Illinois changed its statewide Security Deposit Return Act in 2024, so an older summary limited to buildings with five or more units can be stale. The current statute should be read with the move-out date, lease, delivery address, itemization, receipts, and any explanation for unavailable receipts.
When is the damage statement due?
The current 765 ILCS 710/1 says a residential lessor withholding for property damage must furnish an itemized statement within 30 days after the tenant vacates or the right of possession ends, whichever is later. It must state the alleged damage and estimated or actual repair or replacement cost and generally attach paid receipts.
What if receipts are not available?
Subsection 1(b) addresses a lessor who, through no fault of the lessor, cannot produce receipts. It calls for the itemized cost, other available cost evidence, and a verified statement explaining why receipts cannot be produced and confirming that all other evidence was supplied. The packet can organize those fields but cannot decide whether the explanation satisfies a court.
When is the full return due without the statement?
The Act says that if the required statement and supporting material are not furnished, the lessor shall return the deposit in full within 45 days after the tenant vacates. It also describes twice-the-deposit liability, costs, and attorney's fees after specified court findings. Chicago and other local rules may add requirements, so the address must be checked before relying only on the state Act.
What can the Reality Contact check provide?
The free check compares the supplied state and move-out date with the current published deadline and replies by email, including when the deadline has not passed. The $29 tenant packet organizes deductions and a draft letter. The $79 version adds a county-specific court-source list, evidence index, and one revised letter. The $29 landlord version formats the landlord's chosen disposition. Paid packets are not available in California.
Where does the operator boundary sit?
Reality Contact, LLC provides document preparation and a statute-to-letter comparison. This is not legal advice. We do not decide whether a deduction is unlawful, tell anyone whether to sue, file a case, contact the other party, or represent anyone. Paid packets are not available in California. The deadline check is a real reading of the published state rule against the date supplied. Reality Contact is sampling demand for the document packet. We reply by email even when the landlord is still inside the stated period. The current source check starts with this published record.