Free templates
Free Chicago rental templates
Ready-to-use letters, notices, checklists, and RLTO/Illinois disclosures for Chicago renters and landlords — free, no account required. Copy them or download a PDF. These are templates, not legal advice.
For renters
Put a repair request in writing to start the clock on your RLTO remedies — including the right to withhold rent for a loss of essential services.
Legal advice recommended before use.
Demand the return of your security deposit, plus any interest owed, from a Chicago landlord who has missed the RLTO's deadlines.
Legal advice recommended before use.
Written notice to your landlord terminating your lease early under the Illinois Safe Homes Act, for survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, or stalking.
Legal advice recommended before use.
A written sublease for when your Chicago landlord has approved (or must accept, under the RLTO) a reasonable sublease you've proposed.
Legal advice recommended before use.
A private agreement between roommates covering the rent split, deposit share, house rules, and what happens if someone leaves early — separate from your lease with the landlord.
Legal advice recommended before use.
For landlords
A simple, signed rent receipt for any payment — especially cash — so both landlord and tenant have a dated record.
Legal advice recommended before use.
Return a Chicago tenant's deposit with the itemized statement AND the annual interest payment the RLTO requires — one of the few big-city rules with no equivalent in Dallas or most of Texas.
Legal advice recommended before use.
Chicago law requires landlords to attach the city's official RLTO summary to every covered written lease and lease renewal. Get the current official version — don't retype it.
Legal advice recommended before use.
The written demand for rent Illinois law requires before an eviction case for nonpayment — at least 5 days' notice under 735 ILCS 5/9-209.
Legal advice recommended before use.
A free, fillable Chicago residential lease agreement. Enter your terms, sign online, download a PDF — RLTO deposit-interest, heat-ordinance, and disclosure provisions built in.
Legal advice recommended before use.
Document unit condition at move-in and move-out — the clearest evidence for a fair, defensible security-deposit deduction under the RLTO.
Legal advice recommended before use.
A signed letter certifying how much rent a tenant paid over a period — for tax prep, benefits applications, or a visa/immigration file. Illinois has no official "certificate of rent" form, so this is the standard substitute.
Legal advice recommended before use.
The RLTO's written notice for a lease violation other than nonpayment — 10 days to cure or vacate, distinct from the statewide 5-day nonpayment notice.
Legal advice recommended before use.
The tiered no-fault termination notice the Fair Notice Ordinance requires — 30, 60, or 120 days depending on how long the tenant has lived there.
Legal advice recommended before use.
A simple month-to-month tenancy agreement for a Chicago rental, with the RLTO's Fair Notice Ordinance tiers built in for ending the tenancy.
Legal advice recommended before use.
A lease addendum spelling out pet rules, fees, and deposit handling — with a built-in carve-out for legitimate service and emotional support animals, which Illinois law treats differently from ordinary pets.
Legal advice recommended before use.
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