord and Tenant Laws (§ 765 ILCS 705 – 755), tenants can legally terminate lease agreements without repercussions under the following circumstances:

Active Duty Military Obligations

Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) — a federal law that applies in all 50 states — if an active military member is called to duty and must vacate their rental for 90 days or longer, they have legal grounds to terminate their lease agreement.

The SCRA applies to service members within the following organizations:

• Army
• Marine Corps
• Navy
• Air Force
• Coast Guard
• Members of the Reserve component
• National Guard
• Commissioned officers of the Public Health Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Domestic Abuse, Sexual Violence, or Stalking

Tenants who are victims of domestic abuse, sexual violence, or stalking and face an imminent threat at their rental unit can legally terminate their lease if they provide proper documentation of the crimes and written notice to their landlord.

Tenants who are victims of any of these crimes should document the issue, contact law enforcement, and notify their landlords that they plan to move out.

Uninhabitable Rental Unit

If an Illinois rental unit becomes uninhabitable for a tenant and a landlord fails to repair the issue after a tenant’s request, the tenant may have legal grounds to terminate their lease.

Some examples of an uninhabitable rental include:

• Non-working essential appliances
• No access to hot water or heating
• Pest infestations
• Mold issues
• Plumbing or electrical malfunctions
• Violations of other health and safety codes

If landlords fail to perform necessary repairs that bring rentals back to habitable standards within a reasonable time frame, Illinois tenants typically have two options:

1. Repair the issue themselves and deduct the expenses from their upcoming rent payment (as long as the cost doesn’t exceed the lesser amount between $500 or one-half of the monthly rent price).
2. Terminate the rental agreement and move out early without penalty.

Landlord Harassment or Privacy Violations

Although Illinois does not specify how much notice Illinois landlords are required to give tenants notice before entering a rental, “reasonable notice” has been defined as 24-48 hours advance notice. Illinois courts could view Landlord’s repeated failure to to give advance notice as landlord harassment or privacy violations that render the unit uninhabitable.

If a landlord regularly enters rentals unannounced, accesses residences during unreasonable hours, or performs non-emergent repairs without notifying residents, tenants should document these incidents in detail to support their case for lawfully breaking their lease.

Early Termination Clause in Rental Contract

We started this article by encouraging you to thoroughly review your rental agreement before breaking a lease. Why? Because doing so could uncover a clause in the contract that allows you to void your lease under certain circumstances.

A few examples of common early termination clauses are:

• Tenant must relocate due to mandatory job transfer
• Civil unrest leaves tenant in danger
• Unforeseen damages render the rental unit uninhabitable for an extended time

By exercising an early termination clause in a rental contract, tenants and landlords could avoid potential fees, negative references, and legal action from the opposing party.

Breaking a Lease Without Legal Justification

Tenants going through a breakup, relocating for work, or moving to help a sick family member likely can’t break their lease without consequence in Illinois. Generally, if a tenant’s reason isn’t listed in the section above, they likely don’t have legal grounds to break their lease.

Landlords typically can’t terminate leases unless they legally evict their tenant by following Illinois eviction protocols. They aren’t allowed to break leases out of retaliation and can’t no-fault evict tenants who haven’t violated their rental contracts.

Here are a few tips for landlords and tenants who want to reach an amicable resolution and minimize financial impacts when attempting to end a lease before its end date:

• Negotiate: Tenants or landlords who initiate an honest conversation describing their situation could have an easier time reaching an agreement to exit their rental contract.
• Find a subletter: Subletters are replacement renters who take over a tenant’s lease. Tenants can often avoid broken contracts by finding landlord-approved subletters.
• Reach a cash-for-keys settlement: Landlords who want tenants to leave early can offer them a fair cash sum in exchange for their agreement to terminate the lease.
• Make reasonable efforts to re-rent: Landlords dealing with broken leases must make reasonable efforts to re-rent vacated properties to mitigate a tenant’s financial damages.

Consequences of Tenants Breaking a Lease in Illinois

Tenants who are unable to negotiate a lease termination or find a subletter could face the following potential consequences:

• Security deposit forfeiture: Tenants might have to forfeit some or all of their security deposit to cover unpaid rent and/or early termination fees.
• Additional owed money: If a security deposit can’t cover all of a tenant’s financial obligations, landlords might attempt to collect owed money directly from a tenant.
• Landlord lawsuits: If a tenant cannot pay the landlord the money they owe, the landlord could sue them in small claims court.
• Poor rental references: Landlords could give negative rental references to lease-breaking tenants, making it harder for them to secure future rentals.

Landlord/Tenant Rights and Responsibilities

In Illinois, landlords and tenants possess certain rights and responsibilities regarding lease-breaking. Here are a few of the most relevant:

Illinois Landlords Have the Right to:

• File eviction lawsuits against tenants for qualifying reasons
• Draw from a tenant’s security deposit to cover unpaid rent, late fees, or early termination fees
• Charge tenants a 5% late payment fee for rent not received five days (two days in Cook County) or more past its due date

Illinois Landlords are Responsible for:

• Issuing tenants a five- or 10-day Notice to Cure before filing for an eviction lawsuit
• Returning the tenant’s security deposit within 45 days of the move-out date
• Storing a tenant’s abandoned possessions for at least seven days after they vacate a property
• Making a reasonable effort to fill a rental unit after a broken lease to mitigate a tenant’s financial damages

Illinois Tenants Have the Right to:

• Pay and deduct utilities from rent if the landlord fails to pay them (unless otherwise specified in the lease)
• Receive their security deposit (or an appropriate portion of it) from the landlord within 45 days of the move-out date
• Legally terminate a lease if a landlord doesn’t perform repairs or maintenance within 14 days of a written request by the tenant

Illinois Tenants are Responsible for:

• Paying rent to the landlord within five days of the due date (two days in Cook County)
• Giving the landlord at least 30 days’ notice before terminating their month-to-month lease
• Collecting abandoned property within seven days of vacating their rental

Legal Help for Landlords and Tenants

Landlords and tenants searching for legal resources should reference our Illinois Landlord-Tenant Page or visit one of the following websites:

• Illinois Legal Aid Online: Extensive database of resources for landlords and tenants navigating broken leases
• Illinois State Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service: Hotline that connects residents to attorneys who specialize in Illinois landlord-tenant law
• Illinois Tenant Rights, Laws, and Protections: Federal U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development website with extensive resources for Illinois tenants

Avoid Lease Breaking with TurboTenant

TurboTenant, a free all-in-one property management software, can help landlords prevent broken leases by:

• Screening potential tenants to find trustworthy renters who are unlikely to break leases.
• Generating Illinois lease agreements that protect landlords and deter potential lease-breaking.
• Managing repairs and maintenance that ensure rentals are functional and inhabitable.
• Accepting digital rent payments for straightforward, frictionless transactions.

Sign up for your free TurboTenant account today to streamline your property management operation and mitigate the dreaded broken lease.