Illinois: Eviction Notice Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Evictions run under the Eviction Article of the Code of Civil Procedure, 735 ILCS
5/9-201 through 5/9-321 (the statute once called the Forcible Entry and Detainer
Act). The notice rules are in a handful of sections: § 9-209 (rent), § 9-210 (lease
default), § 9-207 (ending a periodic tenancy), and § 9-211 (how to serve). Illinois
has no statewide just-cause law. Retaliatory evictions are governed by the Landlord
Retaliation Act, 765 ILCS 721/, which took effect January 1, 2025 and replaced the
older, narrower Retaliatory Eviction Act.

Notice for unpaid rent

For unpaid rent, § 9-209 lets a landlord "demand payment thereof and notify the
tenant, in writing, that unless payment is made within a time mentioned in such
notice, not less than 5 days after service thereof, the lease will be terminated."
That is a 5-day count in ordinary calendar days, and paying the full rent demanded
within the period stops the eviction. Two quirks matter: the notice must
prominently include the exact statutory line — "Only FULL PAYMENT of the rent
demanded in this notice will waive the landlord's right to terminate the lease...
unless the landlord agrees in writing to continue the lease in exchange for
receiving partial payment" — and a landlord who accepts a partial payment that does
not reach the full amount by the deadline does not lose the right to proceed.

Notice for a lease violation

For any non-rent lease default, § 9-210 says "it is not necessary to give more than
10 days' notice to quit, or of the termination of such tenancy." This is a notice
to quit — it terminates the tenancy — not a cure-or-quit period. Illinois law
gives no statutory right to fix a lease violation within the 10 days and keep the
tenancy; any right to cure would come from the lease itself or a local ordinance.
The statute even provides a short suggested form ("I have elected to terminate your
lease, and you are hereby notified to quit and deliver up possession... within 10
days of this date").

Unconditional quit (no cure allowed)

Illinois has no separate "unconditional quit" notice with its own day-count for
serious misconduct. Because any "default... in any of the terms of such lease" is
handled by the same 10-day notice to quit under § 9-210, and that notice carries no
state-law cure right, non-rent breaches are effectively unconditional under state
law. (Serious conduct is often addressed instead through local ordinances or
separate nuisance statutes, which are outside this survey's state-law scope.)

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

To end a periodic tenancy when the tenant has done nothing wrong, the notice tracks
the rental period. Under § 9-207, a "tenancy from week to week" may be ended on "7
days' notice, in writing" (subsection (a)), and any other "tenancy for any term less
than one year" — which includes a month-to-month — may be ended on "30 days'
notice, in writing" (subsection (b)). No reason is required. One special case: a
buyer who takes control of a rental at a foreclosure sale must give a bona-fide
tenant at least 90 days' notice (§ 9-207.5).

Just cause to evict required?

No. Illinois does not require a landlord to have a "just cause" to end a tenancy at
the state level. Once the proper notice period runs, the landlord may recover
possession without giving a reason. Several Illinois localities — Chicago and
Cook County among them — have their own tenant-protection ordinances that can add
good-cause or just-cause style rules, but those are municipal law outside this
survey's state-law scope.

How the notice must be served

Section 9-211 allows the demand or notice to be served by "delivering a written or
printed... copy thereof to the tenant, or by leaving the same with some person of
the age of 13 years or upwards, residing on or in possession of the premises; or by
sending a copy of the notice to the tenant by certified or registered mail, with a
returned receipt from the addressee; and in case no one is in the actual possession
of the premises, then by posting the same on the premises." Certified or registered
mail with a return receipt is an accepted method; posting is allowed only when no
one is in possession.

Tenant's right to cure/reinstate

For unpaid rent, Illinois gives a clear pay-and-stay: paying the full amount
demanded within the 5-day notice period defeats the termination under § 9-209
(partial payment does not, unless it reaches the full amount demanded by the
deadline). There is no matching state-law right to cure a non-rent lease breach. And
under the Landlord Retaliation Act, a landlord "may not knowingly terminate a
tenancy... or refuse to renew a lease or tenancy because the tenant has in good
faith" complained of code violations, requested repairs, joined a tenants' union, or
"exercised any right or remedy provided by law" (765 ILCS 721/5); if the protected
activity occurred within one year before the eviction, a rebuttable presumption of
retaliation arises (765 ILCS 721/20).

What trips people up

The rent notice is a pay-and-stay, but the lease-breach notice is not. Paying
the full rent demanded within 5 days stops a nonpayment case (§ 9-209). A 10-day
notice for a different lease violation (§ 9-210), by contrast, gives no state-law
right to fix the problem and stay — it ends the tenancy.

Partial payment can be a trap. If your notice includes the required "Only FULL
PAYMENT" language, paying part of what's demanded — but not all of it — by the
deadline does not stop the eviction. Pay the entire amount stated in the notice, and
keep proof.

Retaliation protection is new and broader than before. The old Retaliatory
Eviction Act only protected government code complaints. The Landlord Retaliation
Act, effective January 1, 2025, is wider: it also covers requesting repairs, seeking
help from a community organization, joining a tenants' union, testifying, and
exercising any legal right — with a one-year rebuttable presumption of retaliation.

Common questions

How many days is an Illinois eviction notice for unpaid rent? At least five.
The landlord must give you no fewer than 5 days after service to pay before the
lease can be terminated, and paying the full amount within that window stops the
eviction.

Can I fix a lease violation to avoid eviction in Illinois? Not under state law.
The 10-day notice for a lease default (§ 9-210) is a notice to quit, not a cure
period. A right to cure, if you have one, comes from your lease or a local ordinance
— not the state statute.

My landlord just wants me out and I'm month-to-month — how much notice? Thirty
days' written notice (§ 9-207(b)). No reason is required at the state level, though
your city or county may add its own rules.

Can my landlord shut off the utilities or change the locks instead of going to
court? No. In Illinois a tenant can be removed only through a court eviction case
and a court order carried out by the sheriff; a self-help lockout or utility shutoff
to force you out is illegal regardless of the notice.

Statutes and sources

• 735 ILCS 5/9-207(a) — 7-day notice to end a week-to-week tenancy.
  https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext?DocName=073500050K9-207 (accessed 2026-07-10)
• 735 ILCS 5/9-207(b) — 30-day notice to end a tenancy of less than a year (including month-to-month).
  https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext?DocName=073500050K9-207 (accessed 2026-07-10)
• 735 ILCS 5/9-207.5(a) — 90-day notice to a bona-fide tenant after a foreclosure sale.
  https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext?DocName=073500050K9-207.5 (accessed 2026-07-10)
• 735 ILCS 5/9-209 — 5-day rent demand; full-payment-stops-eviction rule and required notice language.
  https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext?DocName=073500050K9-209 (accessed 2026-07-10)
• 735 ILCS 5/9-210 — 10-day notice to quit for a lease default.
  https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext?DocName=073500050K9-210 (accessed 2026-07-10)
• 735 ILCS 5/9-211 — service of the demand or notice (personal, substituted, certified/registered mail, or posting).
  https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext?DocName=073500050K9-211 (accessed 2026-07-10)
• 765 ILCS 721/5 — Landlord Retaliation Act: prohibited retaliatory conduct and protected tenant activity.
  https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/076507210K5.htm (accessed 2026-07-10)
• 765 ILCS 721/20 — one-year rebuttable presumption of retaliation.
  https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/076507210K20.htm (accessed 2026-07-10)