HB3564 - 104th General Assembly
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| 1 | AN ACT concerning civil law. | ||||||
| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||||
| 3 | represented in the General Assembly: | ||||||
| 4 | Section 5. The Landlord and Tenant Act is amended by | ||||||
| 5 | adding Section 35 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (765 ILCS 705/35 new) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 35. Rental fee transparency and limitations. | ||||||
| 8 | (a) As used in this Section, "listing" means an | ||||||
| 9 | advertisement or written notice that conveys a property is for | ||||||
| 10 | lease and includes the rental price. | ||||||
| 11 | (b) Rental fee transparency. All non-optional fees, | ||||||
| 12 | regardless of whether they are one-time fees or recurring | ||||||
| 13 | fees, shall be explicitly contained on the first page of a | ||||||
| 14 | lease agreement. If a fee is not explicitly contained on the | ||||||
| 15 | first page of a lease agreement, a tenant shall not be liable | ||||||
| 16 | for payment of such fee. | ||||||
| 17 | (1) Non-optional fees shall be disclosed in a clear | ||||||
| 18 | and conspicuous manner in a listing of residential | ||||||
| 19 | property or in an accompanying weblink at the time of the | ||||||
| 20 | listing. | ||||||
| 21 | (2) In a lease agreement disclosure or unit listing, | ||||||
| 22 | the landlord must disclose whether utilities are included | ||||||
| 23 | in rent. | ||||||
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| 1 | (c) Junk fee ban. No landlord or lease agreement may | ||||||
| 2 | require the payment by the tenant of any of the following: | ||||||
| 3 | (1) A fee for a rental application, including | ||||||
| 4 | background checks, in excess of $50. A landlord may charge | ||||||
| 5 | a fee over $50 for a third-party background check only if: | ||||||
| 6 | (A) the actual cost of the third-party background | ||||||
| 7 | check service is greater than $50; | ||||||
| 8 | (B) the landlord pays the upfront cost of the | ||||||
| 9 | third-party background check service; and | ||||||
| 10 | (C) the landlord bills the applicant within 14 | ||||||
| 11 | days of the third-party background check service with | ||||||
| 12 | receipts from the third-party background check service | ||||||
| 13 | provider. | ||||||
| 14 | If the landlord does not submit the bill and receipts | ||||||
| 15 | within 14 days, the fee for a third-party background check | ||||||
| 16 | is waived. Under no circumstances may this fee be used as a | ||||||
| 17 | basis for an eviction action within the first year of a | ||||||
| 18 | lease agreement. | ||||||
| 19 | (2) A fee or fine ancillary to the application fee at | ||||||
| 20 | the time of the application that is intended to duplicate | ||||||
| 21 | the costs of tenant screening or to include costs | ||||||
| 22 | unrelated to tenant screening. This paragraph shall not be | ||||||
| 23 | construed to limit the ability of the landlord to charge | ||||||
| 24 | an application fee to cover the costs of tenant screening. | ||||||
| 25 | (3) A fee or fine for modification or renewal of a | ||||||
| 26 | lease agreement. | ||||||
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| 1 | (4) A fee or fine for an eviction notice or the filing | ||||||
| 2 | of an eviction action prior to the court granting an | ||||||
| 3 | eviction order. This paragraph shall not be construed to | ||||||
| 4 | limit the ability of the landlord to recover court costs | ||||||
| 5 | and filing fees. | ||||||
| 6 | (5) A fee or fine for after-hours requests for | ||||||
| 7 | maintenance service. | ||||||
| 8 | (6) A fee or fine for contacting the building owner or | ||||||
| 9 | property manager for maintenance or service requests, | ||||||
| 10 | lease-related questions, or other items directly related | ||||||
| 11 | to the tenancy. | ||||||
| 12 | (7) A fee or fine for travel required to complete | ||||||
| 13 | needed maintenance work or safety repairs. | ||||||
| 14 | (8) A fee or fine for a maintenance hotline service or | ||||||
| 15 | call to a maintenance hotline for maintenance or service | ||||||
| 16 | requests, lease-related questions, or other items directly | ||||||
| 17 | related to the tenancy. | ||||||
| 18 | (9) A fee or fine for the routine maintenance and | ||||||
| 19 | upkeep of the unit. | ||||||
| 20 | (10) A fee or fine for pest abatement or removal where | ||||||
| 21 | the tenant has in no way contributed to the infestation. | ||||||
| 22 | (11) A fee or fine for an in-person walk through of the | ||||||
| 23 | unit at the time of move-in and move-out. | ||||||
| 24 | (d) Home rule. Any home rule unit of local government, | ||||||
| 25 | non-home rule municipality, or non-home rule county within the | ||||||
| 26 | unincorporated territory of the county may regulate fees | ||||||
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| 1 | charged to tenants, but such regulations must at a minimum, | ||||||
| 2 | restrict fees charged to tenants in a manner equal to this | ||||||
| 3 | Section. This Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of | ||||||
| 4 | Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the | ||||||
| 5 | concurrent exercise by home rule units of powers and functions | ||||||
| 6 | exercised by the State. | ||||||
| 7 | (e) Applicability. A landlord may not rename a fee or | ||||||
| 8 | charge to avoid application of this Section. This Section | ||||||
| 9 | applies to all lease agreements for residential rental | ||||||
| 10 | property entered into after the effective date of this | ||||||
| 11 | amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly, except that this | ||||||
| 12 | Section does not apply to lease agreements entered into for | ||||||
| 13 | dwelling units in owner-occupied premises containing 6 units | ||||||
| 14 | or fewer. | ||||||
| 15 | (f) Penalties. Any person alleging a violation of this | ||||||
| 16 | Section may bring a civil action, in accordance with | ||||||
| 17 | applicable law, in any court of competent jurisdiction. The | ||||||
| 18 | court may order injunctive relief, monetary relief, attorney's | ||||||
| 19 | fees, and costs. | ||||||
| 20 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | ||||||
| 21 | 2026. | ||||||
