🇺🇸 Chicago tenant document
Landlord kept your deposit? Check the Chicago return rules, then challenge withheld funds with an organized written demand, your dates and amounts, an evidence plan, and official starting points in one downloadable pack.
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Official framework
Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, Municipal Code of Chicago §§ 5-12-080, 5-12-081, and 5-12-180
Chicago’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance generally requires the landlord to return the security deposit, or any balance, with any required interest within 45 days after the tenant vacates, and a landlord who deducts for damage must deliver or mail an itemized statement with costs and copies of paid receipts within 30 days.
Read the official statute ↗Content reviewed October 2, 2026. General information only—not legal advice.
Chicago security deposit rules
Chicago’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance generally requires a landlord to return a security deposit, or any balance, with any required interest within 45 days after the tenant moves out, and a landlord who deducts for damage must deliver or mail an itemized statement with repair costs and copies of paid receipts within 30 days. Deposits must be held in a federally insured, interest-bearing Illinois account with a signed receipt, and Municipal Code § 5-12-080(f) provides that a tenant shall be awarded twice the deposit plus interest when a landlord fails to comply, a question a court decides.
Watch your own deadline: The itemized damage statement goes to your last known address, and the Illinois Security Deposit Return Act says a landlord is not liable for penalties caused by a tenant’s failure to provide a mailing address, so give your landlord a written forwarding address and keep proof. If the landlord paid interest on time but the amount was short, the doubled remedy depends on your written notice of the shortfall; this letter includes that notice.
Check coverage: The ordinance does not govern units in owner-occupied buildings with six or fewer units, short hotel or rooming-house stays, institutional or school housing, employee units, or cooperative units; the Illinois Security Deposit Return Act may also apply, including to excluded units. A pending City Council ordinance would change these deposit rules, including interest and remedies, if enacted; as of October 2, 2026, it had not been enacted.
These are general summaries, not conclusions about your situation. Review the linked official text and obtain legal advice when needed.
Deadline calculator · Normal wear and tear vs. damage · How to get your deposit back · Deadlines in other states
Chicago deposit dispute
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Chicago’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance generally requires the landlord to return the security deposit, or any balance, with any required interest within 45 days after the tenant vacates, and a landlord who deducts for damage must deliver or mail an itemized statement with costs and copies of paid receipts within 30 days. Check the official statute for the conditions that apply to your tenancy.
No. The pack organizes a written demand and supporting record. The lease, facts, delivery, evidence, defenses, and any court decision control the result.
A personalized demand letter, timing worksheet, deduction dispute organizer, evidence and delivery log, and escalation-preparation sheet with official source links.
No. It identifies provisions to review and makes clear that potential enhanced remedies depend on facts and, if disputed, a court determination.
Yes. Complete the guided form to see a personalized preview. The finished five-part PDF costs $39 USD as a one-time purchase.