Rent Increases in Illinois: What Are My Rights?
This page explains what Illinois law says when your landlord wants to raise your rent. It covers how much notice you must get and what happens during a written lease. It also covers what you can do if the raise is punishment for a complaint. Some cities add stricter rules.
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No Illinois law limits how much your landlord can raise your rent. There is no statewide cap and no statewide percentage limit. Your landlord can ask for any new amount, as long as the notice rules outlined in the lease are followed. Read your lease for any clause about rent changes.
✓ Sources checked September 14, 2026
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Cities and counties in Illinois cannot pass rent control either. A state law from 1997, the Rent Control Preemption Act, bans any local law that controls the amount of rent. This is why no Illinois city has a rent cap.
✓ Sources checked September 12, 2026
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If you have a written lease for a set term, such as 1 year, your rent stays the same until that term ends. Your landlord cannot raise it in the middle of the lease unless the lease itself allows a raise during the term.
Illinois Attorney General Rent Increases Illinois Legal Aid Online When can landlords increase rent?✓ Sources checked September 14, 2026
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If you rent month to month, your landlord raises the rent by ending the old tenancy and offering a new one at the new price. State law requires 30 days' written notice, or one full rent period, to end a month-to-month tenancy. The clock starts when you receive the written notice. A spoken warning or a text is not enough.
✓ Sources checked September 12, 2026
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A year-to-year tenancy is a lease that renews for another full year each time. To end it, your landlord must give 60 days' written notice before the end of the lease year. The landlord must give that notice within the 4 months before the last 60 days. A notice given later than that does not end the tenancy on time.
✓ Sources checked September 12, 2026
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Outside Cook County, no statewide law makes a private landlord warn you before a fixed-date lease ends. No statewide law gives you set time to decide on a renewal offer. If your written lease ends on a fixed date and does not renew on its own, check the lease for any notice rule. If the lease is silent, the landlord can offer the new rent at any time before the end date.
✓ Sources checked September 14, 2026
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When you get a rent increase notice, you have 3 choices: first, you can accept and pay the new amount when it starts, you can offer a lower number and ask the landlord to put any deal in writing, or you can move out by the date in the notice. Keep a copy or photo of every notice and every reply.
✓ Sources checked September 14, 2026
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If you stay past the notice date and do not pay the new rent, your landlord cannot lock you out or change the locks. The landlord must file an eviction case in court, and only the sheriff can remove you after a judge orders it. Until then, keep paying the old rent on time so the landlord cannot also claim unpaid rent.
Illinois Attorney General The Eviction Process Illinois Legal Aid Online Do tenants still have to pay rent after receiving a notice the lease is ending and will not be renewed? Illinois Legal Aid Online Does receiving an eviction notice mean a person has been evicted?✓ Sources checked September 14, 2026
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Since January 1, 2025, Illinois law bans a rent increase used as punishment. Your landlord may not raise your rent because you complained to a housing inspector or official. The same ban covers asking for repairs, joining a tenant group, testifying about the home's condition, or using any legal right. This is the Landlord Retaliation Act.
Illinois Legal Aid Online Can Illinois landlords raise rent to retaliate against a tenant? Illinois General Assembly 765 ILCS 721/5✓ Sources checked September 12, 2026
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If the rent increase comes within 1 year after your complaint or repair request, the court presumes it was retaliation. This is a rebuttable presumption, meaning the landlord must prove otherwise. The landlord can defeat it by proving a real business reason. The landlord can also show the increase was already in motion before you complained. Save the dates of your complaint and of the notice.
✓ Sources checked September 12, 2026
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If a court finds the increase was retaliation, you can use that as a defense in any eviction case, and you can sue the landlord. The court can let you end the lease and get your deposit and prepaid rent back. It can also order the landlord to pay you up to 2 months' rent or 2 times your actual losses, whichever is more. The landlord must also pay your lawyer's fees. If your rent is $1,000, 2 months' rent is $2,000.
✓ Sources checked September 12, 2026
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If you have a Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8), different rules apply. The landlord can raise the total rent only when the lease term ends and must tell you in writing. The landlord must also give the housing authority notice. The housing authority must approve the new rent as reasonable for the area. Your own share is based on your income, so report income changes to the housing authority right away.
Illinois Legal Aid Online When can landlords increase rent for a Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) holder? U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Rent (What's covered by the voucher)✓ Sources checked September 14, 2026
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Some places in Illinois require more notice for rent increases than the state minimum. Chicago, for example, requires 30, 60, or 120 days' notice depending on how long you have lived in the home. Suburban Cook County, Evanston, Oak Park, and Mt. Prospect also have their own rules. Check your city's guide if you live in one of these places.
Illinois Legal Aid Online When can landlords increase rent in Chicago? Illinois Legal Aid Online How much notice must a housing provider give to end a month-to-month or week-to-week tenancy?✓ Sources checked September 14, 2026
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Starting January 1, 2027, a new state law bans a fee for renewing or changing a lease. From that date your landlord cannot charge a renewal fee on top of the new rent. This ban does not cover a home in an owner-occupied building with 6 or fewer units. It applies only to leases signed after the law takes effect.
✓ Sources checked September 12, 2026
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