765 ILCS 705/ Landlord and Tenant Act.

(765 ILCS 705/0.01) (from Ch. 80, par. 90)

Sec. 0.01. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Landlord and Tenant Act.

(Source: P.A. 89-82, eff. 6-30-95.)

(765 ILCS 705/1) (from Ch. 80, par. 91)

Sec. 1. Liability exemptions.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), every covenant, agreement, or understanding in or in connection with or collateral to any lease of real property, exempting the lessor from liability for damages for injuries to person or property caused by or resulting from the negligence of the lessor, his or her agents, servants or employees, in the operation or maintenance of the demised premises or the real property containing the demised premises shall be deemed to be void as against public policy and wholly unenforceable.

(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a provision in a non-residential lease that exempts the lessor from liability for property damage.

(Source: P.A. 94-601, eff. 8-16-05.)

(765 ILCS 705/3)

Sec. 3. Rent payments at business office; cross-reference. Leases and other rental agreements may be subject to Section 9-218 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/9-218).

(Source: P.A. 94-2, eff. 5-31-05.)

(765 ILCS 705/3.5)

(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)

Sec. 3.5. Additional means to pay rent when electronic payment methods charge additional fees. If a landlord uses a third-party payment portal to collect rental payments from tenants and if a transaction fee or other charge is imposed through the portal on rental payments made by e-check or other means, then the landlord shall allow the tenant to make rental payments by delivering a paper check or cash to the landlord or the landlord's business office or by means that do not require the tenant to pay the transaction fee or other charge. This Section applies to leases or agreements executed after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 103-809, eff. 1-1-25.)

(765 ILCS 705/4)

Sec. 4. Payment by electronic funds transfer.

(a) As used in this Section, "electronic funds transfer" means a transfer of funds, other than a transaction originated by check, draft, or similar paper instrument, that is initiated through an electronic terminal, telephone, computer, or magnetic tape for the purpose of ordering, instructing, or authorizing a financial institution to debit or credit a consumer's account, including, but not limited to, through the use of an automated clearing house system.

(b) A landlord shall not require a tenant or prospective tenant to remit any amount due to the landlord under a residential lease, renewal, or extension agreement by means of an electronic funds transfer, including, but not limited to, an electronic funds transfer system that automatically transfers funds on a regular, periodic, and recurring basis.

(c) Beginning 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, a landlord who violates this Section is guilty of an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

(d) This Section applies to leases or agreements executed after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 103-132, eff. 1-1-24.)

(765 ILCS 705/5)

Sec. 5. Class X felony by lessee or occupant.

(a) If, after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1995, any lessee or occupant is charged during his or her lease or contract term with having committed an offense on the premises constituting a Class X felony under the laws of this State, upon a judicial finding of probable cause at a preliminary hearing or indictment by a grand jury, the lease or contract for letting the premises shall, at the option of the lessor or the lessor's assignee, become void, and the owner or the owner's assignee may notify the lessee or occupant by posting a written notice at the premises requiring the lessee or occupant to vacate the leased premises on or before a date 5 days after the giving of the notice. The notice shall state the basis for its issuance on forms provided by the circuit court clerk of the county in which the real property is located. The owner or owner's assignee may have the same remedy to recover possession of the premises as against a tenant holding over after the expiration of his or her term. The owner or lessor may bring an eviction action.

(b) A person does not forfeit his or her security deposit or any part of the security deposit due solely to an eviction under the provisions of this Section.

(c) If a lessor or the lessor's assignee voids a contract under the provisions of this Section, and a tenant or occupant has not vacated the premises within 5 days after receipt of a written notice to vacate the premises, the lessor or the lessor's assignee may seek relief under Article IX of the Code of Civil Procedure. Notwithstanding Sections 9-112, 9-113, and 9-114 of the Code of Civil Procedure, judgment for costs against the plaintiff seeking eviction under this Section shall not be awarded to the defendant unless the action was brought by the plaintiff in bad faith. An eviction action under this Section shall not be deemed to be in bad faith if the plaintiff based his or her cause of action on information provided to him or her by a law enforcement agency or the State's Attorney.

(d) The provisions of this Section are enforceable only if the lessee or occupant and the owner or owner's assignee have executed a lease addendum for drug free housing as promulgated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development or a substantially similar document.

(Source: P.A. 100-173, eff. 1-1-18.)

(765 ILCS 705/10)

Sec. 10. Failure to inform lessor who is a child sex offender and who resides in the same building in which the lessee resides or intends to reside that the lessee is a parent or guardian of a child under 18 years of age. If a lessor of residential real estate resides at such real estate and is a child sex offender as defined in Section 11-9.3 or 11-9.4 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 and rents such real estate to a person who does not inform the lessor that the person is a parent or guardian of a child or children under 18 years of age and subsequent to such lease, the lessee discovers that the landlord is a child sex offender, then the lessee may not terminate the lease based upon such discovery that the lessor is a child sex offender and such lease shall be in full force and effect. This subsection shall apply only to leases or other rental arrangements entered into after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)

(765 ILCS 705/15)

Sec. 15. Changing or rekeying of the dwelling unit lock.

(a) A lessor of a dwelling unit shall comply with the provisions of this Section regarding the changing or rekeying of the dwelling unit lock. For the purposes of this Section, "dwelling unit" means a room or suite of rooms used for human habitation and for which a lessor and a lessee have a written lease agreement.

(b) After a dwelling unit has been vacated and on or before the day that a new lessee takes possession of the dwelling unit, the lessor shall change or rekey the immediate access to the lessee's individual dwelling unit. For the purposes of this Section, "change or rekey" means:

(1) replacing the lock;

(2) replacing the locking or cylinder mechanism in the lock so that a different key is used to unlock the lock;

(3) changing the combination on a combination or digital lock;

(4) changing an electronic lock so that the means or method of unlocking the lock is changed from the immediately prior tenant; or

(5) otherwise changing the means of gaining access to the lessee's locked individual dwelling unit so that it is not identical to the prior lessee's means of gaining access to the lessee's locked individual dwelling unit.

(c) If a lessor does not change or rekey the lock as required in this Section, and a theft occurs at that dwelling unit that is attributable to the lessor's failure to change or rekey the lock, the landlord is liable for any damages from the theft that occurs as a result of the lessor's failure to comply with this Section.

(d) The provisions of this Section do not apply if the lessee has obtained the right to change or rekey the dwelling unit lock pursuant to a written lease agreement.

(e) The provisions of this Section do not apply to (i) an apartment rental in an apartment building with 4 units or less when one of the units is occupied by the owner or (ii) the rental of a room in a private home that is owner-occupied.

(f) This Section applies only in counties having a population of more than 3,000,000.

(Source: P.A. 97-470, eff. 1-1-12.)

(765 ILCS 705/16)

Sec. 16. Military personnel in military service; right to terminate lease.

(a) In this Section:

"Military service" means any full-time training or duty, no matter how described under federal or State law, for which a service member is ordered to report by the President, Governor of a state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States, or other appropriate military authority.

"Service member" means a resident of Illinois who is a member of any component of the U.S. Armed Forces or the National Guard of any state, the District of Columbia, a commonwealth, or a territory of the United States.

(b) A tenant who is a service member that has entered military service for a period greater than 29 consecutive days or any member of the tenant's family who resides with the tenant at the leased premises may terminate a lease for a mobile home lot, residential premises, non-residential premises, or farm or agricultural real property if the tenant enters military service for greater than 29 consecutive days after executing the lease or the tenant, while in military service, receives military orders for a permanent change of station or to deploy with a military unit or as an individual in support of a military operation for a period of not less than 90 days, regardless of whether the lease was signed before or during military service. This provision applies to leases executed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.

(c) In order to exercise the right to terminate the lease granted to a service member under this Section, a service member or a member of the service member's family who resides with the service member at the leased premises must provide the landlord or mobile home park operator with a copy of the orders calling the service member to military service in excess of 29 consecutive days and of any orders further extending the service member's period of service.

(d) Termination of the lease is effective 30 days after the delivery of the notice to the landlord, except that if rent is paid in monthly installments the termination is effective 30 days after the next rental payment due date after the date of the notice to the landlord. If any rent payment was made in advance, the landlord must return any unearned portion and the landlord must return any security deposit paid, except to the extent that there are actual damages or repairs to be paid from the security deposit as provided in the lease agreement.

(e) A landlord's failure to accept a service member's termination of a lease that is effected pursuant to this Section imposed by this Section constitutes a civil rights violation under the Illinois Human Rights Act. All proceeds from the collection of any civil penalty imposed under this subsection shall be deposited into the Illinois Military Family Relief Fund.

(Source: P.A. 97-913, eff. 1-1-13.)

(765 ILCS 705/20)

Sec. 20. Heating and cooling standards.

(a) When residential rental property has a cooling system or heating system or both serving the entire premises, including individual dwelling units, the landlord shall comply with the following standards with respect to the individual dwelling units in which tenants live:

(1) During the cooling season, June 1 through September 30, cooling systems must operate when the heat index exceeds 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

(2) During the heating season, October 1 through May 31: (i) between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., heat must register at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit when the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and (ii) between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., heat must register at least 62 degrees Fahrenheit.

(b) When residential rental property does not have a premises-wide cooling system that serves individual dwelling units, then the landlord shall provide at least one indoor common gathering space for which a cooling system operates when the heat index exceeds 80 degrees Fahrenheit. All tenants of the residential rental property shall have free access to that cooled space. As used in this subsection, "indoor common gathering space" means a room intended to be used as a place where multiple people can gather, such as a lounge, meeting or conference room, party room, or similar that can accommodate a cooling system. Residential rental property that does not have an indoor common gathering space shall be exempt from this subsection.

(c) This Section only applies to residential rental property in which rental or occupancy is limited to persons 55 years of age or older.

(Source: P.A. 103-161, eff. 1-1-24.)

(765 ILCS 705/25)

(Text of Section from P.A. 103-754)

(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)

Sec. 25. Disclosure of potential flooding in rental and lease agreements.

(a) As used in this Section:

"Flood" and "flooding" mean a general or temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of a dwelling or property caused by:

(1) the overflow of inland or tidal waves;

(2) the unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff or surface waters from any established water source such as a river, stream, or drainage ditch; or

(3) rainfall.

"Lower-level unit" means any garden level unit, basement level unit, or first floor level unit.

(b) Every landlord shall clearly disclose to each of the landlord's tenants in writing prior to signing the lease for the rental property that a rental property is located in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Special Flood Hazard Area ("100-year floodplain") and if the landlord has actual knowledge that the rental property or any portion of the parking areas of the real property containing the rental property has been subjected to flooding and the frequency of such flooding. Such disclosure shall also be included in the written lease or the written renewal lease and shall be signed by both parties.

(c) Every landlord who leases a lower-level unit shall clearly disclose to each of the landlord's lower-level unit tenants in writing prior to the signing of the lease for the lower-level unit if the lower-level unit or any portion of the real property containing the lower-level unit has experienced flooding in the last 10 years and shall disclose the frequency of such flooding. Such disclosure shall also be included in the written lease or the written renewal lease and shall be signed by both parties.

(d) The written disclosure shall look substantially similar to the following:

"(Landlord) [ ] is or [ ] is not aware that the rental property is located in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area ("100-year floodplain"). The property has experienced flooding [ ] times in the last 10 years. Even if the rental property is not in a Special Flood Hazard Area ("100-year floodplain"), the dwelling may still be susceptible to flooding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) maintains a flood map on its Internet website that is searchable by address, at no cost, to determine if a dwelling is located in a flood hazard area.

(Landlord) [ ] is or [ ] is not aware that the rental property you are renting has flooded at least once in the last 10 years. The rental property has flooded [ ] times in the last 10 years. Even if the dwelling has not flooded in the last 10 years, the dwelling may still be susceptible to flooding.

Most tenant insurance policies do not cover damage or loss incurred in a flood. You are encouraged to examine your policy to determine whether you are covered. If you are not, flood insurance may be available through FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program to cover your personal property in the event of a flood. Information regarding flood risks can be found at the dnr.illinois.gov (Illinois Department of Natural Resources), fema.gov (FEMA), and ready.gov/flood (U.S. National public service).

Landlords are required to disclose the above information pursuant to Section 25 of the Landlord and Tenant Act. A landlord's failure to comply with Section 25 of the Landlord and Tenant Act shall entitle the tenant to remedies as defined in that Section.

..........................

(Tenant Signature) (Date)

..........................

(Landlord Signature) (Date)"

(e) If a landlord fails to comply with subsection (b), and the tenant subsequently becomes aware that the property is located in the FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area ("100-year floodplain") the tenant may terminate the lease by giving written notice of termination to the landlord no later than the 30th day after a tenant becomes aware of the landlord's failure to comply with subsection (b), and the landlord shall return all rent and fees paid in advance no later than the 15th day after the tenant gave notice.

If a landlord fails to comply with subsection (b) or subsection (c) and flooding occurs that results in damage to the tenant's personal property, affects the habitability of the leased property, or affects the tenant's access to the leased property, the tenant may:

(1) terminate the lease by giving written notice to the landlord no later than the 30th day after the flood occurred and the landlord shall return all rent and fees paid in advance no later than the 15th day after the tenant gave notice; and

(2) bring an action against the landlord of the property to recover damages for personal property lost or damaged as a result of flooding.

(e) Exemptions. This Section does not apply to farm leases, concession leases, and rental properties owned or managed by the Department of Natural Resources.

(f) This Section may not be interpreted to permit the renting, leasing, or subleasing of lower-level units in a municipality if the municipality does not permit the renting, leasing, or subleasing of such units.

(Source: P.A. 103-754, eff. 1-1-25.)

(Text of Section from P.A. 103-840)

(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)

Sec. 25. Reusable tenant screening report.

(a) Definitions. In this Section:

"Application screening fee" means a request by a landlord for a fee to cover the costs of obtaining information about a prospective tenant.

"Consumer report" has the same meaning as defined in Section 1681a of Title 15 of the United States Code.

"Consumer credit reporting agency" means a person which, for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties and that uses any means or facility of interstate commerce for the purpose of preparing or furnishing consumer reports.

"Reusable tenant screening report" means a written report, prepared by a consumer credit reporting agency, that prominently states the date through which the information contained in the report is current and includes, but is not limited to, all of the following information regarding a prospective tenant:

(A) the name of the prospective tenant;

(B) the contact information for the prospective tenant;

(C) a verification of source of income of the prospective tenant;

(D) the last known address of the prospective tenant; and

(E) the results of an eviction history check of the prospective tenant in a manner and for a period of time consistent with applicable law related to the consideration of eviction history in housing.

(b) Providing a reusable tenant screening report.

(1) If a prospective tenant provides a reusable tenant screening report that meets the following criteria, the landlord may not charge the prospective tenant a fee to access the report or an application screening fee. Those criteria include the following:

(A) the report was prepared within the previous 30 days by a consumer credit reporting agency at the request and expense of a prospective tenant;

(B) the report is made directly available to a landlord for use in the rental application process or is provided through a third-party website that regularly engages in the business of providing a reusable tenant screening report and complies with all State and federal laws pertaining to use and disclosure of information contained in a consumer report by a consumer credit reporting agency;

(C) the report is available to the landlord at no cost to access or use; and

(D) the report includes all of the criteria consistently being used by the landlord in the screening of prospective tenants.

(2) A landlord may require an applicant to state that there has not been a material change to the information in the reusable tenant screening report.

(c) If an ordinance, resolution, regulation, administrative action, initiative, or other policy adopted by a unit of local government or county conflicts with this Act, the policy that provides greater protections to prospective tenants applies.

(d) Nothing in this Section prohibits a landlord from collecting and processing an application in addition to the report provided, as long as the prospective tenant is not charged an application screening fee for this additional report.

(Source: P.A. 103-840, eff. 1-1-25.)