The Illinois 5-day notice and the sentence it must contain
Under 735 ILCS 5/9-209, you can demand overdue rent and tell the tenant in writing that the lease will end unless the rent is paid within a stated time of at least 5 days after service. If the tenant doesn’t pay in full, you can treat the lease as ended and file without any further demand.
Partial payments are the trap. A notice is not invalidated by partial payments that fall short of the amount demanded, but only if it prominently states: “Only FULL PAYMENT of the rent demanded in this notice will waive the landlord’s right to terminate the lease under this notice, unless the landlord agrees in writing to continue the lease in exchange for receiving partial payment.” Leave that sentence out and accepting a partial payment can undo the notice.
The section speaks of rent, so demand rent only; adding late fees invites a fight over the amount. Rent you collect after filing does not invalidate the suit, according to the same section.
Other Illinois eviction notices
Serve any notice by handing it to the tenant, by leaving it with a person 13 or older who lives at or possesses the unit, or by certified or registered mail with a returned receipt from the tenant. Posting is allowed only when no one is in actual possession (9-211).
Count days under the Statute on Statutes, 5 ILCS 70/1.11: skip the day of service, count the last day, and if the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, move to the next business day.
- Lease violations: a 10-day notice to quit under 735 ILCS 5/9-210, signed by you or your agent. The statute provides no cure period, though your lease may.
- Week-to-week tenancy: 7 days’ written notice (9-207(a)).
- Month-to-month or any term under a year: 30 days’ written notice (9-207(b)).
- Year-to-year tenancy: 60 days’ notice (9-205).
- Criminal use of the unit: if a tenant or occupant uses the premises for an act that would be a felony or Class A misdemeanor, the lease becomes void at your option, and you can file if the occupant hasn’t left within 5 days after a written notice to vacate (9-120(a), (d)).
Statewide and local limits
Illinois has no statewide just-cause eviction law, so a month-to-month tenancy can end on 30 days’ notice without a stated reason. Local rules add more. In Chicago, the Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance changes notice periods and remedies for most rental buildings, which our Illinois landlord-tenant law page explains along with the state’s Landlord Retaliation Act.
A newer state rule took effect January 1, 2026. Under 735 ILCS 5/9-106 as amended by Public Act 104-317, an eviction complaint may not name a minor as a defendant. A complaint that does is dismissed against every defendant and sealed, and a minor named willfully and wantonly can recover attorney’s fees, actual damages and $1,000 in liquidated damages. List only the adult leaseholders and adult occupants.
The Illinois court case, step by step
Illinois calls the case an eviction action under Article IX of the Code of Civil Procedure. It is filed in the circuit court for the county where the building sits (9-106).
- File the complaint. Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 139, attach the notice or demand and its proof of service, and for a 10-day lease violation case, the lease or relevant pages. An affidavit on the Supreme Court’s standard form can stand in if you don’t have them.
- Join your rent claim. You can ask for rent due, including a pro rata amount for any period a judgment is stayed (9-209). Unrelated claims and counterclaims are not allowed (9-106).
- Serve the summons. Under Rule 101(b)(2), the summons sets a first court date no sooner than 7 and no later than 40 days after it issues.
- Appear on the return date. A written answer is not required in an eviction case unless the court orders one (Rule 101(a)), so tenants often raise defenses at the first date, and the case may be set for trial.
- Before any default, file the military service affidavit. Illinois also lets a court stay a case for 90 days when a service member’s ability to pay is materially affected by military service (9-107.10).
The eviction order and the sheriff
If you win, the court enters an eviction order for possession and costs, and a money judgment for rent if you joined that claim. The sheriff enforces the order; you do not. Contact the county sheriff’s eviction unit right after judgment, because the sheriff sets the date.
Watch the clock on the order. Under 735 ILCS 5/9-117, an eviction order can’t be enforced more than 120 days after judgment unless you file a motion to extend it and serve the tenant a notice of the hearing. The court must grant the extension unless the tenant shows the tenancy was reinstated, the breach was cured or waived, or a post-judgment agreement was kept.
Criminal-activity cases move faster. A 9-120 eviction order can’t be stayed more than 7 days without everyone’s agreement, and the sheriff must execute it within 7 days of entry or of the end of the stay.
Lockouts, retaliation and sealed files
Illinois gives you one route to possession: an Article IX eviction action and an order the sheriff carries out. Changing locks, removing belongings or cutting utilities to force a move exposes you to damages, and in Chicago to daily fines.
Illinois also seals some files. Under 9-121, a court may seal a case it finds sufficiently without basis in fact or law, and must seal certain cases, including any dismissed for naming a minor. A sealed file won’t show on screening reports, which matters when you replace a tenant.
Federal rules that apply in Illinois
If the building has a federally backed mortgage, such as a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA-insured loan, or takes part in a covered federal housing program, Section 4024(c) of the CARES Act, at 15 U.S.C. 9058(c), bars requiring a tenant to leave until 30 days after a notice to vacate. The 120-day moratorium expired in 2020, but the 30-day text remains in the statute and courts have split on whether it still applies. Serving 30 days at a covered building is the safer course.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires an affidavit on military service before a default judgment (50 U.S.C. 3931).
Illinois eviction timeline
Statute and court rule fix the notice and the first court date. Contested trials and sheriff scheduling vary by county.
| Step | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Rent demand | At least 5 days after service | 735 ILCS 5/9-209 |
| Lease violation notice | 10 days | 735 ILCS 5/9-210 |
| Month-to-month termination | 30 days | 735 ILCS 5/9-207(b) |
| Criminal activity notice to vacate | 5 days after receipt | 735 ILCS 5/9-120(d) |
| Last day falls on a weekend or holiday | Moves to next business day | 5 ILCS 70/1.11 |
| Complaint attachments | At filing | Ill. S. Ct. Rule 139 |
| First court date | 7 to 40 days after summons issues | Ill. S. Ct. Rule 101(b)(2) |
| Criminal-activity order | Stay of 7 days at most; sheriff executes within 7 days | 735 ILCS 5/9-120(f) |
| Enforce the eviction order | Within 120 days unless extended | 735 ILCS 5/9-117 |
Worked example: a nonpayment case on a $1,650 unit
Assume a 10-unit building in Aurora, outside Chicago’s ordinance, with a unit renting for $1,650 a month, about $54.25 a day. Rent is due Sunday, March 1, 2026, and you hand the 5-day notice to the tenant on Monday, March 2.
Five days after service lands on Saturday, March 7, so the deadline moves to Monday, March 9. You file on Tuesday, March 10, and the earliest return date is Tuesday, March 17. Suppose the tenant doesn’t contest and you get an eviction order that day. We assume 30 days for the sheriff to carry it out, since no statute fixes that, and a $1,500 attorney fee.
The unit comes back around April 16: 47 days without rent, or $2,550, and $4,050 with the attorney. If the tenant appears and the case is continued two weeks for trial, possession moves to about April 30, which is 61 days, $3,309 in lost rent and $4,809 in total.
| Scenario | Days without rent | Lost rent | With attorney |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order on first court date | 47 | $2,550 | $4,050 |
| Two-week continuance | 61 | $3,309 | $4,809 |
Alternatives, and selling with a case pending
A written agreement to accept partial payment, which 9-209 expressly allows, can keep a good tenant in place. Post-judgment agreements also count; if the tenant keeps one, the court won’t extend an expiring order. When the goal is an empty unit, cash for keys with a firm move-out date and an agreed dismissal can cost less than a contested case.
You can sell an occupied Illinois building with an eviction underway. The buyer takes the leases and steps into your position, so hand over the notices, proofs of service, the court file and any order with its 120-day deadline, plus tenant estoppel certificates for the other units.
Selling your Illinois apartment building to Skyline
Skyline buys apartment buildings with five or more units nationwide, including occupied buildings with problem tenants or evictions in progress. We buy directly and price the building as it is, with the rent roll and open cases in view.
Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
