Illinois Month-to-month Rental Agreement Template

A rental agreement with no fixed end date. It renews each month until the landlord or tenant gives proper written notice. This edition fills in the Illinois rules we could confirm and marks the rest as blanks to check.

Illinois rules for this form

Month-to-month notice. A month-to-month tenancy ends with 30 days of written notice. (735 ILCS 5/9-207)

Notice before a rent increase. Generally, Illinois has no separate rent increase notice statute, so rent stays fixed during a lease unless the lease allows a change, and a month-to-month increase in practice needs at least 30 days of notice. (Eviction Act (month-to-month notice))

Deposit limit. Illinois law does not cap the amount of a security deposit statewide. (Security Deposit Return Act (765 ILCS 710))

Deadline to return the deposit. To keep any part of the deposit for damage, the landlord must send an itemized statement within 30 days after move out; otherwise the full deposit is due within 45 days. (765 ILCS 710/1)

Notice before entry. There is no statewide statute on entry notice, so the lease controls, and some cities, including Chicago, set their own notice rules. (Illinois law (no statewide entry statute) and local ordinances)

Required disclosures. Homes built before 1978 need the federal lead-based paint disclosure and the EPA pamphlet. (Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act (42 U.S.C. 4852d))

Required disclosures. A landlord who knows of a radon hazard in the unit generally must disclose it to current and prospective tenants. (Radon Industry Licensing Act)

Cities and counties in Illinois can add their own rules on top of these. Check local ordinances before you sign.

What is in the template

1. Parties
2. Property
3. Monthly term
4. Ending the tenancy
5. Rent
6. Changes to rent or terms
7. Security deposit
8. Utilities
9. Use, guests and pets
10. Care, repairs and alterations
11. Entry
12. Subletting
13. Default
14. Moving out
15. Disclosures
16. General terms
17. Signatures

Before you use it

• A month-to-month agreement renews automatically each rental period until someone gives written notice.
• Notice periods to end the tenancy or change the rent are set by state law, and some cities require longer notice or a valid reason.
• The flexibility cuts both ways: the tenant can leave on short notice, so turnover can come sooner.
• Everything else, from deposit limits to entry notice, follows the same rules as a fixed-term lease.

For the full explanation of this form, read our guide to the month-to-month rental agreement.