What a Landlord Cannot Do in Illinois
The main limits Illinois law puts on landlords — lockouts and utility shutoffs, entering without notice, retaliation, deposits, fees and discrimination — each with the statute or official source.
In short: a Illinois landlord cannot evict without a court order, cannot punish a tenant for asserting legal rights where state law protects them, and must follow the state's rules on entry, deposits and fees shown below.
| Lockouts & utility shutoffs | Self-help eviction not allowed: a landlord must go to court and may not evict by turning off utilities, locking the tenant out, changing locks, or removing belongings; only a sheriff may physically evict. No specific statewide statute with a penalty for lockouts was located; Chicago RLTO imposes daily fines for lockouts. If a landlord fails to pay utilities it owes, tenants may terminate or pay and deduct (765 ILCS 735/1). |
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| Landlord entry notice | No statute (statewide). Entry is governed by the lease and local ordinances. Chicago RLTO and some other local ordinances impose entry-notice rules. |
| Landlord retaliation | Landlord may not knowingly terminate, raise rent, decrease services, sue or threaten to sue for possession, or refuse to renew because the tenant in good faith complained of code violations to government or a community organization, requested repairs, joined/organized a tenants' union, testified about conditions, or exercised any legal right. Rebuttable presumption of retaliation if protected activity occurred within one year before the landlord's act. Remedies: defense to eviction, termination, recovery of possession, and the greater of 2 months' rent or 2 times damages, plus attorney's fees. New act eff. 1-1-25 (P.A. 103-831) replaced and repealed the Retaliatory Eviction Act (765 ILCS 720); § 20 amended by P.A. 104-417 (eff. 8-15-25). Not retaliatory if landlord proves a legitimate basis or began the action first. |
| Security deposit limit | No statewide legal limit on the amount of a security deposit. AG: 'there is no legal limit on the amount your landlord can require.' Local ordinances may differ. |
| Penalty for withholding | If a court finds the landlord refused to supply the itemized statement or supplied it in bad faith and failed to return the deposit on time: twice the amount of the deposit due, plus court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Source: 765 ILCS 710/1(c) |
| Late fees | No statutory cap statewide. AG: landlord may charge a reasonable fee for late rent. Landlords with 100+ units and an on-site office must accept rent there without penalty. A late-fee cap bill (HB 4998, 2026) did not pass; the enacted fee law (P.A. 104-479, 765 ILCS 705/35, eff. 1-1-27) requires all non-optional fees on the first page of the lease and bans listed 'junk fees' but sets no late-fee cap. Chicago RLTO caps late fees locally. |
| Rent control / increase limits | No statewide rent control, and home rule units are preempted from regulating the amount of rent charged for private residential or commercial property. AG fact sheet also states Illinois has no rent control law. |
| Statewide ban on refusing Section 8 / source of income | Yes. Since Jan. 1, 2023 the Illinois Human Rights Act bars refusing to rent, discriminatory terms, discriminatory ads or application forms, and screening criteria with a discriminatory effect based on 'source of income', defined as the lawful manner by which a person supports themselves and their dependents. Definition: https://www.ilga.gov/Documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/077500050K1-103.htm. |
| Cameras & privacy | No landlord-specific statute, but Illinois law expressly protects renters: it is a crime to knowingly video record or live-stream another person in that person's residence without consent — and 'residence' expressly includes a rental dwelling (but not stairwells, corridors, laundry facilities, or other areas open to the public). Placing such a device is a Class A misdemeanor; recording is a Class 4 felony. Audio recording of private conversations without the consent of all parties is eavesdropping. P.A. 104-750 amends § 26-4 effective January 1, 2027 (adds courthouse rules); the residence protections are unchanged. Common-area cameras in hallways or laundry rooms are outside the 'residence' definition. Eavesdropping statute: https://www.ilga.gov/Documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/072000050K14-2.htm |
| Other rental fees | For leases entered on or after Jan. 1, 2027: all non-optional fees (one-time or recurring) must appear on the first page of the lease or the tenant does not owe them; listings must disclose non-optional fees, and listings/leases must say whether utilities are included. Banned: lease renewal/modification fees; fees for an eviction notice or for filing before an eviction order (court costs still recoverable); after-hours maintenance fees; fees for contacting the owner/manager or a maintenance hotline; maintenance travel fees; routine maintenance fees; pest fees where the tenant did not contribute; and move-in/move-out walk-through fees. Renaming a fee does not avoid the law; tenants may sue for injunctive and monetary relief plus attorney's fees. Already in effect: a landlord using a payment portal that charges a transaction fee must allow a fee-free way to pay rent (leases after 1-1-25), and a landlord may not require rent to be paid by electronic funds transfer (leases after 1-1-24). Section 35 has a delayed effective date (1-1-27) and exempts owner-occupied premises with 6 or fewer units. Local governments may regulate fees but must be at least as restrictive. |
Can I sue my landlord in Illinois? · All Illinois tenant rights
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.