House & Apartment

There is no official statewide rental registry in Illinois. People often find housing through:

• Friends, family, and coworkers,
• Signs posted in neighborhoods,
• Ads in newspapers or local bulletin boards,
• Social service agencies,
• Apartment search companies or brokers, and
• Online listings.

Watch out for scams when looking for potential rentals. Do not pay any fees or share personal details such as your date of birth, Social Security number, A number that the federal government gives to each U.S. citizen. It keeps track of their earnings and retirement benefits. or payment information unless you are applying for a specific unit.

Subleasing, or subletting, is when a tenant A person who rents a space rents their unit to a new occupant. 

The new occupant, called a subtenant A tenant who will share the rental payments. They can also take over from the first tenant in the apartment. or subletter, pays rent to the tenant. The agreement between the tenant and the subtenant is known as a sublease. 

Some Illinois tenants cannot sublease. If subletting without permission violates a tenant's lease, it may lead to eviction A court case brought by a landlord to get a tenant to move out of the tenant and the subtenant.

Units described as sublets in rental listings may be relets. Reletting, or re-leasing, means the new occupant applies to the landlord An owner of property who rents it out to a tenant for a lease.

If approved, the former tenant’s lease ends, and the new occupant’s lease starts. The landlord and the new occupant agree on the new lease terms, including the rent amount and lease length.

Common types of rental scams involve listings for units that:

• Do not exist at all,
• Were never controlled by the person advertising them, or
• Involve risk of eviction A court case brought by a landlord to get a tenant to move out due to foreclosure, unpaid property taxes, or building safety violations.

Generally, fraudsters may be seeking:

• Personal details that can be used for identity theft, like an applicant’s date of birth, Social Security number, A number that the federal government gives to each U.S. citizen. It keeps track of their earnings and retirement benefits. or payment information,
• Money, such as cash or funds transfers, that will not be returned when the housing situation turns out not to exist as advertised, or
• To place someone in a situation where additional harm may occur.

Learn more about Identity theft and coerced debt.

Common warning signs of rental scams include:

• Photos that are not current and specific to the unit that is available,
• Requests for fees before viewing a unit,
• Statements that the unit can only be viewed from the street or through photos,
• Requests for payment to hold a unit,
• Pressure to send extra payments due to competing offers,
• Payment methods that are hard to trace, such as cash, crypto, or wire transfers, and
• Use of unusual or newly created websites for applications or background checks.

Use online search tools to:

• Look up the property address,
• Find landlord An owner of property who rents it out to a tenant and management company reviews, and
• Learn where else the pictures have been used (reverse image search).

Research ownership by looking up records at the county recorder of deeds. In many counties, this can be done online. Look for:

• Deeds showing who owns the property, and
• Papers related to possible foreclosure, such as a lis pendens.

Call the city or county where the property is located to find out:

• If the landlord has followed any rental permit requirements, and
• Whether there is a history of building code violations.

To find more information about properties listed through management companies or real estate Property consisting of land or buildings like a house or an apartment brokers:

• Look up the public phone number of the management company or brokerage that the person listing the rental works for. Do not use phone numbers from the ad or provided by others.
• Call the company using the public phone number.
• Ask to confirm that:
  • The contact person is an authorized representative, and
  • The phone number and email address they have been using are connected to the business.

Do not confront suspected fraudsters.

Yes, a landlord An owner of property who rents it out to a tenant can show a demonstration unit. The unit shown is not always the unit that will be rented. Some large buildings keep one unit for this purpose.

A demonstration unit may not match the actual unit for rent. The condition, layout, or finishes may be different. 

Before paying fees or signing a lease, confirm whether the unit shown is the same unit that will be rented.

Fair housing laws that prohibit discrimination based on protected characteristics apply to:

• Housing advertisements,
• Questions about a listing,
• Showings, and
• Applications.

Source of income discrimination is illegal statewide. Cook County landlords must tell applicants how they select tenants, and cannot screen for criminal history until the application is otherwise complete.

Learn more about:

• Fair housing in Illinois, and
• Cook County housing rights for people with a criminal record.

Some cities also have local landlord An owner of property who rents it out to a tenant -tenant laws that only apply to certain types of housing. In Evanston, Oak Park, and suburban Cook County, landlords who offer housing that is not covered by local landlord-tenant ordinances must:

• Notify prospective tenants in marketing materials, and
• State the exclusion on application materials before accepting any fees, including application, credit check, or holding fees.

Landlords may ask people to fill out a rental application form and pay an application fee when applying for an apartment. Landlords must apply the same screening criteria to all applicants. Rules for criminal history screening depend on where the unit is located.

For all Illinois rentals, landlords may ask about an applicant's:

• Credit history,
• Rental background, and
• Employment.

Housing providers must follow Illinois fair housing laws and cannot discriminate based on lawful source of income. Landlords also cannot deny To refuse or say no housing based on:

• Juvenile For misdemeanor offenses, a defendant is considered a juvenile if the offense occurred when they were 17 or younger.For felony offenses, a defendant is considered a juvenile if the offense occurred when they were 16 or younger. criminal records,
• Expunged or sealed records, or
• Arrests that did not lead to a conviction. When someone is declared guilty of a crime by a court

Criminal history: Landlords outside Cook County can ask about criminal history on the initial screening. In Cook County, landlords must follow the two-stage screening process if they want to request information about criminal history. Learn more about Cook County housing rights for people with a criminal record and What you need to know about Just Housing in Cook County.

No. A landlord may not charge an application or screening fee if an applicant provides a reusable tenant screening report that meets legal requirements.

To qualify, the applicant must:

• Give the landlord access to the report at no cost, and
• Provide a statement that there has been no material change in the report, if the landlord asks for one.

A reusable tenant screening report is a written report that a person seeking housing buys from a consumer credit reporting agency. The report must meet these requirements:

• Be in writing,
• Be prepared by a consumer credit reporting agency,
• Be prepared within the last 30 days,
• Clearly show the date the information is current, and
• Be made directly available to the landlord or through a third-party website.

The report must include:

• All screening criteria the landlord uses for applicants,
• The name and contact information of the applicant,
• Verification of the applicant’s income source,
• The applicant’s last known address, and
• The results of an eviction A court case brought by a landlord to get a tenant to move out history check, consistent with applicable law.

Some landlords may not be familiar with this law yet. The rules for reusable tenant screening reports are in section 30 of the Landlord and Tenant Act.

Illinois law requires private landlords to give radon information to people applying to rent a unit on the second floor or below. These rules do not apply if the landlord An owner of property who rents it out to a tenant is a governmental entity.

Before a tenant A person who rents a space agrees to a lease a unit on the second floor or below, the landlord must provide:

• The Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security (IEMA-OHS) Radon Guide for Tenants,
• Copies of any records or reports showing radon levels in the unit that may be a hazard, and
• The Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards to Tenants form.

If the landlord does not provide this information, the tenant may test for radon at any time during the lease. If a test shows a hazard and the landlord does not mitigate the hazard, the tenant may end the lease.

The law does not require either the landlord or tenant to test for radon or to mitigate a hazard.

If a tenant tests for radon during the first 90 days of the lease and the results show a radon hazard:

• The tenant must give the landlord the results within 10 days,
• The landlord may hire a licensed radon contractor to perform another test within 30 days, and
• If a hazard is confirmed or not disputed, and the landlord does not mitigate the hazard, the tenant may end the lease.

A tenant may choose to install a radon mitigation system with the landlord’s permission. The system must be installed by a licensed radon contractor. If the landlord agrees, the tenant may deduct the cost from rent over time.

These rules are in section 26 and section 30 of the Illinois Radon Awareness Act.

Federal law requires landlords to give lead paint information to people applying to rent a unit built before 1978. These rules do not apply to housing built in 1978 or later.

Before a tenant A person who rents a space agrees to a lease for a unit built before 1978, the landlord An owner of property who rents it out to a tenant must provide:

• A copy of Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home,
• Disclosure of any known lead paint or lead hazards in the unit, and
• Copies of any records or reports about lead testing or lead hazards.

If the landlord does not know of any lead hazards, they must state that. The landlord can use a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sample disclosure form (also available in Spanish) or another form that contains the required information.

The law also requires a Lead Warning Statement. The Lead Warning Statement confirms that the landlord:

• Gave the lead safety pamphlet,
• Disclosed any known lead hazards, and
• Provided any records or reports about lead in the unit.

The Lead Warning Statement must be in writing. It can be:

• A separate paper, if the parties have a spoken (oral) lease, or
• Part of a written lease or attached to it.

The sample disclosures linked above include the Lead Warning Statement.

The law does not require a landlord to test for lead paint or remove it in most situations. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) may inspect and require correction of lead problems, including when a child living in the home has elevated lead levels in their blood. Learn more from the IDPH about the Illinois Lead Program.

Some landlords require a deposit to hold a rental unit until the renter signs a lease. This is often called a “holding fee” or “holding deposit.”

A holding deposit is paid before a lease is signed. It is used to reserve the unit after an application is approved and before the lease is signed.

Holding deposits can also be used in rental scams. A person may be asked to pay a deposit to hold a unit that is not available or that the person requesting payment does not have the right to rent. In these situations, the person may lose the money and not get access to the property.

Laws about the application process may affect when a landlord An owner of property who rents it out to a tenant can collect a deposit. Although a holding deposit is not the same as a security deposit, A payment the tenant makes to the landlord at the start of a lease. It can be used if the tenant doesn't pay rent or damages the rental unit. it may be treated as a security deposit in some situations.

The terms of the deposit depend on the agreement between the landlord and the renter. The agreement may include:

• Whether the deposit is refundable if the tenant A person who rents a space does not move in,
• When the landlord must return the deposit and when they may keep it, and
• Whether the deposit will be applied to a security deposit after the lease is signed.

Get these terms in writing. If there is a disagreement later on, a judge may have to decide whether the holding deposit must be returned.

Use Get Legal Help to find free and low-cost legal resources. 

Housing counselors can provide support during the application and leasing process. Visit HUD’s list of rental housing counselors to find a local provider.

Report problems with housing discrimination by filing a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights. The complaint must be filed within one year (365 days) of the last alleged discriminatory act.