Illinois Termination for Nonpayment of Rent and Other Rent Rules

Your lease or rental agreement should spell out your landlord's key rent rules, including:

• the amount of rent (there are no limits to how much a landlord can charge in Illinois since there are no communities with rent control in the state)
• where rent is due (such as by mail to the landlord's business address)
• when rent is due (including what happens if the rent due date falls on a weekend date or holiday)
• how rent should be paid (usually check, money order, cash, and/or credit card)
• the amount of notice landlords must provide to increase rent
• the amount of any extra fee if your rent check bounces, and
• the consequences of paying rent late, including late fees and termination of the tenancy.

State laws in Illinois cover several of these rent-related issues, including the amount of notice a landlord must provide to increase rent under a month-to-month tenancy, and how much time a tenant has to pay rent or move before a landlord can file for eviction. Local rules may also apply.

Illinois Rules on Late Fees

Rent is legally due on the date specified in your lease or rental agreement (usually the first of the month). If you don't pay rent when it is due, the landlord may begin charging you a late fee. Illinois state law does not cover late rent fees. If your lease or rental agreement does not say anything about late fees, your landlord may not impose one, no matter how reasonable it is.

Amount of Notice Illinois Landlords Must Give Tenants to Increase Rent

Illinois landlords must give tenants at least 30 days' notice (in writing) to increase rent or change another term of a month-to-month rental agreement. If you have a long-term lease, however, landlords may not increase the rent until the lease ends and a new tenancy begins—unless the lease itself provides for an increase.

Rent Increases as Retaliation or Discrimination

Illinois landlords may not raise the rent in a discriminatory manner—for example, only for members of a certain race. Also, Illinois landlords may not use a rent increase in retaliation against you for exercising a legal right—for example, in response to your legitimate complaint to a local housing agency about a broken heater.

Illinois State Laws on Termination for Nonpayment of Rent

States set specific rules and procedures for ending a tenancy when a tenant has not paid the rent. Illinois landlords must give tenants at least five days in which to pay the rent or move. If the tenant does neither, the landlord can file for eviction.

Illinois Guide to Tenant Rights

For an overview of tenant rights when it comes to paying rent under Illinois landlord-tenant law, see http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/landlordtenantrights0404.pdf.

Illinois State Laws on Termination for Nonpayment of Rent and Other Rent-Related Issues

For state rent rules and procedures on issues such as raising rent, see 735 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. §§ 5/9-207 and 5/9-218.

For Illinois laws on termination for nonpayment of rent, see 735 Ill. Comp. Stat. § 5/9-209.

See the Laws and Legal Research section of Nolo for advice on finding and reading statutes and court decisions.