Illinois Month-to-Month Lease Agreement

Required Landlord Disclosures (8)

1. Lead-based paint: Per federal law, landlords must let tenants know about any lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards if the property was constructed prior to 1978.

2. Smoke detectors: Tenants must be alerted to any smoke detector maintenance or testing (425 ILCS § 60/3(d)).

3. Carbon monoxide detectors: A landlord must inform the tenant about carbon monoxide testing and maintenance (430 ILCS § 135/10(c)).

4. Rent concession: The Rent Concession Act requires landlords to clarify the terms of a rent concession, including the total amount of free or reduced rent (or other incentives) and the time frame it applies (765 ILCS § 730/3).

5. Shared utilities: Landlords are responsible for informing tenants about any shared utilities with other tenants and providing a breakdown of how the costs are calculated (765 ILCS § 740/5(a)).

6. Radon hazards: If radon or related hazards have been found in the units between the above-ground level and the third story, the landlord must notify the tenant (420 ILCS § 46/25).

7. Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance summary: For leases signed in Cook County and the City of Chicago, landlords must attach a summary of the Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance.

8. Bed bug brochure: Illinois landlords must attach an informational bed bug brochure in Cook County and the City of Chicago.

Required Notice to Terminate Month-to-Month Agreement

Required notice for landlord: 30 days (735 ILCS § 5/9-207)

Required notice for tenant: 30 days (735 ILCS § 5/9-207)

Rent Increase Laws

In 1997, the state legislature enacted the Rent Control Preemption Act to eliminate rent control in Illinois. To this day, rent control/stabilization does not exist.

While landlords in Illinois can increase rent by any amount, many cities still require them to provide notice. City-specif laws apply even when there is an Illinois month-to-month lease agreement (i.e., tenancy at will).

Rent Payment Laws

Grace period: In Illinois, tenants generally have 5 days to pay rent without incurring a late fee (770 ILCS 95/7.10(a)). However, the grace period is just 2 days in the City of Chicago and Cook County.

Late rent fees: Landlords can charge a late fee of whatever is larger of these two: $20 or 20% of the total rent (770 ILCS 95/7.10(b)).

Cook County has different rules, with the late fee set at $10 per month when rent is below $1,000 or 5% of the rent when the monthly rent exceeds $1,000.

The City of Chicago instituted a $10 a month late fee, which applies to properties renting for less than $500, in addition to 5% of the total rent if the rent is more than $500 each month.

Tenant’s right to withhold rent: The tenant can withhold rent if the landlord doesn’t take care of an essential repair, and the repair is no more than $500 or 50% of the total rent. To do so, the tenant should notify the landlord in writing about the repair. If the landlord doesn’t handle the repair in the next 14 days, the tenant reserves the right to take care of the repair, send the landlord the receipt, and take that amount off the next month’s rent. The tenant does not have the right to withhold rent if their negligence warranted the repair (765 ILCS § 742/5).

Pet rent laws: No statute outlines the amount a landlord can charge for pet rent in Illinois.

Security Deposit Rules

Maximum security deposit: There is no limit on security deposits in Illinois or most cities in the state. However, it is necessary to check local laws and regulations. Cook County, for instance, has a maximum security deposit amount of 1.5x the total amount due in rent each month.

Security deposit receipt: Landlords are not required to provide tenants with a security deposit receipt in most Illinois cities. Cook County and the City of Chicago are exceptions. In those areas, landlords must give tenants a receipt with a date (Cook County Renters Rights and Landlord Protections) (Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance).

Interest: Landlords owe tenants interest on the security deposit. They must keep deposits in an account that bears interest if the rental property has more than 25 units. Landlords should set the rate at whatever interest the state’s biggest bank pays (765 ILCS § 715/1).

Deduction tracking: Landlords should track expenses and receipts for deductions from the tenant’s security deposit, providing the tenant an itemized list no more than 30 days after move-out (765 ILCS § 710/1(a)).

Returning a tenant’s security deposit: In Illinois, the landlord must furnish the security deposit within 30 days. When deductions are necessary, the tenant is owed the itemized list within the 30-day time frame after moving out, with whatever is left of the deposit 15 days later (765 ILCS § 710/1(a)).

Pet deposit rules: Where no legislation stipulates how much a landlord can charge for a pet deposit in Illinois, the amount should be reasonable and cover the expected wear and tear caused by a pet that is not a service animal.

Property Access Regulations

Advance notice: As a general rule, landlords should give tenants 24-48 hours’ notice before entry. However, no statute requires this amount of notice for an Illinois month-to-month lease agreement or any other rental agreement. Cook County landlords must notify tenants two days in advance and can only enter the property between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. (MUN. CODE CH. 5-12-050).

Immediate access: Illinois landlords do not have to give notice to enter a property in an emergency, regardless of whether the tenant is there.

Landlord harassment: If a landlord repeatedly goes onto a property without a qualifying reason or giving the tenant proper notice, that could be considered harassment. If this happens, the tenant has the right to terminate the lease by providing no less than 15 days’ notice. Cook County is one such area that permits early lease termination due to landlord harassment, and it may result in the tenant getting up to a month’s worth of rent (MUN. CODE CH. 5-12-050).

Rental Agreement Violations

Missed rent payment: A landlord has the right to give the tenant a written 5-day notice to pay or quit if the rent goes unpaid after the 5-day grace period (except in Cook County and the City of Chicago, which both have a 2-day grace period). The notice should include the total amount of rent owed and the lease termination date if the tenant fails to pay by that date (735 ILCS § 5/9-209).

Lease violation: If a tenant violates the lease terms, Illinois landlords can give the tenant a written 10-day notice to quit. The notice should indicate what term they violated and the termination date. The tenant should have a chance to correct the violation within reason (735 ILCS § 5/9-210).

Self-help evictions: If a landlord tries to evict a tenant without going through the proper legal channels, that is a self-help eviction, which is illegal in Illinois (765 ILCS § 735).

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