Illinois Eviction Protections for Tenants

An Illinois landlord must give you written notice before filing an eviction case: 5 days for unpaid rent, 10 days for a lease violation, or 30 days to end a month-to-month tenancy. The landlord then has to win in court, and only the sheriff can remove you. Chicago and suburban Cook County add more: a one-time right to stop a nonpayment eviction by paying the back rent and the landlord's court costs before an eviction order, longer notice to end a tenancy, and penalties for lockouts. Statewide, a law in effect since January 1, 2025 presumes retaliation when a landlord moves to evict within a year after you complain about the unit's condition.

The notices Illinois landlords must give

Partial payment does not stop a 5-day notice that states prominently that only full payment will waive the landlord's right to end the lease, unless the landlord agrees in writing to take part of the rent and continue the lease. Under state law, a landlord that collects back rent after filing the case can still go ahead with it, so get any payment deal in writing. How pay or quit notices work covers responding to a rent demand in more detail.

The 30-day notice does not need a reason under state law, and neither does Chicago's or Cook County's longer notice, because neither has a just-cause rule. If your lease has an end date, Illinois lease rights for tenants covers renewal and move-out.

Extra protections in Chicago and suburban Cook County

Chicago's Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO) and Cook County's Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance (RTLO), which covers the suburbs, add these rules:

Chicago's notice protections apply even to residential units the rest of the RLTO does not cover. Within the Jackson Park Expanded Fair Notice Pilot Program's designated area, covered periodic residential leases beginning on or after the pilot's effective date instead require 90, 120, or 180 days' notice, depending on tenancy length. The RLTO excludes units in owner-occupied buildings with six or fewer units and owner-occupied co-ops and condos. The suburban RTLO excludes owner-occupied buildings with six or fewer units; towns that have their own complete landlord-tenant ordinance; and a single-family home or condo that is the owner's only rental, that the owner or an immediate family member lived in for at least one month in the 12 months before it was marketed, and that the owner, not a corporation or management company, manages.

In both places, a landlord who accepts your late rent gives up the right to evict you for that missed payment. If you use Chicago's right to pay and stay and later get another nonpayment notice, you will have only the 5 days to pay. Illinois habitability rights covers the repair remedies these ordinances add.

What happens in court

1. The landlord files and you are served. The eviction summons lists your first court date. If you miss a court date, you can lose by default, meaning the judge rules without hearing you, and the order can require you to move and pay money.
2. In Cook County, including Chicago, the case starts in the Early Resolution Program (ERP). You can talk with a free legal aid lawyer and try mediation before the case moves forward. First court dates are by Zoom or phone, and you do not need to file an appearance or pay a fee to take part. Call 855-956-5763 any time before your court date. If the case is not resolved, you must then file an Appearance, the form that tells the court you are taking part, and pay its fee or ask for a fee waiver.
3. Elsewhere, file an Appearance by your court date and attend court. File a Jury Request with it if you want a jury, or you may lose that right. Fees apply, and you can apply for a fee waiver. A written Answer is optional unless the judge orders one, but you need one to raise counterclaims, and defenses you leave out of a filed Answer may be barred later.
4. Be ready on the first date. The judge may hold the trial at your first court date, so bring your lease, the notice, rent receipts, photos, and any witnesses. You can ask for a short postponement to find a lawyer, but the judge does not have to grant it.
5. If you lose, the Eviction Order sets the date and time you must move out, sometimes called the stay date, and it can also award the landlord rent, court costs, and attorney's fees. Only the sheriff can remove you, and only after that date. The landlord cannot change the locks or shut off utilities, even with an order. The sheriff may post a notice 24 hours before coming but does not have to.

To see how long each stage takes in Illinois and elsewhere, read the eviction timeline by state.

Retaliation protections

Illinois's Landlord Retaliation Act took effect January 1, 2025 and replaced the older Retaliatory Eviction Act. A landlord cannot knowingly end your tenancy, raise your rent, cut services, refuse to renew, or bring or threaten an eviction because you, in good faith:

• complained about code violations to a government agency, an elected official, or a community organization;
• asked the landlord for repairs that a code or your lease requires;
• organized or joined a tenants' union;
• testified about the condition of the unit, or used any other right the law gives you.

If you show protected activity within one year before the landlord's action, the court treats the action as retaliatory unless the landlord proves a legitimate, non-retaliatory reason or that it started the action before your complaint. Retaliation is a defense to the eviction, and you can also sue for 2 months' rent or twice your actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees, or end the lease and get your security deposit and prepaid rent back. Chicago's RLTO and Cook County's RTLO bar the same conduct, and the RTLO uses the same one-year rule. Defenses against eviction covers retaliation and other defenses.

Free legal help and rental assistance

• Cook County: the Early Resolution Program, part of Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt, at 855-956-5763 or cookcountylegalaid.org.
• Outside Cook County: Eviction Help Illinois connects eligible tenants with free legal aid and mediation. Start at illinoislegalaid.org/evictionhelpillinois or text "Eviction" to 85622.
• Rent money: the Court-Based Rental Assistance Program, run by the Illinois Housing Development Authority, was open as of October 2026. You must have a pending eviction case for unpaid rent and household income at or below 80% of the area median income. It can pay up to $10,000 of back rent, up to $700 of court costs, and up to 2 months of future rent. You apply first, then your landlord completes its part; call (866) 454-3571 for help.

Sealing an Illinois eviction record

Illinois eviction files are public unless a judge seals them. The court must seal the file when the eviction followed a foreclosure of the building. Since January 1, 2026, under 735 ILCS 5/9-106, the court must also dismiss an eviction complaint against all defendants and immediately seal the file if a named defendant is under 18 and not emancipated by court order when the complaint is filed. A judge may also seal it after finding that the landlord's case lacked a sufficient basis in the facts or the law, for example because the court had no authority over the case, that sealing is clearly in the interests of justice, and that those interests outweigh the public's interest in knowing about the record.

If you won, or the case was dismissed because the landlord had no valid claim, ask the judge in a written motion to seal the file. For sealing rules outside Illinois, see sealing eviction records.