Illinois Lease Agreement: What to Include

A Illinois residential lease needs to reflect this state's actual rules on security deposits, entry notice, late fees, and required disclosures — not a generic template written for a different state. The figures below come from Illinois's residential landlord-tenant statute; where the state sets no fixed number, that's stated plainly rather than glossed over, since "the state doesn't specify" is itself something you need to know.

Security deposit

Security deposit limit: No statewide deposit limit; local rules may apply. Illinois requires landlords to pay interest on held deposits — check the current statutory rate and any escrow requirements before you hold tenant funds. Return deadline after move-out: 45 statewide for itemized deductions in many cases; local rules may be stricter.

Entry notice, late fees, and rent increases

Entry notice: No statewide statute; Chicago 48 hours. Late fees: Late fee limits apply under state law for certain leases; local rules may be stricter; no statewide grace period requirement. Rent increase notice for month-to-month tenancies: 30 unless local/lease rules differ days. (Entry notice citation: No statewide statute.)

Required disclosures

A Illinois lease should include or accompany:

• • Federal lead-based paint
• • radon disclosure
• • utility cost disclosure where applicable
• • Chicago RLTO disclosures where applicable

Eviction notice for nonpayment

For nonpayment of rent, Illinois's standard notice period is 5 days. This is the minimum notice before you can move to the next step in the eviction process — actual court timelines run longer once a case is filed. (Eviction notice citation: 735 ILCS 5/9-209 (5 days).)

What actually distinguishes Illinois

Illinois sets no statewide statutory cap on the security deposit amount — the lease itself is what controls how much you can charge, so put the amount and any pet/move-in fees in writing.

Illinois is one of a smaller group of states that requires landlords to pay tenants interest on held security deposits — factor that into how you hold the funds.

There's no statewide statutory notice period for landlord entry in Illinois, which means the lease is the only thing establishing that expectation — silence in the lease leaves it genuinely undefined.

Rent increase notice for month-to-month tenancies in Illinois is 30 unless local/lease rules differ days — different from the 30-day default most other states use, so don't assume the general rule applies here.

Sources and the bottom line

The figures above reflect Illinois's residential landlord-tenant statute as summarized on LeasePilot HQ's Illinois landlord-tenant law page, which lists the specific sources behind each number. Security deposit rules specifically are codified at 765 ILCS 710/1 et seq (Security Deposit Return Act) — no statewide cap, note Chicago RLTO has separate city-level rules. Primary and cross-reference sources used in compiling this page:

• • https://ipropertymanagement.com/laws/security-deposits
• • https://www.justia.com/real-estate/landlord-tenant/information-for-landlords/right-of-entry/
• • https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/state-landlord-tenant-laws

State landlord-tenant law changes through legislative sessions and court decisions — treat the numbers above as a starting point, verify against Illinois's current statute (linked above) before relying on them for an actual lease, and see LeasePilot HQ's full Illinois landlord-tenant law summary for the complete breakdown, or generate a lease with Illinois-specific clauses built in automatically.