Breaking a Lease Early in Illinois: What Are My Options?

If you leave without a legal reason

1. 1

   If you break your lease, your landlord must take reasonable steps to lower the amount they can get from you.

   Source:

   1. 735 ILCS 5/9-213.1, Illinois General Assembly. Law.
   Tip.

   Read your lease before you decide. Check whether it lets you end it early and what penalty you must pay.

When you can leave early

2. 2

   Renters could not use the furnace, a major part of the home. A court held that they were constructively evicted (forced out by bad conditions).

   Source:

   1. 107 Ill. 2d 1, 9 (1985), Illinois Supreme Court. A court decision.
   Think before you call an inspector.

   You or a neighbor can ask the city to send a code inspector. Be careful: if the home is in very bad shape, the inspector can condemn it (say no one may live there). Then everyone must move out, you too, sometimes on short notice. Think about where you would go before you call.

How to leave

3. 3

   To keep your security deposit, give your landlord written notice that you plan to move. Normally, a 30-day notice is enough, unless your lease requires a longer period.

   Source:

   1. Tenant's Rights and Responsibilities, Illinois Attorney General. A government guide.
   Tip.

   Write down each problem, every time you contacted your landlord, and the day you moved out.

   Tip.

   Keep a copy of every letter you give your landlord, and keep your mail receipt. Save the texts and emails you send your landlord, and any replies.

After you move out

4. 4

   Your landlord can keep deposit money for damage only after sending a list of each item and its cost, with paid receipts or copies. The law gives your landlord 30 days to send it. The days start when you move out, or when your right to be in the home ends, whichever is later. If the landlord does not, the whole deposit must come back within 45 days after you move out.

   Source:

   1. 765 ILCS 710/1(a), Illinois General Assembly. Law.
   Tip.

   Before you leave, clean the home and take photos of how you left it.

5. 5

   Say your landlord refuses to send the list of charges, or sends it in bad faith. Say the deposit is also not returned on time. Then a court can order twice the deposit due. On a $1,200 deposit, that is $2,400. The court can also order court costs and reasonable lawyer's fees. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. 765 ILCS 710/1(c), Illinois General Assembly. Law.
   Tip.

   This is only an example to show how the rule works. If it goes to court, a court decides the real amount.

6. 6

   Give your landlord a mailing address or email address when you move out. If you give neither, your landlord is not responsible for any penalty or money owed because of that.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. 765 ILCS 710/1(a), Illinois General Assembly. Law.
7. 7

   If your landlord says you owe more, a debt collector may call or write to you. The collector must tell you how much, who it is for and how to say it is wrong. You have 30 days after you get that notice to write back. Then the collector must stop trying to get that money until it answers you.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. What information does a debt collector have to give me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
   3. What should I do when a debt collector contacts me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
8. 8

   Your landlord can take money from your pay or benefits only after winning in court. The court must issue a judgment (the court's final decision) that you owe the debt. If you are sued, do not ignore it. You can lose the case if you do not go to court.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. Can a debt collector take or garnish my wages, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
   Tip.

   If you get court papers, do not ignore them. Go to court, or you can lose the case.

   From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Special protections

9. 9

   You may not owe rent for the time after you move out. A court must find a credible imminent threat (a real threat about to happen) of domestic or sexual violence at the home. The threat is against you or your household. Send your landlord written notice before you leave or within 3 days after. Say that is why you left. Rent from before that is still owed.

   Source:

   1. 765 ILCS 750/15(a), Illinois General Assembly. Law.
10. 10

    You may not owe rent after you move out. You or a household member must have been a victim of sexual violence at a home your landlord owns or controls. Give your landlord written notice before or within 3 days after you leave. Say why you left and the date. Add 1 proof. You can choose medical evidence, a victim services worker's statement, or court or police evidence. It helps to write down what happened.

    Sources:

    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. 765 ILCS 750/15(b), Illinois General Assembly. Law.
11. 11

    To use the sexual violence rule, the violence must have happened no more than 60 days before your written notice. You may have longer if you could not reasonably give notice because of the violence, such as being in the hospital. Then give notice as soon after as practical.

    Source:

    1. 765 ILCS 750/15(b), Illinois General Assembly. Law.