Illinois security deposit law

To keep any part of your deposit for damage, your landlord must, within 30 days after you move out (or after your right to possession ends, if later), give you an itemized statement of the damage and the estimated or actual cost of each repair, with paid receipts or copies attached (765 ILCS 710/1(a)). It can come by personal delivery, by postmarked mail to your last known address, or by e-mail to a verified address you gave them.

If no statement and receipts come, the landlord must return the full deposit within 45 days after you moved out.

If the statement gives estimates, the paid receipts must follow within 30 days of the statement. A landlord who does their own repairs may charge the reasonable cost of their labor. If receipts can't be produced through no fault of the landlord, they must provide an itemized list of costs, their other evidence and a verified statement explaining why (710/1(b)).

The statute protects a landlord from damages and penalties if you never provided a mailing or e-mail address (710/1(a)). If you haven't, send one in writing now. A demand letter that includes your address does it.

If your written lease sets a price for cleaning, repairing or replacing a specific item, the landlord may withhold that amount, but only for damage beyond normal wear and tear, and only if it's reasonable to restore the unit to its condition when the lease began. The itemized statement must reference the amount and include a copy of that part of the lease (710/1(a)).

Until 2024, the Security Deposit Return Act applied only to buildings with five or more units. Public Act 103-224, in effect since January 1, 2024, removed that limit, so the rules apply to every residential landlord in Illinois.

Under the Security Deposit Interest Act, landlords of buildings or complexes with 25 or more units must pay interest on deposits held longer than six months, at a rate tied to passbook savings at the state's largest bank (765 ILCS 715/1). Interest of $5 or more is paid every 12 months, and everything left is due when the tenancy ends. A landlord a court finds willfully refused to pay it owes an amount equal to the deposit, plus costs and attorney's fees (715/2).

If a court finds the landlord refused to supply the itemized statement, or supplied it in bad faith, and didn't return the deposit due on time, the landlord owes twice the amount of the deposit due, plus court costs and reasonable attorney's fees (710/1(c)).

Chicago, suburban Cook County and some other cities have their own ordinances on top of state law, with stricter rules. If your rental is in Chicago, read our Chicago guide.

Read the Chicago guide.