Cook County Lease Agreement: Disclosures and Void Clauses

A Cook County lease agreement for a rental unit in suburban Cook County is governed by the Residential Tenant and Landlord Ordinance (RTLO), which dictates what the lease must say, what disclosures must come with it, and which clauses are void even if both parties sign. The ordinance covers nearly every rental in suburban Cook County, including apartments, single-family homes, mobile homes, and subsidized units.¹ It does not apply to rentals inside the City of Chicago, which has its own ordinance, and it exempts owner-occupied buildings with six or fewer units from most provisions, though the anti-lockout rules still reach those smaller buildings. A landlord of an exempt unit must tell the tenant before collecting any fees that the RTLO does not fully apply.²

What the Lease Itself Must Contain

Start with the basics every lease needs: the full legal names of all adult occupants, the complete address of the unit, the monthly rent, and the date rent is due each month. These terms fix who is responsible for the property and remove any argument later about what was owed.

On top of those standard terms, the RTLO requires the lease to carry the landlord’s full name, address, and telephone number so the tenant knows where to send legal notices. If ownership of the building changes, the new owner has to update that contact information for the tenant.²

The ordinance also requires a written summary of the RTLO itself to be attached to every lease and attached again at every renewal. The summary is a standardized plain-language document published by the county. If the landlord skips the summary or any other required disclosure, the tenant can send written notice of the problem; the landlord then has two business days to deliver the missing documents, and if that still doesn’t happen, the tenant may be able to terminate the lease.²

Disclosures the Landlord Must Give Before Signing

Section 42-805 of the Cook County Code requires landlords to disclose several categories of information. Some appear in the lease itself; others arrive as separate documents handed over before signing.

Utilities

The lease must state whether the landlord or the tenant pays each utility. When the tenant pays a utility directly, the service has to be individually metered to the unit, and the landlord should disclose the prior twelve months of utility costs if those figures are known. The same disclosure applies when the tenant pays utility costs to the landlord instead of to the utility company. If the landlord didn’t own the building during that period or simply doesn’t have the numbers, the disclosure can give costs for a comparable unit or state that the costs are unknown.²

Code Violations, Utility Shutoffs, and Foreclosure

Any building code violations cited in the previous twelve months must be disclosed in writing. A pending utility shutoff notice from a municipality or utility company must be disclosed before the tenant commits. And if the landlord has received, or receives during the tenancy, a foreclosure notice on the property, the tenant has to be told.²

Lead-Based Paint

For any property built before 1978, federal law requires the landlord to disclose known lead-based paint hazards, provide copies of any available testing reports, and give the tenant a copy of the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home.” The lease must include a lead warning statement, and the tenant has to get the chance to review this information before signing.³ The RTLO summary separately treats known lead hazards as part of the landlord’s general disclosure obligations.²

Radon

Illinois law requires a separate radon disclosure for units on the second floor or below, including basement-level apartments. The landlord has to provide the “Radon Guide for Tenants” pamphlet, a completed “Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards to Tenants” form, and copies of any radon test results from the previous two years. These documents should be delivered at the application stage or before the lease is signed.⁴

Tenants have 90 days from the start of the lease to run their own test. If results come back at or above 4.0 pCi/L, the landlord can retest, mitigate, or let the tenant break the lease. If the landlord declines to mitigate, the tenant can hire a professional and spread the cost across remaining rent payments. When the landlord failed to provide the required radon documents in the first place, the tenant keeps the right to terminate over a high radon reading at any point during the lease.⁴

Move-In Fees

If the landlord charges a move-in fee, the tenant must receive an itemized estimate of what the fee covers. Routine maintenance or general upkeep cannot be bundled into a move-in fee; those costs sit with the landlord regardless.

Clauses That Are Void Even If You Sign Them

Section 42-804(F) of the Cook County Code lists provisions that are automatically unenforceable. The ban exists because these clauses tilt the arrangement so sharply toward the landlord that no voluntary agreement can make them fair.

Confession of judgment: a clause letting a court enter judgment against the tenant without notice or a trial.⁵
Jury trial waiver: language requiring either side to give up the right to a jury trial.
Waiver of notices: clauses eliminating the tenant’s right to termination notices, court filings, or other procedural protections.
Non-disparagement clauses: restrictions on the tenant making public or private statements about the landlord or property.
Liability limitations: language capping either side’s legal liability or forcing one side to cover the other’s costs for harm caused by negligence.
Attorney’s fees in eviction: requiring the tenant to pay the landlord’s attorney’s fees in an eviction case, unless a court rule or statute specifically allows it.
Unequal termination notice: requiring the tenant to give more notice before moving out than the landlord gives for non-renewal, unless the asymmetry is disclosed in a separate written notice.

Late fees are capped too. A landlord cannot charge more than $10 per month for the first $1,000 of monthly rent, plus 5% of any rent above $1,000.⁵ For $1,500 rent, that works out to a $35 maximum late fee ($10 plus 5% of the extra $500). A lease that tries to charge more is unenforceable on that point.

Security Deposit Terms the Lease Must Honor

A landlord cannot demand a security deposit greater than one and a half months’ rent. The tenant can pay any amount above one month’s rent in up to six equal monthly installments rather than all at once. The deposit must go into a federally insured account at an Illinois bank or financial institution, kept separate from the landlord’s own money, and it remains the tenant’s property; the landlord’s creditors cannot reach it, even in a foreclosure.⁵

The lease has to name the financial institution holding the deposit. If the landlord later moves the money, written notice must reach the tenant within 14 days of the transfer.⁵ At the time of payment, the landlord must give a receipt showing the amount, the date, a description of the unit, and the name of the person who took the money. Skipping the receipt entitles the tenant to immediate return of the entire deposit.

Under the Illinois Security Deposit Interest Act, buildings with 25 or more units must pay interest on deposits held longer than six months. The rate matches what the largest Illinois commercial bank pays on passbook savings as of December 31 of the prior year, and for 2026 that rate is 0.005%. Once accrued interest hits $5 or more in a year, the landlord has 30 days from the rental anniversary to pay it as cash or a rent credit. Any remaining interest is due when the lease ends.⁶

After move-out, the landlord has 30 days to return the deposit. Deductions are allowed only for unpaid rent (not rent the tenant legitimately withheld) and damage beyond normal wear and tear. Faded paint, light scuffs, and ordinary aging are not deductible. When the landlord withholds any portion for repairs, an itemized statement of damages with estimated or actual costs must be mailed to the tenant’s last known address inside that 30-day window.²

The penalties are steep enough that these rules should be treated as non-negotiable. A landlord who overcharges, fails to return the deposit, or doesn’t provide a proper itemized statement can be sued for damages equal to twice the deposit amount, plus attorney’s fees. No receipt at payment means the tenant can demand the full deposit back immediately.²

Non-Renewal Notice Built Into the Lease

A landlord who does not plan to renew the lease must give at least 60 days’ written notice before the lease termination date. Miss that deadline, and the tenant does not have to leave on the original end date. The tenant may stay for up to 120 days after the landlord eventually delivers written notice, with the existing lease terms remaining in effect during that period.² The lease cannot require the tenant to give more notice before moving out than the landlord gives for non-renewal, unless that asymmetry is disclosed in a separate written notice.⁵

Signing and Delivery

A Cook County lease is finalized once the landlord and all adult tenants sign. Electronic signatures are valid under applicable law, so the signing doesn’t need to happen in person. Once fully executed, the landlord must deliver a complete signed copy to the tenant within 30 days.¹ The first month’s rent and any security deposit or move-in fees are usually collected at this stage.

Keep proof of delivery. An email confirmation, a signed acknowledgment, or a certified mail receipt all work. If a dispute arises later about which version of the lease the tenant actually received, that documentation matters. The delivered copy is the tenant’s official record, so check that every term, disclosure, and attachment matches what was agreed to before signing.

1
Cook County Government. Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance
2
Cook County Government. Cook County Renters Rights and Landlord Protections
3
US EPA. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule Section 1018 of Title X
4
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 420 ILCS 46/26
5
Cook County. Cook County Code – Residential Tenant and Landlord Ordinance
6
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 765 ILCS 715 – Security Deposit Interest Act