Everything you're responsible for as a landlord in Illinois

Evanston Lease Non-Renewal Notice Law: Landlords Must Give 90 Days' Written Notice

A landlord who gave an Evanston tenant 30 days' notice that a lease wouldn't be renewed used to be fully compliant. Since January 1, 2025, that same 30-day notice misses the mark by two months. Evanston's Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance now requires 90 days, and pairs it with a tightened cap on how much security deposit a landlord can collect in the first place.

Illinois Flood Disclosure Law 2025: What Landlords Must Disclose in Writing Before a Lease Is Signed

A basement unit that flooded twice in the past decade used to be something a landlord could simply not mention, unless a prospective tenant thought to ask. Since January 1, 2025, silence isn't an option. Illinois now requires landlords to put specific flood-related facts in writing before a lease is signed, and the requirement isn't one disclosure, it's three, each with its own trigger.

Illinois Screening Fee Law 2025: No Screening Fee When the Applicant Provides a Reusable Screening Report

A leasing office that charges every applicant a flat $45 screening fee, no exceptions, used to be standard practice across Illinois. Since January 1, 2025, that flat-fee policy runs into a specific statutory exception. If an applicant already has a qualifying screening report, current, paid for, and covering what the landlord actually checks, charging that same applicant a screening fee is no longer allowed.

Illinois Rent Payment Fee Law 2025: Landlords With Portal Fees Must Offer a Fee-Free Way to Pay

A tenant who logs into a property's payment portal and finds a 2.95% "convenience fee" tacked onto rent used to have no real alternative besides eating the cost. Since January 1, 2025, Illinois law gives that tenant an out. If a landlord's payment portal charges anything extra to process rent, the landlord now has to offer a way to pay that costs nothing at all.

Illinois Landlord Retaliation Act 2025: Broader Protections, Stronger Remedies, Bad-Faith Presumption

A property manager who raises rent, refuses to renew a lease, or files an eviction shortly after a tenant complains about a code violation used to worry mainly about optics. Since January 1, 2025, that timing carries a specific legal consequence in Illinois. If the tenant's protected activity happened within the past year, the law now presumes the landlord acted in retaliation, and it's the landlord who has to prove otherwise.