How much notice does a landlord have to give to raise rent in Illinois?

Thirty days for a month-to-month tenancy under section 9-207(b), and seven days week to week under 9-207(a). A year-to-year tenancy takes sixty days, but that rule sits at section 9-205, a separate provision most guides never reach, so tenants on annual arrangements are often told they get thirty. A tenant under a bona fide lease in a foreclosed property is entitled to at least ninety days.

Is there a limit on how much rent can go up in Illinois?

No. The Rent Control Preemption Act at 50 ILCS 825/5 bars any Illinois municipality from capping rent, so neither the state nor Chicago limits the amount. What Chicago does is require longer notice than the state, scaled to how long you have lived there, which the Preemption Act does not touch. In the city the state figure is your floor rather than your answer.

My building is being foreclosed. Does that change my notice?

It may change it substantially. Section 9-207.5 entitles a tenant under a bona fide lease in a foreclosed property to at least ninety days, rather than the ordinary thirty. If you have learned of a foreclosure from a court filing, a notice, or a new party claiming to own the building, this is the provision to check before accepting any deadline you have been given.

Do I owe the higher rent if I stay without agreeing to it?

Not automatically. Illinois has no rent-increase statute; sections 9-205 and 9-207 govern ending a tenancy, and they do the work because rent cannot be changed inside a term. Your landlord is ending the tenancy and offering a new one at a different figure. Staying without accepting makes you a holdover tenant, which carries its own risks, but does not by itself put you in arrears at the new rate.

Illinois Rent Increase Notice: 30 Days, or 60, or 90

Illinois requires 30 days’ written notice before a rent increase on a month-to-month tenancy, and 7 days week to week. If your tenancy runs from year to year the period is 60 days — and that rule lives in a different section, which is why almost nothing written about Illinois mentions it.

There is no cap on the amount, and no Illinois city may create one. But there is one protection in this chapter that is worth more than the notice period, and it applies if your building is in foreclosure.

Why Illinois is reported as a flat 30-day state

The section people cite is 735 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/9-207. Subsection (b) gives 30 days for a tenancy of less than a year other than week to week, which covers month-to-month. Subsection (a) gives 7 days week to week. Both are correct, and neither covers a year-to-year tenancy.

That one sits at § 9-205, a separate provision, and requires 60 days. Aggregators quote § 9-207 and stop, so a tenant whose arrangement renews annually is routinely told they are entitled to half the notice the statute gives them.

One other thing to know when you look this up: the article these sections live in was renamed from Forcible Entry and Detainer to Eviction. Older citations point at the same provisions under the old heading, so a mismatch in the title does not mean you have the wrong law.

If your building is in foreclosure: 90 days

§ 9-207.5 gives a tenant under a bona fide lease in a foreclosed property at least 90 days. It is a far stronger entitlement than the ordinary 30, and it is close to invisible in general guidance about Illinois rent.

If you have learned that your landlord is in foreclosure — from a notice, a court filing, or a new party claiming to own the building — this is the provision to check before accepting any deadline you are given.

The notice is a termination, so it is an offer

Illinois has no rent-increase statute. These are the provisions for ending a tenancy, and they do the work because rent cannot be changed inside a term. Your landlord is ending the tenancy you have and offering a new one at a different figure, which means a tenant who neither accepts nor leaves is holding over rather than in arrears at the new rate.

No cap, and Chicago is a separate question

The Rent Control Preemption Act, 50 Ill. Comp. Stat. 825/5, stops any Illinois municipality capping rent. Chicago cannot limit the amount however the City Council votes.

What Chicago can do, and does, is require longer notice. Its Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance runs beyond the state default and scales with how long you have lived there. The Preemption Act blocks a Chicago rent cap, not a Chicago notice rule, so in the city the state figure is your floor rather than your answer.

When this needs a lawyer

Get advice if the building is in foreclosure, if the increase followed a complaint or a repair request, or if you were served a notice to vacate rather than an increase. Legal Aid Chicago and Prairie State Legal Services cover tenant matters without charge.

Sources

735 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/9-207(a) and (b) for the 7-day and 30-day periods, § 9-205 for year-to-year, and § 9-207.5 for a bona fide lease in a foreclosed property; taken from the Illinois Compiled Statutes and the enacting public act. 50 Ill. Comp. Stat. 825/5 for preemption, via the National Multifamily Housing Council’s state chart of August 2026. Verified November 2026. The Illinois General Assembly’s own site was unreachable when this was checked, so confirm the current text there before relying on a citation. Chicago’s ordinance is separate and should be read directly. This is general information, not legal advice about your tenancy.

Illinois is one of 41 states that take the notice period from the statute on ending a tenancy — how all 51 compare. Massachusetts works the same way and is reported wrongly for the same reason.

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