The law in plain English
Return deadline
Under 765 ILCS 710/1, the deposit response usually has to be sent within 30 days for the itemized statement, 45 days for the refund if no compliant statement is sent of the move-out timeline described by the state rule.
Required notice
Under 765 ILCS 710/1, a covered landlord may not withhold any part of the deposit for property damage unless the landlord, within 30 days of vacancy or the end of possession, furnishes an itemized statement of the alleged damage and the estimated or actual cost to repair or replace each item. The statute also requires paid receipts, or copies, for the repair or replacement, with a later receipt follow-up allowed when the first statement used estimated costs.
If no compliant statement and receipts are furnished as required, the landlord must return the security deposit in full within 45 days of the tenant vacating. Illinois also says the costs charged must be for damage beyond normal wear and tear and must be reasonable to restore the premises to the same condition as when the lease began.
This dispute type
Illinois landlords most often get exposed by weak documentation. A vague list saying "painting," "cleaning," or "carpet" without tying the charge to specific damage, without a repair price for each item, or without receipts is exactly the kind of notice problem 765 ILCS 710/1 is designed to police. In a covered building, paperwork quality is part of the legal test, not just a courtesy.
Normal wear and tear is the second recurring issue. The statute itself now says lease-specified charges must be for damage beyond normal wear and tear and reasonable to restore the premises to the same condition as at lease start. That makes Illinois tenants especially strong when the landlord is charging for routine turnover painting, ordinary cleaning, aging carpet, or other use-based deterioration.
Illinois does not currently have the same dispute-specific pages that California, Texas, and New York do yet, so start with the free intake on the homepage and organize your move-out timeline, statement, and receipts before escalating.
Penalty leverage
Illinois does provide a multiplier when the facts are bad enough. If a circuit court finds that a covered landlord refused to supply the required itemized statement, or supplied it in bad faith, and also failed or refused to return the amount of the deposit due within the statutory time limits, the landlord is liable for an amount equal to twice the amount of the security deposit due, together with court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
That is narrower than an automatic 2x rule. A careful Illinois demand letter should state the specific failures in sequence: missing or bad-faith statement, no proper receipts, and failure to return the amount due within the 45-day framework the statute creates.