Illinois Rep. Syed’s tenant fee regulation bill passes House and Senate

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Nabeela Syed aims to limit tenant fees, regulate late rent charges, and prohibit certain pre-tenancy costs following approval in both chambers, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

In the House, 61 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while three Democrats and 40 Republicans opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 39 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while 16 Republicans voted against it.

Syed introduced the bill in the Illinois House on Feb. 7, 2025 during the 104th session.

The legislation, known as HB3564, was passed on April 8, 2026 during the general assembly session 104.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill’s official text as follows: “Amends the Landlord and Tenant Act. Prohibits a landlord from imposing a move-in fee. Provides that a landlord may not demand any charge for the processing, reviewing, or accepting of an application, or demand any other payment, fee, or charge before or at the beginning of the tenancy. Exempts entrance fees charged by nursing homes or similar institutions. Prohibits a landlord from renaming a fee or charge to avoid application of these provisions. Limits fees for the late payment of rent in certain situations. Provides that any provision of a lease, rental agreement, contract, or any similar document purporting to waive or limit these provisions is void and unenforceable as against public policy. Amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. Provides that State policy is that access to housing is a fundamental human right in preventing discrimination based on familial status or source of income in real estate transactions. Changes the definition of “source of income”by stating that the definition prohibits a person engaged in a real estate transaction from requiring a credit check before approving another person in the process of renting real property or requiring a move-in fee in lieu of a security deposit or in addition to a security deposit.”

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Landlord and Tenant Act to introduce limitations on tenant fees. It allows landlords to charge a fee for background checks, but the fee must be the lesser of the actual cost or $20 and must be waived if the tenant provides a recent background check. The bill prohibits move-in fees and any pre-tenancy fees unless otherwise provided by law. It specifically excludes entrance fees charged by nursing homes. Landlords cannot impose late payment fees unless rent is over five days late, capping the fee at $10 for the first $1,000 of rent and 5% for any amount over $1,000. This bill voids any lease provisions attempting to waive its terms as against public policy.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid (Democrat-21st District), Sen. Adriane Johnson (Democrat-30th District), and Rep. Amy Briel (Democrat-76th District), along with 30 other sponsors.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Syed graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2021 with a BA and again in 2021 from the University of California with a BS.

Syed, a Democrat, was elected to the Illinois State House in 2023 to represent the state’s 51st House District, replacing previous state representative Chris Bos.

Some lawmakers were physically present but did not vote. Those marked “Present” formally abstained by choosing not to vote either “Yea” or “Nay”, while those listed as “Not Voting” were in attendance but did not cast any vote. Others were not present at all—either listed as “Absent” without formal explanation or marked as having an “Excused Absence”, indicating their absence was approved in advance, often for personal or medical reasons.

While the final vote determined the bill’s passage, lawmakers in both chambers held additional votes related to concurrences. These earlier votes are included below for context.