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Illinois Lease Agreement

Simple to produce, an Illinois Lease Agreement is an effective way for landlords to set forth the terms and conditions of their arrangements with a tenant. With the appropriate details, this legal agreement can reduce disputes by ensuring that there is a mutual understanding between the signing parties. When ready, you can tap or click "Make document" to take a closer look at the Illinois Rental Contract sample and preview the questions that you'll need to answer to personalize your document. Suitable for all residential property types, this rental agreement for Illinois can be used by landlords in Chicago, Aurora, Naperville, or any additional town located in the Prairie State.

As with any other legal contract, an Illinois Rental Agreement is not legally binding until it is signed by the landlord and tenant(s). Unlike an Illinois Lease Agreement template or blank PDF file that you might discover elsewhere, every rental contract from Rocket Lawyer comes with the option of Document Defense^®, so an attorney in our network can assess the situation and take action if you don't get paid or experience any other issue.

Whether you are renting to an acquaintance or a stranger, the Illinois Lease Agreement is a step that should never be missed. You might decide to use an Illinois Lease Agreement due to the fact that, when done properly, it grants the following benefits:

• The landlord and tenant(s) understand their responsibilities
• Neither party is surprised by how long the lease lasts
• Payment-related information is well-defined

Without this document, you and your tenant might experience any of these unwanted repercussions: not being paid in a timely manner, unmet standards of maintenance and repairs, and little to no legal recourse if disputes arise.

In order to draft your Illinois Lease Agreement online, you'll need the following information:

• The address and description of your property
• The contact information for your tenant
• How payment will be made
• What the duration of the lease is
• What kind of services or utilities will be included

Your contract will also include policies around late rent, invited guests, smoking and/or drug use, pets/animals, and moving out before the rental period ends. While building your rental contract, you also will be able to include more specifics about insurance requirements, furnishings, and maintenance procedures. More customization is possible, as needed.

Luckily, you do not need to start from scratch when getting your contract in writing. With Rocket Lawyer, you should feel empowered to produce Illinois Lease Agreements online very easily. Your agreement is built section by section, so you can feel confident that it has all of the appropriate information that you'll need. Typically, for this level of personalization, you might ultimately pay a traditional lawyer a few hundred dollars, if not more, in fees.

Attached to your Illinois Lease Agreement, you'll find a checklist of suggested steps you should take to finalize the document. You also can interact with the document in any or all of these ways: editing it, downloading it in PDF format or as a Word document, printing it out, and/or getting digital signatures via RocketSign^®. Finally, you should be sure that all signers receive a copy of the fully executed agreement. You might also like to browse more landlord-tenant legal documents in our library.

In Illinois there are additional requirements that must be included in the lease. For example, if the property is located in Chicago, the landlord must keep the security deposit in an interest-bearing bank account and they must pay interest to the tenant. Additionally, in Illinois, the landlord is not allowed to ban subletting of the apartment. That said, the law often evolves over time and it varies by city or municipality. If you have any particular doubts or questions about Illinois rental laws, you can talk to an attorney. It can depend on whom you approach, but quite often some lawyers will not even accept requests to review a rental contract that they did not author. A better approach might be via the Rocket Lawyer On Call^® attorney network. With a Premium membership, you have the ability to ask for a contract review from an attorney with experience in real estate matters or pose other questions related to your Illinois Residential Lease Agreement. As always, we'll be here to support you.

The reply might depend on your specific situation, but, regardless of your location, there are a few factors that you might think about as you decide to invest in rental property. These include the following: the breadth of tenants' rights, required disclosures, any restrictions on deposits or pet rent, and how challenging an eviction may be if the tenancy doesn't work out. That said, as Illinois is the home of colleges and universities like the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and the University of Illinois in addition to tourist attractions like Millenium Park, Willis Tower, and the Art Institute of Chicago, there should be no lack of short- or long-term tenants if the property is close to them.