Some fees will be prohibited under the new law as “junk fees”, but the definition of “junk fee” is limited to a fee or a fine:

• that, at the time of application is separate from or intended to duplicate the costs of tenant screening. (The housing provider may still charge a fee for the actual costs of tenant screening);

• for the modification or renewal of an existing lease;

• because an eviction notice was sent or an eviction complaint was filed. (This does not prohibit a housing provider from recovering court costs and filing fees as part of the eviction process);

• because the tenant made an after-hours request for maintenance;

• because the tenant contacted the building manager or property manager for maintenance requests, lease-related questions, or other items directly related to the tenancy;

• for travel required to complete maintenance requests;

• for routine maintenance of the unit;

• for pest abatement or removal when the tenant has in no way contributed to the infestation; or

• for an in-person walk-through of the unit.

A common misconception about the final version of the bill is how it defines or limits application fees. An early version of the bill prohibited a housing provider from charging more than $20 for an application fee. The final bill does not have this cap. Instead, if an application fee exceeds $50 due to the costs of a third-party background check, within 14 days after the background check is paid for, the housing provider must submit a bill to the tenant, along with a receipt showing the cost of the background check. If the housing provider fails to do this, then the fee must be waived.

For every other type of non-optional fee, there is a disclosure requirement. If a tenant will be required to pay for utilities, that must appear on the first page of the lease. If a housing provider will require that a fee be paid in addition to the normal rent, that fee must be disclosed on the first page of the lease. When a housing provider advertises a unit for rent, and includes the rental amount in that advertisement, all non-optional fees must also be listed. Bottom line: Any non-optional fees must be listed on the first page of the lease that the tenant signs, and any advertisement of a unit that includes the rental amount must also include all non-optional fees for the unit. Fees such as security deposits and move-in fees are not banned under HB3564. However, they must be properly disclosed.

A few final, but very important notes:

1. This new law does NOT apply to owner-occupied buildings with 6 or fewer units.
2. This new law does not override local ordinance requirements if those local ordinances impose greater restrictions on fees that can be charged, for example the RLTO in the City of Chicago and the RTLO in Cook County.

As the legislative session progressed, it became clear there was strong interest from many legislators to pass HB 3564 in some form. Illinois REALTORS® advocacy team pushed back hard against the original bill language, and successfully shifted the negotiations and discussions on the worst parts from outright bans to fair disclosure requirements. These negotiations resulted in better and fairer language for housing providers.

There’s an old adage that says “no legislation is perfect”, and that can certainly be argued here. There’s another old adage that says “Advocacy matters”, and that is absolutely true in this case. REALTOR® advocacy mattered with HB 3564, and it resulted in making workable what was originally a very bad bill for housing providers. HB 3564 was signed into law on June 26, 2026, and will become effective Jan. 1, 2027.

NOTE: Housing providers are just getting used to the recently enacted requirement to attach the 4-page IDHR Summary of Rights for Safer Homes Act disclosure to the front of a lease or renewal. Questions have been raised as to what is the “first page” of the lease now. It’s a valid question, and a reasonable interpretation might suggest treating the Safer Homes disclosure as an attachment, and the first page of your actual lease as the “first page” for purposes of compliance with the new fee disclosure requirements. If you have questions regarding this issue, consult with your own attorney or contact the IR Legal Hotline.