Eviction laws in Illinois require every landlord to go through the courts to remove a tenant, starting with a written notice and ending with a sheriff carrying out a judge’s order. The governing statute is Article IX of the Code of Civil Procedure, often called the Eviction Act, beginning at 735 ILCS 5/9-101.1Justia. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5 – Article IX Eviction A landlord who changes the locks, shuts off utilities, or otherwise forces a tenant out without a court order is breaking the law and can be sued for damages.2Illinois Attorney General. Landlord and Tenant Rights and Laws Chicago layers additional tenant protections on top of the state rules.
When a Landlord Can File for Eviction
The statute lists the situations that support an eviction case. Nonpayment of rent is the most common. Lease violations come next, covering issues like unauthorized occupants, serious property damage, or repeated disturbances that breach a specific lease term. A holdover tenancy, where the lease has ended and the tenant stays on without the landlord’s agreement, is also grounds. So is anyone occupying property with no right or title at all.1Justia. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5 – Article IX Eviction Drug-related criminal activity on the premises triggers a separate, faster procedure covered later in this article.
The Written Notice That Has to Come First
No lawsuit can be filed until the tenant has received a written notice that matches the type of problem. Serving the wrong notice, or filing suit before the notice period runs out, is one of the fastest ways to get a case thrown out.
Five-Day Notice for Unpaid Rent
When rent is overdue, the landlord serves a written demand giving the tenant at least five days to pay the full amount owed. The notice must state the exact dollar figure and warn that the lease will terminate if the tenant does not pay in full before the five days expire.1Justia. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5 – Article IX Eviction It must also say prominently that only full payment will stop the termination unless the landlord agrees in writing to accept partial payment. Without that language, a partial payment during the five-day window can invalidate the entire notice.
Ten-Day Notice for Lease Violations
For a breach of any lease term other than rent, the landlord serves a ten-day notice that describes the specific violation and states the tenancy ends when the ten days expire.3Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5/9-210 – Notice to Quit Unlike the five-day notice for rent, this one does not give the tenant an automatic right to cure the violation and stay. Whether the tenant can fix the problem and keep the lease depends on the lease terms and the circumstances.
Ending a Tenancy With No Fixed End Date
When a landlord wants to end a periodic tenancy, the required notice depends on how often rent is paid:
- Week-to-week tenancies: 7 days’ written notice.
- Month-to-month tenancies: 30 days’ written notice.4Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5/9-207 – Notice to Terminate Tenancy for Less Than a Year
- Year-to-year tenancies: 60 days’ written notice, given within the last four months of the current lease year.
Chicago tenants get significantly longer notice periods than these state defaults when the termination is not based on nonpayment or a lease violation. More on that below.
How the Notice Must Be Delivered
Illinois law allows three methods for delivering a notice or demand. The landlord can hand it directly to the tenant, leave it with someone at least 13 years old who lives on or is in charge of the premises, or send it by certified or registered mail with a return receipt. If nobody is on the property, the landlord can post the notice there.5Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5/9-211 – Service of Demand or Notice Any other method puts the whole case at risk. A signed affidavit of service documenting who received the notice, when, and how will later need to be filed with the court.
What Happens in Court
If the notice period passes without payment, cure, or a move-out, the landlord files a Complaint for Eviction with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the property sits. The complaint names all adult occupants, describes the property, states the grounds for eviction, and asks for possession. Unpaid rent can be claimed in the same complaint. The filing package also includes a copy of the notice served, the affidavit of service, and any relevant lease provisions.1Justia. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5 – Article IX Eviction
The clerk issues a summons that must be served on the tenant. If personal service fails, the landlord can request constructive service through posting and mailing or through publication. At the hearing, the landlord has to prove a valid ground for eviction exists, that proper notice was served the right way, and that the tenant did not cure the problem within the notice period. The tenant can raise defenses and present evidence. If the judge is satisfied, the court enters an Order for Possession, which is the legal authorization to have the tenant removed. A money judgment for unpaid rent can be entered at the same time.
Defenses That Can Defeat an Eviction
Tenants are not limited to arguing about whether rent was paid. Several categories of defense can sink a case that looks straightforward on paper:
- Defective notice. The notice contained the wrong dollar amount, left out required language, was served incorrectly, or the landlord filed suit before the notice period expired. This is where most rushed cases fall apart.
- Rent was paid, or the amount is wrong.
- The violation was cured, or the landlord accepted rent or signed a new lease after learning about it.
- Uninhabitable conditions. The landlord failed to maintain the property, provide heat or running water, or address serious code violations. Under the implied warranty of habitability, the tenant may argue the apartment’s condition reduced its value below the rent demanded.
- Retaliation. Illinois prohibits retaliatory evictions under the Retaliatory Eviction Act, so a filing that follows a code complaint or a repair request can be challenged on that basis.
- Discrimination based on a protected characteristic under the Fair Housing Act or the Illinois Human Rights Act.
- Illegal self-help by the landlord, such as a lockout, utility shutoff, or removal of belongings before any court order.
A defense does not have to disprove the landlord’s entire claim. Showing that the notice was technically deficient, or that the landlord accepted rent after the alleged violation, can be enough to get the case dismissed.
Sheriff Enforcement and the 120-Day Limit
Only the county sheriff can carry out a court-ordered eviction in Illinois. After the Order for Possession is entered, the landlord delivers a certified copy to the sheriff’s office and pays a separate execution fee. In Cook County, enforcement can be scheduled as soon as 24 hours after the order is placed with the sheriff’s evictions office, though actual timing depends on the sheriff’s caseload and can stretch to several weeks in busy counties.6Cook County Sheriff’s Office. Eviction Procedure – Tenant’s Guide A judge may grant a brief stay to give the tenant extra time, but a stay is discretionary, not automatic.
An eviction order does not last indefinitely. If the sheriff has not enforced it within 120 days after entry, the order expires. The landlord can ask the court to extend the enforcement period, but the tenant must be notified and has the right to oppose the extension.7FindLaw. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5/9-117 – Expiration of Order A tenant can block the extension by showing the tenancy was reinstated, the violation was cured or forgiven, a post-judgment agreement is being honored, or another legal reason bars enforcement.
Chicago’s Added Protections
Tenants in Chicago get rules that go well beyond state law. The city’s Fair Notice Ordinance sets longer notice periods when a lease is being terminated or rent raised for reasons other than nonpayment or a lease violation:
- More than 6 months but less than 3 years of tenancy: 60 days’ notice.
- More than 3 years of tenancy: 120 days’ notice.
These rules apply to all Chicago tenants whether the lease is written or month-to-month.8City of Chicago. Know Your Rights – Fair Notice Ordinance They do not apply when the eviction is for nonpayment or another lease violation.
Chicago also lets tenants facing a nonpayment eviction stop the case by paying all back rent owed plus any court filing fees the landlord has already paid. The payment can be made any time before the judge issues the Order for Possession. This right does not apply if the tenant lives in a building of six or fewer units where the landlord also resides.8City of Chicago. Know Your Rights – Fair Notice Ordinance
Fast-Track Evictions for Drug Activity
A separate, compressed process applies when a rental is being used for manufacturing, selling, or trafficking controlled substances. The landlord files a verified complaint with direct evidence of the drug activity, and the court sets a hearing for any day after 14 days from the filing date.9Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 735 ILCS 5/9-118 – Emergency Housing Eviction Proceedings If the tenant does not appear, the court enters a default order. If the tenant does appear, trial happens immediately and cannot be continued more than seven days past the original hearing date without both sides agreeing. The ordinary notice-and-wait rules described above do not apply to these cases.
Military Tenants
The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act applies in Illinois. An active-duty service member or their spouse facing eviction can request a 90-day stay of the proceedings, and the court has discretion to extend it. These protections apply when the monthly rent falls below a federally set threshold that adjusts each year for inflation; for 2024 the threshold was $9,812.12 per month.
Belongings Left After the Eviction
Illinois does not have a single statewide statute on abandoned belongings, so the right answer depends on where the property is. In Chicago, the landlord must store the tenant’s belongings or leave them on the premises for at least seven days after the tenant departs; after that, they can be disposed of, and items clearly worth less than the cost of storage can be disposed of immediately. Outside Chicago, the safer practice is to notify the former tenant in writing and allow a reasonable period, often around 30 days, to retrieve the property before disposing of anything. A landlord who throws out belongings too quickly can be sued for their value.