Cook County Tenant Ordinance
Cook County (Chicago) adds these tenant protections on top of Illinois landlord-tenant law — applies All of Cook County except cities, villages and towns that have their own ordinance setting out both tenant and landlord rights, obligations and remedies (Sec. 42-801(D)). The County names Chicago, Evanston and Mount Prospect as having their own ordinances and being exempt; tenants there follow the local ordinance. The RTLO anti-lockout rule applies to all rental units, including units otherwise excluded..
Law: Cook County Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance (RTLO)
| Effective date / citation | Adopted January 2021 (Board file 20-3562); in effect June 1, 2021 (anti-lockout rule effective January 25, 2021). Codified at Cook County Code Ch. 42, Art. IV, Secs. 42-801 to 42-816. The ordinance text posted by the County is the substitute adopted in January 2021; check the County Code for later amendments. |
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| Notice periods | Nonpayment: 5-day notice; lease violation: 10-day notice; non-renewal: 60-day notice; unit entry: 2-day notice. Source: Cook County RTLO |
| Pay-and-stay | After an eviction is filed but before judgment, a tenant may pay rent and certain costs to stay - one time. Source: Cook County RTLO |
| Lockouts | Landlords cannot lock out tenants, cut utilities, or remove belongings - no exceptions (applies to all units, even otherwise exempt ones). Only the Sheriff enforces eviction orders. Source: Cook County RTLO |
| Late fees | $10 if rent is $1,000 or less; above that, $10 plus 5% of the amount over $1,000. Source: Cook County RTLO |
| Security deposits | Capped at 1.5 times monthly rent; held separately; receipt required; returned within 30 days with itemized deductions. Source: Cook County RTLO |
| Exemptions | Not covered (Sec. 42-802): transient hotel/motel stays; medical, extended-care and geriatric facilities, religious residences, shelters, dormitories and fraternal-organization housing; a buyer living in the unit under a contract for sale; a co-op shareholder in their own unit; an employee whose housing depends on the job; owner-occupied buildings of six or fewer units; a single-family home or single condo unit if it is the owner's only rental, the owner or immediate family lived there at least one month in the 12 months before marketing it, the owner manages it personally and the owner is not a corporation; and hotel, motel, rooming-house and similar units until the tenant has stayed 32 or more continuous days and pays monthly rent. An exempt landlord must say so in marketing and application materials before taking any application, credit-check or holding fee. The anti-lockout rule still applies to most exempt units. Municipalities with their own landlord-tenant ordinance (the County names Chicago, Evanston and Mount Prospect) are outside the RTLO. Chicago, Evanston and Mount Prospect named in the County RTLO brochure: https://www.cookcountyil.gov/sites/g/files/ywwepo161/files/service/692021-rtlo-trifold.pdf |
| Enforcement | Enforced through individual right of action (tenant lawsuits), not by the Commission on Human Rights. Source: Cook County RTLO |
Chicago tenants are covered by the Chicago RLTO (city page).
← Eviction in Cook County (Chicago)
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.