A new bill has been proposed to the Illinois House of Representatives. House Bill 3564 is a bill that has been proposed that is aimed to help people renting apartments. This bill will eliminate what Representative Nabeela Syed called Junk Fees that landlords sometimes charge their tenants. These fees have caused new tenants to pay extra money on things that are by no means necessary. For example, many landlords are enforcing what they call move-in fees. These are fees imposed on new tenants strictly just for them moving into the new apartment. Another type of fee Representative Syed aims to get rid of is the entrance fees of nursing homes and retirement homes. These entrance fees have made it very difficult for residents and their families to afford sending their loved ones to nursing and retirement homes. The fees that come when rent is late is also limited by this bill in certain situations.
Another huge part of House Bill 3564 is that all the payments that the tenant has to pay have to be listed on the first page of the agreement. Any payments that are not listed on the first page of the agreement are not held liable or responsible for by the tenant.
House Bill 3564 also amends the Illinois Human Rights Act. The bill states that housing is a “fundamental human right in preventing discrimination based on familial status or source of income in real estate transactions.” Also states that people do not need a credit card to engage in a real estate transaction.
The Bill also includes a statement saying that tenants will not have to pay fees for an application to lease housing. Landlords must also have a full conversation with the tenants on the fees they have to pay so that no fees come as a surprise to the tenants.
Now, some worries arose in the Executive Committee hearing about the bill on February 18, 2026. The main worry that arose was that it did not stop cities from raising the fees on leasing housing. Representative Tarver was scared that this would cause cities like Chicago to raise the fees since there was no cap on what cities could do. Representative Tarver said that he did not trust the city of Chicago because they have done things like that in the past.
All in all, this bill aims to help tenants who are facing fees that make no sense for them to pay and save them money. In a country with an economy that is facing major inflation, Representative Syed claims that she does not want these tenants paying even more money in what she calls the “Junk Fees.”
