Illinois Rental Junk Fee Law Starts January 1, 2027: What Landlords in the Western Suburbs Need to Do

A new Illinois law changes how landlords list and charge fees on rentals starting January 1, 2027. If you own a rental in Naperville, Aurora, Oswego, or Plainfield, Illinois, the short version is this: every required fee has to be in your listing and on the first page of your lease, and a handful of fees are banned. We are landlords too, so here is the plain-English version of what changes and what to do before the deadline.

What the Illinois Rental Junk Fee Law Says

The law is House Bill 3564. According to Illinois REALTORS, it was signed on June 26, 2026, and it takes effect on January 1, 2027.

The first version of the bill was much tougher on landlords. It would have banned move-in fees and put hard limits on security deposits and late fees. The final law is mostly about being upfront. You can still charge normal fees. You just have to tell people about them, in the right place.

Which Rentals Are Covered

Most rentals in Illinois are covered. The main exception is a building with six or fewer units where the owner lives in one of the units. Illinois Legal Aid Online explains that even in those small owner-occupied buildings, tenants can still ask about fees and ask for a written lease. If you use a written lease there, all fees still need to be written down. They just do not have to be on the first page.

What You Have to Disclose

For covered rentals, you need to share three things:

• Every required one-time fee
• Every required recurring fee
• Whether utilities are included in the rent

Where do they go? In the property listing (or a document linked from it) and on the first page of the written lease. If your ad shows the rent, it also has to show the required fees.

Here is the part that matters most. For leases that start on or after January 1, 2027, a tenant does not have to pay a fee that is missing from the first page of the lease. Security deposits and move-in fees are not banned. They just have to be disclosed.

Fees That Are Banned

For covered leases starting in 2027, you cannot charge a fee or fine for any of these, based on the Illinois Legal Aid summary:

• Changing or renewing a lease
• Sending an eviction notice or filing an eviction case before a court grants an order (you can still recover court costs and filing fees)
• An after-hours maintenance request
• The tenant contacting you or your manager about maintenance, a service request, or a lease question
• Travel needed to finish maintenance or safety repairs
• Calling a maintenance hotline
• Routine maintenance and normal upkeep
• Pest control when the tenant did not cause the problem
• An in-person walkthrough at move-in or move-out

Application fees have rules too. You cannot add a separate fee that repeats your screening costs. An application fee over $50 is allowed only when the real cost of the background check is higher than $50, you pay the screening company first, and you bill the applicant within 14 days with a receipt. Miss that window and the fee is waived.

Renaming a fee will not help. A judge looks at what the fee actually covers, not what you call it. Tenants can also sue over violations, and local rules can be stricter than the state law.

What to Do Before January 1

Here is the checklist we would work through:

1. List every fee you charge today. Pull your leases and your rental ads and write them all down.
2. Cut the banned ones. Renewal fees and walkthrough fees are common places to look.
3. Update your lease template. Put required fees and the utilities answer on page one. If you attach other forms to your lease, ask your attorney how the first-page rule applies.
4. Update your rental ads. If the rent is in the ad, the required fees need to be there too.
5. Fix your application process. Check your screening fee against the $50 rule and the 14-day billing step.
6. Check local rules. Your town can be stricter than the state.
7. Talk to an attorney. We are Realtors, not attorneys. Our trusted attorneys, James F. White and Andrew Heap at Kuhn Heap, can review your lease. Tell them Team Elite sent you and they will take great care of you.

What This Means If You Are Buying a Rental

If you run the numbers on a rental, take any banned fee out of your income estimate. A renewal fee or a walkthrough fee that used to help your cash flow will not be there in 2027. We covered the bigger cash flow picture in our post on renting out your house instead of selling it.

Julia and Vickie both own rentals, so these questions are personal for us. At Team Elite Realtors, we help investors look at the real numbers before they buy. We are with Baird and Warner, which was the first brokerage in Illinois to put listings online back in the 1990s, and that tech-forward habit shows in how we help investors search. You can read what past clients say in our Google Reviews, or start watching new listings on Zenlist.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the Illinois rental junk fee law start? January 1, 2027. It was signed on June 26, 2026. It applies to leases that start on or after that date.

Can I still charge a security deposit in Illinois? Yes. Security deposits and move-in fees are not banned. They have to be disclosed on the first page of the lease and in ads that show the rent.

Does the law apply if I live in the building? Not if the building has six or fewer units and you live in one of them. Even then, fees should be written down in your lease or another written agreement.

Is there a Realtor near me in Naperville who works with landlords and investors? Yes. We're Julia Corkey and Vickie Schoenfeld with Team Elite Realtors at Baird and Warner. We both own rentals and help investors across Naperville, Aurora, Oswego, and Plainfield. Call us at 630-286-9777.

Thinking about buying your next rental, or selling one? Book a consultation and we will look at the numbers together.