Illinois landlords cannot charge more than $50 for a rental application on leases signed from Jan. 1, 2027, unless a third-party background check costs more than that and the landlord can show the actual bill. The cap covers background-check charges bundled into the application. Gov. JB Pritzker signed House Bill 3564 at the end of June.
The law also requires every mandatory fee to appear on the first page of the lease, and it bars a list of charges that run from after-hours maintenance calls to move-in walkthroughs. A follow-up bill, HB 5234, set the Jan. 1, 2027 start date.
How the $50 application cap works
The rule sits in a new section of the state’s Landlord and Tenant Act, 765 ILCS 705/35. It prohibits a fee for a rental application, background checks included, “in excess of $50.” A landlord cannot split the charge into pieces to get around it, because the section also bars a landlord from renaming a fee to avoid the rule.
There is one exception. A landlord may charge more than $50 only when a third-party screening company’s actual cost is higher, the landlord pays that company up front, and the landlord bills the applicant within 14 days with the provider’s receipts. If the bill does not go out within 14 days, the extra background-check charge is waived.
For renters, that points to three things to check before paying for an application: whether the total is $50 or less, whether any amount above $50 is backed by a screening company’s receipt, and whether the lease will be entered into on or after Jan. 1, 2027. The statute ties the rule to the date a lease is entered into, so the date on the signed lease is the one that counts.
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An unpaid background-check charge also cannot be used as grounds for eviction during the first year of a lease. That protection matters for households on fixed incomes, where a disputed few dozen dollars can otherwise turn into a notice.
Mandatory fees must be on page one
The second half of the law is a disclosure rule. Every non-optional fee, whether one-time or recurring, has to be written on the first page of the lease. If a mandatory fee is missing from that page, the statute says the tenant “shall not be liable for payment of such fee.”
Landlords must also list mandatory fees in the rental listing or on a linked web page, and say whether utilities are included in the rent, according to the Chicago Association of Realtors. The point is to let an older renter compare two apartments on total monthly cost before applying, not after signing.
A renter handed a lease that mentions a monthly charge only deep in the document can point to the first-page rule. The disclosure covers fees a tenant has no choice about, so optional add-ons are treated differently from charges built into the cost of living in the unit.
Charges the law bars outright
Beyond the application cap, the section lists fees that landlords may not charge at all. They include fees for modifying or renewing a lease, for after-hours maintenance requests, for contacting management or a maintenance hotline, and for travel to make necessary maintenance or safety repairs.
Landlords also cannot bill for routine upkeep, for pest removal when the tenant did not cause the infestation, or for an in-person move-in or move-out walkthrough. Eviction-notice fees before a court enters an eviction order are barred as well, although court costs and filing fees stay recoverable.
Several rules are unchanged. Security deposit law stays as it was, and the Illinois Attorney General’s guide says landlords may still charge a reasonable late fee and that a deposit in a building of five or more units must come back within 45 days of move-out when nothing is owed.
Who is left out, and how to push back
The section does not apply to dwelling units in owner-occupied premises with six units or fewer. A law firm advising landlords notes both conditions must be met: a six-unit building with an absent owner does not qualify, and neither does an owner-occupied building with seven or more units.
Enforcement runs through the courts. A tenant who believes a fee was applied differently because of age, disability, source of income or another protected status can file a free charge with the Illinois Department of Human Rights, which does not require a lawyer. For plain fee disputes, a violation can be taken to court, where a judge may order repayment, an injunction and attorney’s fees.
The Attorney General’s office lists its Chicago line at (312) 814-3000, its Springfield line at (217) 782-1090 and its Carbondale line at (618) 529-6400. Renters who keep the listing, the application receipt and the first page of the lease have the paper trail that the disclosure and billing rules were written around.
Signing a lease in Illinois next year?
A small fee at the application stage tends to follow a household into the lease, and retirees on fixed incomes feel every added monthly charge. In Illinois, a mandatory fee missing from page one is not collectible, and an application charge above $50 needs a screening receipt behind it.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
