Illinois Rental Application

What information should landlords collect?

To zero in on qualified tenants, landlords should gather key information to evaluate each candidate. A standard Illinois rental application typically includes:

• Personal information: Full names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, contact details, and emergency contacts for all applicants and co-signers
• Desired move-in date and lease length: Confirms whether the applicant’s timeline aligns with the property’s availability
• Financial background: Income details, employment history, rental history, and credit information
• Rental history: Outlines the applicant’s current and previous residences
• References: Optional contact information for prior landlords or employers
• Criminal background (if applicable): Disclosure of any convictions, in compliance with Illinois screening laws
• Pets: Whether the applicant has pets, how many, and what kind, including service animals and Emotional Support Animals (ESAs)
• Smoking status: Whether the applicant smokes and if they plan to smoke on the property
• Vehicle details: Make, model, year, and license plate number of any vehicles the applicant plans to park at the property

Rental applications involve sensitive personal information. As such, federal and Illinois state laws regulate what landlords can collect and how they can use it. In this article, we’ll break down pre-screeners, federal and Illinois screening laws, pet policies, denial rules, and everything else landlords need to know.

Free resource: TurboTenant offers Illinois landlords free, fillable rental application templates to help gather and manage this information in a streamlined interface.

Pre-Screener

Before a landlord asks a candidate to complete a rental application form, they should require a pre-screener, which collects basic information, including tenant contact details, smoking status, employment and income, the number of occupants and pets, an estimated credit score, preferred move-in date, and more.

By using pre-screeners, landlords can efficiently sort through applications to identify suitable renters. And though not required by Illinois landlord-tenant law, residential pre-screeners can save landlords and applicants time and money.

Federal Application Laws

Federal laws set important legal guidelines for the rental application process. To stay compliant, landlords must follow these rules when reviewing applications and running background, credit, and eviction checks during tenant screenings.

Fair Housing Act (FHA): This longstanding federal law prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or familial status.

Landlords can’t include questions within rental applications that aim to uncover the aforementioned protected characteristics. For instance, asking an applicant if they’re married or where they were born is illegal.

Furthermore, the FHA applies to anyone involved in renting, managing, or advertising housing, including landlords, property managers, and their staff (42 U.S.C. §§ 3601–3619).

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA): The ECOA prohibits landlords from discriminating against tenants at any point in the rental process, including credit checks and payment arrangements.

All in all, this act prohibits decisions based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age (as long as the applicant can legally enter a contract), use of public assistance, or the applicant’s rights under the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1691–1691f).

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Under the ADA, landlords may not discriminate against applicants with disabilities and must offer reasonable accommodations after they approve a tenant. For example, a landlord might need to install a ramp at the unit’s entrance for a tenant who uses a wheelchair or to communicate with a deaf tenant in writing.

In line with the FHA, the ADA prohibits rental applications from including questions that attempt to reveal an interested party’s disability. Asking whether an applicant has any medical conditions, physical limitations, or mental illnesses violates federal law (42 U.S.C. §§ 12101–12213).

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): This foundational law requires landlords to obtain an applicant’s written consent before running credit or background checks. If a landlord denies an application based on that report, they must notify the applicant and provide an adverse action notice that includes the reporting agency’s contact information (15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.).

Civil Rights Act of 1866: These post-Civil War regulations protect every U.S. citizen’s right to rent, buy, or own property without discrimination based on race or color. This law was the first federal statute to make it illegal to treat someone differently in any real estate transaction based on race (42 U.S.C. § 1981).

Illinois Application Laws

In addition to federal regulations, state law limits the information landlords may request on an Illinois rental application form and the circumstances under which they may reject a prospective tenant.

Illinois protects renters under the Illinois Human Rights Act, which closely follows the federal Fair Housing Act. These local laws seek to prevent discrimination in the rental application process on the basis of race, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status (775 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/1-102).

Source of income: As of 2026, Illinois prohibits landlords from discriminating against candidates due to their source of income. Those who receive housing choice vouchers, Social Security benefits, child support, and other public assistance must receive the same chance of securing a rental as those with more “conventional” income (775 Ill. Comp Stat. 5/1-103).

Criminal history: In Illinois, landlords can consider an applicant’s criminal history during the rental application process. However, they must assess each criminal record individually before making an informed and unbiased decision. For example, Cook County’s Just Housing Amendment protects individuals with criminal records from discrimination, requiring landlords to follow specific screening rules.

Eviction history: Landlords may consider a candidate’s eviction history when reviewing an application.

Sexual orientation & gender identity: Illinois law protects tenants from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity under the Illinois Human Rights Act. Additionally, federal protections under the Fair Housing Act also apply.

Pets, ESAs, and Service Animals

In Illinois, landlords can prohibit pets within their rental units. However, the Fair Housing Act mandates that landlords allow emotional support animals (ESAs) and service animals in their rental units, as federal law does not consider them pets.

While landlords can’t charge pet fees, rent, or deposits or reject applicants based on the breed, size, or weight of a service animal or an ESA, they can hold tenants liable for any damage their animals cause.

Pet information: During the application process, landlords should ask prospective tenants if they have pets, emotional support animals, or service animals. If you’re a landlord who permits pets, include a section in your rental application to gather crucial information, such as the type, size, age, and breed of the pet.

Under federal Fair Housing laws, landlords cannot discriminate against applicants with ESAs or service animals.

Denial Process

If a landlord decides not to rent to an applicant, they must legally deny the applicant’s application. Legitimate reasons for rejection include low income, poor credit, eviction history, criminal background, or false/incomplete information on the application. As always, a landlord’s rental decisions must comply with fair housing laws.

Denial notice: Illinois law does not require landlords to inform applicants when they reject their application or to explain the reasons for the denial.

Credit/Background denials: Under the FCRA, landlords who deny a tenant’s application based on credit history must provide written notice stating that the denial was based on information in the credit report.

This notice must include:

• The name of the organization that conducted the credit and background check,
• A reminder that the applicant has the right to dispute the decision, and
• Contact information for the reporting agency (15 U.S.C. § 1681m).

Document storage: While state law does not require landlords to retain documents related to denials as of 2026, holding onto rental applications, credit reports, and communication logs is considered best practice in the rental industry. The statute of limitations for Fair Housing discrimination claims is 1 year in Illinois, so many landlords choose to keep documents for at least this long.