Illinois House could vote on bill banning rental junk fees this spring

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Illinois lawmakers could pass a bill this spring to ban rental junk fees and require transparency for leases.

Democrats say renters shouldn't be surprised by charges included in their rent, such as fees for after-hours service requests, renewing a lease or routine maintenance.

The legislation states all non-optional fees should be explicitly disclosed on the first page of a lease agreement. Sponsors stress tenants would not be liable to pay fees if they are not shown on the first page of the lease.

"This is actually going to add predictability to the rental market, which is going to be good for my constituents who are renters," said Sen. Mike Simmons (D-Chicago). "It is also going to be really useful to those who are actually offering rental housing to have a little bit more predictability in terms of what they can and cannot charge. That's going to help us to have much more affordable housing all across the state."

Republicans said the bill comes from a good place, but they argue it could have unintended consequences.

"My concern is this legislation is going to add so much red tape to people already offering affordable housing that they're going to stop investing in the market and they're not going to cause new locations to be built or utilized for low-income housing," said Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield).

House Bill 3564 passed out of the Senate on a 39-16 vote in late October, but the House did not vote on the legislation before the end of veto session.

Rep. Nabeela Syed (D-Palatine) and the House Democratic caucus may bring the proposal up for a vote in the coming months.

"I have not encountered a very legitimate reason thus far as to why someone would be able to charge a move-in fee that's different from a security deposit," Syed said.

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