How to evict a tenant in Illinois: notices, court and the sheriff
In Illinois you give a written notice before filing: five days to pay for unpaid rent, or a 10-day notice for a lease violation, according to the Illinois Attorney General (see 735 ILCS 5/9-209 and 9-210). If the tenant does not pay or leave, you file an eviction case, and if you win, only the sheriff can carry out the order. A tenant who pays the rent in full during the notice period can stop the case, and partial payments can affect your notice, so check the statute before you accept one.
What does the Illinois 5-day notice have to say?
The Illinois Attorney General's guide says that when the reason is nonpayment, the landlord must give a written notice stating the reason and five days to pay the rent. The statute for that notice is 735 ILCS 5/9-209. We could not open the General Assembly's site from our tools while writing this, so read 9-209 for the exact wording the notice needs before you copy a form.
Partial payments are the part landlords miss. Illinois law has specific rules on what accepting part of the rent does to your notice, and a notice may need particular wording about it. We did not read that wording, so do not accept a partial payment, and do not copy a form, until you have checked 735 ILCS 5/9-209.
What about other lease violations?
The Illinois Attorney General's guide says that if the reason is a violation of the lease, the landlord must give a 10-day notice, and the statute for that notice is 735 ILCS 5/9-210. The notice states the reason. The Attorney General's guide and a circuit court self-help page both note that notice periods can be 5, 7, 10 or 30 days depending on the legal issue, so match the notice to the reason, and look at your city's ordinance too; Chicago and some other cities add their own landlord-tenant rules.
What happens after the notice runs out?
The eviction case is filed under the Eviction Act, and the sheriff serves the tenant with a complaint and a summons that sets the first court date. According to the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit's self-help page, if the tenant misses that date the judge can enter a default judgment. If the tenant appears and agrees, the judge asks how long the tenant needs to move and enters an eviction order. If the tenant disagrees, the judge sets a trial, and a tenant with a real defense wins a dismissal. Fees and first court dates vary by county.
The court order is not self-executing. You take it to the sheriff to schedule the physical eviction, which can happen any time after the date on the order. An eviction order does not enforce itself, and Illinois limits how long an order can be enforced, so ask the sheriff how long yours is good for and check 735 ILCS 5/9-117 for the period. Either side can appeal within 30 days after the trial, the Attorney General's guide says.
Example a made-up landlord serves a 5-day demand for $1,320 on Monday, November 2, 2026. The fifth day is Saturday, November 7, so the earliest filing is Monday, November 9. The sheriff serves the summons, and the first court date lands on Tuesday, December 1. The tenant appears, agrees, and asks for two weeks, so the judge enters an eviction order with a move-out date of Tuesday, December 15. The landlord takes the order to the sheriff, who can then schedule the eviction at any time after December 15. Ask the sheriff how long the order stays enforceable.
Can the tenant stop it by paying?
In a nonpayment case, yes. The circuit court page says the tenant can stop an eviction for non-payment by paying the rent in full during the notice period, and the Attorney General lists "you paid the rent during the 5-day notice period" as a defense. After that, accepting money is your decision, and a partial payment can affect your notice, so check 735 ILCS 5/9-209 first. In some kinds of subsidized housing the tenant can also ask for a meeting with the landlord during the notice period.
What can an Illinois landlord never do?
The Attorney General's guide is direct: a landlord must file a lawsuit to evict, cannot make a tenant move by turning off utilities, and may not lock the tenant out, change the locks or remove the tenant's belongings. Only a sheriff can physically evict a tenant. The Illinois Retaliatory Eviction Act also bars evicting a tenant for complaining to a government authority such as a housing inspector, and withholding a reasonable part of rent for a landlord's failure to maintain utilities or make repairs after notice is a recognized defense.
How DoorKeeping handles it
DoorKeeping tracks rent and late fees in each property's books within your state's caps, so the exact rent you demand matches the tenant ledger, and partial payments are visible the day they land. Your lease and notice are stored as documents, and you can email tenants. It does not file eviction cases or serve notices. DoorKeeping gives general information, not legal advice. If a case is contested, or the tenant files an answer, talk to a local attorney.
Sources
- 735 ILCS 5/9-209 (demand for rent), Illinois General Assembly, read Oct 30, 2026
- 735 ILCS 5/9-210 (notice after lease default), Illinois General Assembly, read Oct 30, 2026
- Illinois Attorney General, Landlord and Tenant Rights and Laws, read Oct 30, 2026
- Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois, Evictions Overview, read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- How many days does an Illinois landlord give for unpaid rent?
- Five days to pay after a written notice, according to the Illinois Attorney General (statute: 735 ILCS 5/9-209).
- Does accepting partial rent cancel an Illinois eviction notice?
- It can. Illinois has specific rules on partial payments and the wording of the notice, so check 735 ILCS 5/9-209 before you accept one.
- Who evicts a tenant in Illinois?
- The sheriff, using the court order. A landlord who locks out the tenant or shuts off utilities breaks Illinois law.