How much can a landlord raise rent in Skokie?
Illinois bans rent control statewide, so no law caps how much a Skokie landlord can propose. What Skokie renters do have is the clock: Cook County's tenant ordinance requires 60 days' written notice before a lease is renewed or ended — and if that notice never comes, the right to stay up to 120 days at the old rent. Here is how it actually works, with every rule linked to its source — plus what increases in Skokie have really looked like, from the same public data behind this site.
What this page is: the rules that govern rent increases here, each linked to its official source, plus real market data on what increases have looked like. It is not legal advice — when it matters, read the linked source or use the free legal help listed on our tenant rights page.
No cap anywhere in Illinois — rent control is banned statewide
The Rent Control Preemption Act of 1997 forbids every Illinois unit of local government — Skokie, Cook County, Chicago, all of them — from controlling the amount of rent charged for private residential property. Only the state legislature could cap rents, and it has not. So the legal questions in Skokie are about the clock and the paperwork, not the amount. Source: Rent Control Preemption Act (50 ILCS 825/5)
Cook County's RTLO: 60 days' notice at renewal — or 120 days at the old rent
Skokie has no landlord-tenant ordinance of its own, so Cook County's Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance is the local law. Under it, a landlord must give 60 days' written notice to renew or end a lease — and the renewal offer is where a higher rent arrives. If the 60-day notice never comes, the tenant may stay up to 120 days after written notice is finally given, on the same terms and conditions — including the same rent. Source: Cook County RTLO — official text & summaries
Month-to-month or an RTLO-exempt unit: 30 days' written notice
The RTLO's main exemption is owner-occupied buildings of six units or fewer. There — and for month-to-month tenancies generally — the Illinois default applies: 30 days' written notice to terminate a month-to-month tenancy, and a rent increase rides the same mechanism (the old terms end with proper notice and a new rate is offered going forward). If you don't agree, the tenancy simply ends with that notice — there is no cap on the new number, but there is no skipping the notice either. Source: 735 ILCS 5/9-207 (termination of tenancies) · Cook County RTLO — coverage & exemptions
A raise in retaliation for complaining is illegal
Under the RTLO's anti-retaliation section, a landlord may not increase rent in reaction to a tenant complaining to a government agency, the police, the media, a community group, or a tenants' union — the ordinance looks back a full year, and a tenant who proves retaliation collects damages plus attorney's fees. One honest nuance from the ordinance itself: a complaint filed after the increase notice arrives does not create a presumption of retaliation. Source: Cook County RTLO (Sec. 42-812)
So what do increases in Skokie actually look like?
No law caps the number, but the market says what's normal. The average Skokie rent is $2,179/month as of May 2026 — a change of +$66/month (+3.1%) versus a year ago. Year over year, here is how the citywide average has moved:
| Year | Average rent | Change vs prior year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $1,792 | +10.1% |
| 2023 | $1,891 | +5.5% |
| 2024 | $1,993 | +5.4% |
| 2025 | $2,111 | +5.9% |
| 2026 (partial) | $2,153 | +2.0% |
For scale at today's average: a 3% increase is about $65/month more, a 5% increase about $109/month. The steepest year in this series was 2022 (+10.1%); the last full year, 2025, came in at +5.9%. The full Skokie rent history is here →
Honest caveat: these are smoothed market averages of what units rent for (Zillow's ZORI index — methodology), not a survey of renewal letters. What sitting tenants are offered at renewal isn't in any public dataset — it can run above or below market growth, though Census data showing current Skokie renters pay a median of $1,491 (about $688 under today's market rate) suggests staying put is usually cheaper than moving.
If a renewal lands on your doormat
Three data points worth checking before you respond: whether you're renewing into the market's soft season — a landlord facing a vacancy in October, November, December has more reason to negotiate; what your ZIP is actually renting for (60077, 60076); and what nearby cities charge if moving is on the table. And if anything about the notice feels off, the free legal-aid resources are exactly for this.
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