Room Rental Agreement Illinois

Required Landlord Disclosures (8)

Lead-based paint: Federal law mandating landlords of properties built before 1978 to disclose any known lead-based paint or related hazards to tenants before they sign a lease.

Smoke detectors: Illinois law requires landlords to notify tenants when smoke detectors need to be maintained or tested (425 ILCS 60/3(d)).

Carbon monoxide detectors: Landlords must inform tenants about carbon monoxide detector testing and maintenance (430 ILCS 135/10(c)).

Rent concession: The Rent Concession Act requires landlords to clearly explain the terms of any rent concessions offered to tenants (765 ILCS 730/3).

Shared utilities: If tenants share utilities with other units, landlords must disclose this and explain how they’ll divide the costs (765 ILCS 740/5(a)).

Radon: Landlords must disclose radon hazards if they’ve found them in units between the ground level and the third story (420 ILCS 46/25).

Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance summary: Cook County and Chicago landlords must provide tenants with a summary of the Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance.

Bed bug brochure: Cook County and Chicago landlords must also provide tenants with an informational bed bug brochure.

Note: TurboTenant’s lease agreements include every disclosure listed here.

Security Deposits

Deposit limits: While Illinois and most of its cities don’t impose security deposit limits, local ordinances may apply. Cook County, for example, caps security deposits at 1.5 times the monthly rent. Always check local regulations when determining your security deposit.

Deposit receipts: Landlords in Illinois are not required to give tenants a security deposit receipt. However, Cook County and Chicago are exceptions. They mandate receipts with a deposit date (Cook County Renters Rights and Landlord Protections) (Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance).

Interest on deposits: If the rental property has more than 25 units, landlords must pay tenants interest on their security deposits. The state’s base interest rate is 0.01% (765 ILCS § 715/1).

Deduction documentation: Landlords must track expenses and provide tenants with an itemized list of security deposit deductions within 30 days of move-out (765 ILCS § 710/1(a)).

Returning deposits: Illinois landlords must return the tenant’s security deposit within 30 days. If they make deductions, they must deliver the itemized list to the tenant within those 30 days. Any remaining deposit balance is due 15 days afterward (765 ILCS § 710/1(a)).

Rent Payment Regulations

Grace period: Illinois law gives tenants a 5-day grace period for rent payment before a landlord can apply a late fee (770 ILCS 95/7.10(a)). This grace period is only 2 days in Chicago and Cook County.

Late rent fees: Landlords in Illinois can charge a late fee of either $20 or 20% of the total rent, whichever is greater (770 ILCS 95/7.10(b)).

Cook County has different late fee guidelines: $10 per month for rent under $1,000 and 5% of the total rent for rent over $1,000.

Chicago has similar guidelines: $10 per month for rent under $500 and 5% of the total rent if it is over $500.

Tenant’s right to withhold rent for repairs: If a tenant issues a landlord a written notice to perform essential repairs costing less than $500 or 50% of the rent (whichever is less) and the landlord fails to make the repairs within 14 days, the tenant may make the repairs themselves. Afterward, they can provide the landlord with receipts and deduct the cost from the following month’s rent (765 ILCS § 742/5).

This law does not apply if the tenant’s negligence caused the need for the repair.

Pet rent: Illinois law does not regulate the amount landlords can charge for pet rent.

Rent Payment Increase Rules

Illinois law prohibits rent control, meaning landlords can increase rent at their discretion. They are not required to give tenants advance notice before raising rent.

In Chicago, however, landlords must give tenants advance notice for raising rent based on how long the tenant has lived in the rental unit:

• Less than 6 months: At least 30 days’ notice
• 6 months to 3 years: At least 60 days’ notice
• More than 3 years: At least 120 days’ notice

Always check local ordinances before raising rent, as they might require landlords to give tenants advance notice.

Room Rental Agreement Breaches

Missed rent payment: If rent remains unpaid after the grace period (5 days in most of Illinois, 2 days in Cook County and Chicago), the landlord may issue a 5-day written notice to the tenant demanding payment or possession of the property. This notice must specify the total rent owed and the lease termination date if payment isn’t received (735 ILCS § 5/9-209).

Lease violations: For lease violations other than non-payment of rent, Illinois landlords can issue a 10-day written Notice to Quit, which must describe the lease term violation and state the lease’s termination date. In most cases, the landlords should give the tenant a reasonable opportunity to correct the violation (735 ILCS § 5/9-210).

Self-help evictions: Landlords attempting to remove a tenant without following Illinois eviction procedures commit an illegal self-help eviction (765 ILCS § 735).

Landlord Room Access Laws

Advance notice: While Illinois law doesn’t mandate advance notice for landlord entry, the best practice is to give tenants 24-48 hours’ notice before accessing a rental unit. Cook County requires landlords to give tenants 2 days’ notice before entering and restricts entry to between 8 am and 8 pm (MUN. CODE CH. 5-12-050).

Emergency access: Landlords may enter a property without notice in emergencies, regardless of whether the tenant is present.

Landlord harassment: Repeated entry without a valid reason or proper notice can constitute landlord harassment. In such cases, the tenant may terminate the lease with at least 15 days’ notice. Cook County specifically allows for early lease termination due to landlord harassment, potentially entitling the tenant to damages of up to 1 month’s rent (MUN. CODE CH. 5-12-050).

Ending a Room Rental Agreement

The procedures for terminating a room rental agreement depend on the specific type of lease agreement between landlord and tenant.

Fixed-term lease: Ending a fixed-term room rental agreement is as simple as a landlord or tenant notifying the other party that they do not intend to renew the contract once it expires. Though Illinois state law does not require notification of intent not to renew, certain cities and counties might require advance notice. We will speak more on this in the following section.

Month-to-month lease: Illinois tenants or landlords who wish to terminate a month-to-month room rental agreement must give the other party at least 30 days’ advance written notice stating their intent to terminate (735 ILCS § 5/9-207).

Room abandonment: If a tenant moves out of a property before their lease has concluded, they may have to pay rent owed for the rest of the lease (in addition to any other applicable early termination fees).

Tenant’s right to terminate: Certain circumstances allow Illinois tenants to legally terminate a lease before its end date, which include:

• Active duty military obligations
• Domestic abuse, sexual violence, or stalking
• Uninhabitable rental unit
• Landlord harassment
• An early termination clause in the rental contract

For more information, visit our article on breaking a lease in Illinois.

Agreement Renewal

Required renewals: In Illinois, landlords do not have to renew a tenant’s lease at the end of its term.

Required notice: Illinois law does not require landlords to give advance notice of non-renewal before a fixed-term lease expires. Leases simply end on their specified date. However, many cities and counties in Illinois have regulations that stipulate landlords give advance notice of intent not to renew.

For instance, in Chicago, landlords must give tenants advance notice of non-renewal based on the length of their lease agreement:

• Tenancies less than 6 months: 30 days of written notice
• Tenancies between 6 months and 3 years: 60 days of written notice
• Tenancies longer than 3 years: 120 days of written notice

Month-to-month considerations: As mentioned earlier, Illinois tenants and landlords who do not wish to renew a month-to-month room rental agreement must issue the other party 30 days or more of advance written notice. Month-to-month tenancies in Chicago are subject to the length-of-tenancy-based terms listed directly above.