Illinois is putting rental fees on the front page, literally. Under a new Illinois rental fee transparency law, every non-optional fee in a residential lease must appear on the lease's first page, listings must disclose those fees, and a list of common "junk fees" is banned outright. A fee you leave off page one is a fee the renter does not have to pay.
This guide covers what the law (HB 3564, now Public Act 104-0479) requires, which fees are banned, how the $50 application fee cap works, and how to build a compliant fee disclosure table, with an illustrative example. For related rules, see our compliance and legal guides for landlords.
Note: This article is general education, not legal advice. It summarizes the Illinois statute as published by the Illinois General Assembly as of November 2026. Chicago, Cook County and other home rule units may have stricter rules, so consult a local attorney before changing your lease or fees.
What is the Illinois rental fee transparency law?
It is HB 3564 of the 104th General Assembly, enacted as Public Act 104-0479. It adds a new Section 35, "Rental fee transparency and limitations," to the Illinois Landlord and Tenant Act (765 ILCS 705/35).
The section does four things:
- Requires all non-optional fees to be on the first page of the lease, or the tenant is not liable for them.
- Requires non-optional fees to be disclosed clearly in rental listings, and requires disclosure of whether utilities are included in rent.
- Bans a list of specific fees and caps rental application fees, including background checks, at $50.
- Gives anyone alleging a violation the right to sue.
The bill passed both chambers in April 2026 and was sent to the Governor on May 7, 2026. As introduced in 2025, it looked very different (it would have banned move-in fees broadly). Amendments replaced that text with the fee transparency and fee ban framework described here, so older news coverage may not match the final law.
When does it take effect, and which leases does it cover?
The General Assembly's official public act page lists the effective date as January 1, 2027. The section applies to all lease agreements for residential rental property entered into after the effective date.
One detail can confuse landlords who read the text: the act's own effective date section says July 1, 2026, while the General Assembly's public act record lists January 1, 2027. We use the official record's date here. The practical answer is the same either way: any lease you sign from now on should already follow these rules.
Two scope points matter:
- Owner-occupied small buildings are exempt. The section does not apply to lease agreements for dwelling units in owner-occupied premises containing 6 units or fewer. If you live in your two-flat or six-unit building, this section does not cover those leases.
- Local rules can go further. Home rule units may regulate tenant fees, but their rules must at least restrict fees as much as this section does. Chicago and other cities can be stricter, not looser.
Illinois is one of several states changing landlord rules in the same year. See our roundup of new landlord laws taking effect in 2027.
The first-page rule: where fees must be disclosed in the lease
All non-optional fees, whether one-time or recurring, must be explicitly contained on the first page of the lease agreement. If a fee is not on the first page, the tenant is not liable for it.
This is the heart of the law, and the consequence is built in: you do not need a lawsuit to lose the fee. A required trash fee buried on page nine is, under the statute, a fee the renter does not have to pay.
The statute does not define "non-optional fee." A reasonable reading is any charge a renter must pay to rent the unit or keep the lease in good standing, as opposed to a charge the renter chooses (for example, an optional parking space). Until courts or regulators say more, the safest approach is to put every fee that could apply on page one, including fees that are triggered by an event, such as a late fee or returned payment fee, and to label which are optional.
For what else a lease needs, see our guide to lease agreement legal requirements.
Listing disclosures: fees and utilities
Your rental listings must disclose non-optional fees too. Under the statute, non-optional fees must be disclosed in a clear and conspicuous manner in a listing of residential property, or in an accompanying weblink, at the time of the listing.
The law defines a "listing" as an advertisement or written notice that conveys a property is for lease and includes the rental price. So any ad that shows a rent amount counts, wherever it runs.
In either the lease disclosure or the listing, you must also disclose whether utilities are included in rent. If you bill back water and sewer, say so. Our guide on who pays utilities in a rental covers lease clauses and bill-back arrangements.
Which fees are banned in Illinois?
Section 35(c), titled "Junk fee ban," lists eleven fees that no landlord or lease agreement may require a tenant to pay. Renaming a fee to get around the list is also prohibited.
| Banned fee | Notes from the statute |
|---|---|
| Application fee, including background checks, above $50 | Narrow exception for third-party background checks (see the next section) |
| Ancillary fee at application that duplicates screening costs or covers costs unrelated to screening | No separate "processing" or "admin" fee on top of the application fee |
| Fee or fine to modify or renew a lease | No renewal fees |
| Fee or fine for an eviction notice or eviction filing before the court grants an eviction order | You can still recover court costs and filing fees |
| Fee or fine for after-hours maintenance requests | |
| Fee or fine for contacting the owner or manager | Covers maintenance requests, lease questions and other tenancy matters |
| Fee or fine for travel needed for maintenance or safety repairs | |
| Fee or fine for a maintenance hotline or calls to one | |
| Fee or fine for routine maintenance and upkeep of the unit | |
| Pest abatement or removal fee | Banned where the tenant in no way contributed to the infestation |
| Fee or fine for an in-person move-in or move-out walk-through |
What is not on the list matters too. Late fees, pet fees, parking and similar charges are not banned by this section. They must still be disclosed on page one if they are non-optional, and other laws may limit them. See rental late fees: how much you can charge.
The $50 application fee cap, with a worked example
A rental application fee, including background checks, cannot exceed $50. You can charge more than $50 for a third-party background check only if all three conditions are met:
- The actual cost of the third-party background check service is greater than $50.
- You, the landlord, pay the upfront cost of the service.
- You bill the applicant within 14 days of the service, with receipts from the provider.
If you miss the 14-day window or do not include receipts, the background check fee is waived. The statute also says this fee can never be used as the basis for an eviction action within the first year of a lease.
Illustrative example. Suppose your screening provider charges $40 for a credit, criminal and eviction package, and you want to add an income verification report for $25.
- Option A: Charge the applicant $40 for the core package and skip the add-on, or verify income yourself from pay stubs. Total charged: $40, under the cap.
- Option B: Run the full $65 package. Because the actual cost exceeds $50, you may recover the full cost only if you pay the $65 upfront and bill the applicant within 14 days with the provider's receipt. You cannot collect $65 from the applicant before the reports run.
- Not allowed: Charging a $50 application fee plus a separate $15 "processing fee." That ancillary fee duplicates or adds to screening costs and is banned under (c)(2).
The numbers are illustrative. Check what your screening provider actually charges and who pays it.
Does the law require a total monthly cost?
No. Section 35 does not require landlords to state a total monthly cost. It requires non-optional fees on page one of the lease, clear disclosure of those fees in listings, and disclosure of whether utilities are included.
Showing a total is still good practice. A renter comparing your unit with another sees the real monthly number, and it is hard to argue a fee was hidden when it is added up next to the rent. For the federal side of fee disclosure, see our guide to the FTC rental junk fees rule.
Example of a compliant fee disclosure table
Here is an illustrative first-page fee table for a two-bedroom unit. The amounts are examples only. Your table should list every fee in your lease and nothing that the statute bans.
| Charge | Amount | Frequency | Required or optional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base rent | $1,650.00 | Monthly | Required |
| Trash and recycling fee | $20.00 | Monthly | Required |
| Water and sewer bill-back | Actual usage, estimated $45.00 | Monthly | Required |
| Security deposit | $1,650.00 (refundable under the lease and state law) | One time, before move-in | Required |
| Application fee | $40.00 (paid before signing) | One time | Required to apply |
| Late fee | $50.00 if rent is not paid by the 5th | Only if triggered | Required if triggered |
| Returned payment fee | $25.00 per returned payment | Only if triggered | Required if triggered |
| Garage parking space | $75.00 | Monthly | Optional |
| Pet rent | $35.00 per pet | Monthly | Only if you have a pet |
Total required monthly cost (illustrative): $1,650 rent + $20 trash + about $45 water and sewer = about $1,715 per month, before optional parking or pet rent.
Utilities: Electricity and gas are not included in rent and are paid by the tenant directly to the utility. Water and sewer are billed back as shown above.
Use the same figures in your listing or a linked fee page, and keep the versions consistent. If the listing says $20 for trash and the lease says $25, you have created a dispute.
Enforcement and action checklist
Any person alleging a violation may bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction, and the court may order injunctive relief, monetary relief, attorney's fees and costs. On top of that, any non-optional fee missing from page one is simply not owed.
Before you sign your next Illinois lease:
- Check whether you are exempt. Owner-occupied with 6 units or fewer? Confirm, then check local ordinances anyway.
- Inventory every fee. Go through your lease, addenda, house rules and move-in paperwork. List every charge a renter could owe.
- Remove banned fees. Renewal fees, after-hours maintenance fees, walk-through fees, admin fees on applications and pre-judgment eviction notice fees go.
- Cap application charges at $50 or set up the pay-upfront, bill-within-14-days process for third-party background checks.
- Build the first-page fee table and state whether utilities are included.
- Update every listing to show the same non-optional fees, or link to a fee page from the listing.
- Train whoever handles renewals. Lease modification and renewal fees are banned, and a renewal lease signed after the effective date should carry the same first-page fee table. See our lease renewal management guide.
- Keep dated copies of the lease template and listings you used, so you can show what each renter saw.
Frequently asked questions
When does the Illinois rental fee transparency law take effect?
The Illinois General Assembly lists January 1, 2027 as the effective date of Public Act 104-0479, which came from HB 3564. The law applies to residential lease agreements entered into after the effective date.
What happens if a fee is not on the first page of an Illinois lease?
The tenant is not liable for it. Section 35 of the Landlord and Tenant Act says all non-optional fees, one-time or recurring, must be explicitly contained on the first page of the lease, and a tenant does not have to pay a fee that is not.
How much can an Illinois landlord charge for a rental application?
No more than $50, including background checks. A landlord can charge more for a third-party background check only if its actual cost exceeds $50, the landlord pays the upfront cost, and the landlord bills the applicant within 14 days with receipts.
Can Illinois landlords still charge late fees?
Late fees are not on the new law's list of banned fees, so the fee transparency law itself does not prohibit them. If a late fee is a non-optional term of your lease, put it on the first page, and check other state and local limits on the amount.
Does the Illinois law apply to small owner-occupied buildings?
No. The section does not apply to lease agreements for dwelling units in owner-occupied premises with 6 units or fewer. Local ordinances may still apply.
What to do next
Fee disputes usually come down to records: which charges were in the lease, what the listing said, and what was actually billed. Landlords who track fees in one spreadsheet, bill them through text messages and keep leases in a different folder have a hard time proving that the fee they charged is the fee the renter agreed to on page one.
Shuk's Account / Lease Management keeps each lease's recurring and one-time charges and deposits in one place, Payment Requests let you bill a one-off charge with a category, description and due date, and Automated Late Fees apply the late fee rules you configure and track them separately from rent. Shuk does not write leases, so you prepare your lease with its first-page fee table outside Shuk, then send it through E-Lease & Document Signing for e-signature, with the signed copy stored by property. Rental Screening lets you choose which reports the applicant pays for, which matters when your state caps application charges.
At as low as $2 per unit per month, with no setup fees and no contract, and with White Glove Onboarding included at no additional cost, Shuk makes transparent, well-documented fees feasible for landlords and property managers up to 300 units.
Book a demo at shukrentals.com/book-a-demo to see how Account / Lease Management, Payment Requests and E-Lease & Document Signing work together so the fees you bill always match the fees in your lease.
