The rule
- Deposit limit
- No limit
- Return deadline
- 45 days
- Interest owed
- Required
- Itemized deductions
- Required
- The limit
- No statutory limit.
- The deadline
- To deduct for damage, the landlord must send an itemized statement with receipts or estimates within 30 days after move-out; otherwise the full deposit is due within 45 days.
- Interest
- Only for landlords with 25 or more units in a building or complex, on deposits held more than 6 months, at the rate set by statute; paid annually and at move-out.
- Deductions
- The landlord must give you an itemized list of anything kept from the deposit.
- If it isn’t returned
- Refusing to itemize or itemizing in bad faith and not returning the deposit on time: twice the deposit due plus court costs and attorney’s fees. Willful failure to pay required interest: an amount equal to the deposit.
Law: 765 ILCS 710/1; 765 ILCS 715/1–2
Last reviewed September 30, 2026
Not legal advice. Statutes change; check the linked section.