Rental Application and Tenant-Screening Fee Requirements in Illinois
At a glance
| Governing law and coverage | Current: 765 ILCS 705/30, landlords and prospective tenants. From Jan. 1, 2027: § 35, new residential leases except owner-occupied premises with 6 or fewer units |
|---|---|
| Fees allowed or prohibited | Current: no screening/access fee when a qualifying reusable report is supplied (§ 30(b)). From Jan. 1, 2027: application/background fee allowed within cap; duplicate or unrelated ancillary application fees barred (§ 35(c)) |
| Maximum charge and adjustment | Current: no general statewide amount cap in § 30. From Jan. 1, 2027: $50; a costlier third-party background check may exceed $50 only under the actual-cost procedure (§ 35(c)(1)) |
| Permitted costs and charge timing | Current qualifying reusable report must be free to access and use. From Jan. 1, 2027, landlord pays an over-$50 third-party check upfront and bills applicant with provider receipts within 14 days (§§ 30(b), 35(c)(1)) |
| Before-screening disclosures | Current § 30 states no special vacancy or fee disclosure. From Jan. 1, 2027, all nonoptional fees must appear clearly in the listing or linked page and on the lease's first page (§ 35(b)) |
| Receipt, report copy, and refund | Current § 30 states no general receipt, report-copy, or refund duty. From Jan. 1, 2027, provider receipts are required for an over-$50 third-party-check bill; missing the 14-day deadline waives that fee (§ 35(c)(1)) |
| Applicant-supplied or reusable reports | Mandatory fee-free use if a 30-day report is direct/third-party, free to access, and covers all consistently used criteria; landlord may request a no-material-change statement (§ 30(a)-(b)) |
| Application order and adverse action | No special statewide first-in-order, first-qualified, or state adverse-action procedure in current § 30 or future § 35 |
| Remedies and stronger local rules | Current reusable-report rule applies the stronger conflicting local policy (§ 30(c)). From Jan. 1, 2027, civil action may yield injunction, money, attorney fees, and costs; local rules must be at least as protective (§ 35(d), (f)) |
Requirements one by one
A qualifying reusable report must be fee-free now
Current 765 ILCS 705/30(b) requires a landlord to use a qualifying reusable tenant screening report without charging either an access fee or an application screening fee. The report must have been prepared within the previous 30 days at the applicant's request and expense, reach the landlord directly or through a compliant report provider, cost the landlord nothing to access, and include all criteria that landlord consistently uses. The landlord may ask the applicant to state that the information has not materially changed.
The statute defines the report to include the applicant's name, contact information, income-source verification, last known address, and a legally compliant eviction-history check. Section 30(d) still permits the landlord to collect and process an additional application, but not to charge another screening fee for it.
A broader $50 ceiling begins January 1, 2027
Public Act 104-479 creates 765 ILCS 705/35. Public Act 104-514 then moved the new section's effective date from July 1, 2026 to January 1, 2027. It is enacted law, but it is not the current fee ceiling on this page's verification date.
For residential leases entered into after that effective date, § 35(c)(1) generally limits a rental application fee, including background checks, to $50. A landlord may pass through a more expensive third-party background check only when its actual cost exceeds $50, the landlord pays upfront, and the applicant is billed within 14 days with the provider's receipts. Missing that deadline waives the third-party-check fee. Section 35(c)(2) separately bars an ancillary application-time charge that duplicates screening costs or covers costs unrelated to screening.
Future disclosure and enforcement rules
Beginning January 1, 2027, nonoptional fees must be disclosed clearly in the residential listing or an accompanying web link and must appear on the first page of the lease. A fee omitted from that first page is not payable by the tenant. The new section does not apply to a lease for a dwelling in an owner-occupied property containing six or fewer units.
Section 35(f) authorizes a civil action and permits injunctive relief, monetary relief, attorney fees, and costs. Local governments may impose equal or greater fee protection, while current § 30(c) likewise applies the more protective local rule when it conflicts with the reusable-report provision.
What trips people up
The $50 limit is enacted but not yet effective. Public Act 104-479 originally printed July 1, 2026, but Public Act 104-514 expressly changed that date to January 1, 2027. Until then, current § 30 supplies the statewide screening-fee rule described above.
The current reusable-report rule is more than permission to submit a report. If the report satisfies every condition in § 30(b), the landlord may not charge to access it and may not impose an application screening fee.
The future over-$50 exception is not a general higher cap. It applies only to the actual cost of a third-party background-check service and only when the landlord follows the upfront-payment, 14-day billing, and receipt procedure.
Common questions
Must my reusable report be recent? Yes. It must have been prepared within the previous 30 days.
Can the landlord run another application after accepting my report? Yes, but § 30(d) bars an application screening fee for that additional processing.
Will every small owner-occupied property be covered by the 2027 cap? No. Future § 35 excludes leases for dwelling units in owner-occupied premises with six or fewer units.
Statutes and sources
- 765 ILCS 705/30(a)-(b) — report contents, 30-day rule, delivery, access,
screening criteria, fee prohibition, and no-material-change statement.
If a prospective tenant provides a reusable tenant screening report that meets the following criteria, the landlord may not charge the prospective tenant a fee to access the report or an application screening fee.
Official source: https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext?DocName=076507050K30 (accessed 2026-07-20) - 765 ILCS 705/30(c)-(d) — stronger local protection and additional fee-free application processing.
Nothing in this Section prohibits a landlord from collecting and processing an application in addition to the report provided, as long as the prospective tenant is not charged an application screening fee for this additional report.
Official source: https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext?DocName=076507050K30 (accessed 2026-07-20) - Public Act 104-0479 (adding 765 ILCS 705/35) — future $50 ceiling, third-party actual-cost procedure, disclosures, coverage, and remedies.
A fee for a rental application, including background checks, in excess of $50. A landlord may charge a fee over $50 for a third-party background check only if ... the actual cost ... is greater than $50 ... the landlord pays the upfront cost ... and the landlord bills the applicant within 14 days ... with receipts ...
Official source: https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/PublicActs/View/104-0479 (accessed 2026-07-20) - Public Act 104-0514 — January 1, 2027 effective date.
Sec. 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2027.
Official source: https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/PublicActs/View/104-0514 (accessed 2026-07-20)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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