Security deposits
Illinois Security Deposit Return Act (765 ILCS 710) regulates residential deposit deductions and timing. Cook County and Chicago can impose additional requirements.
Illinois residential landlord information · 2026
Illinois Landlord Questions: Start With the Rule That Actually Applies
Illinois landlord law is not one statewide checklist. State statutes, Chicago ordinances, Cook County rules, the lease, and special housing programs can all change the next step.
Choose the landlord problem
Tenant hasn't paid rent
5-day demand, payment, service, deadline, and local overlays.
Tenant violated the lease
10-day notice-to-quit rules, plus Chicago remedy and Cook County local protections.
Tenant won't move out
Holdover, valid termination, written demand, and eviction next steps.
Lease is ending
Fixed-term, week-to-week, month-to-month, year-to-year, and local nonrenewal rules.
Tenant abandoned the property
Surrender, suspected abandonment, belongings, Chicago, and Cook County.
Why Illinois needs a location check
The statewide Code of Civil Procedure supplies core eviction and notice rules, but Chicago and suburban Cook County add their own remedy rights, nonrenewal periods, abandonment definitions, property-disposition procedures, anti-lockout rules, and other protections. The Illinois tools ask location before they give a result.
Other common Illinois landlord questions
Repairs and habitability
Illinois uses state statutes, local building codes, the implied warranty of habitability, and local ordinances. Chicago and Cook County have especially detailed residential standards.
Locks and access
Self-help lockouts are dangerous. Chicago and Cook County expressly prohibit interference with possession. Ordinary entry rules may depend on local ordinance and the lease.
Retaliation
Illinois retaliation protections can arise under the Retaliatory Eviction Act (765 ILCS 720) and local ordinances. A recent tenant complaint or protected activity should trigger review before termination.
Eviction court process
Illinois Courts publishes statewide approved eviction forms, including nonpayment, lease-violation, nonrenewal, possession-demand, service, complaint, and summons forms.
Local ordinances
Chicago's Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance and the Cook County RTLO materially alter several landlord pathways. Location must be checked before using a statewide rule.
Primary sources used for this Illinois module
- Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, 735 ILCS 5/9-201 through 9-211
- Illinois Statute on Statutes, 5 ILCS 70/1.11
- Illinois Security Deposit Return Act, 765 ILCS 710
- Office of the Illinois Courts statewide eviction forms
- Chicago Municipal Code Chapter 5-12
- Cook County Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance
General legal information only. Sources reviewed August 27, 2026.