Rent money in Illinois is spread across several kinds of offices. Churches and charities may pay part of a past-due balance, the township office may cover rent after a five-day notice, and state-funded grants reach renters through local agencies in every region. No single office holds all of the funds, and a household turned down at one place may still qualify at another. This page explains the statewide options first, with links to Illinois county and city rent programs at the bottom.

NOTE: An Illinois landlord generally must give a written five-day notice before filing an eviction case for unpaid rent. Those days are the time to apply for the programs on this page, and applying before any notice arrives leaves more options. A tenant who already has court papers should start with the Illinois eviction prevention programs page.

Illinois programs that may pay back rent, a deposit, or court costs

Homeless Prevention Program from IDHS - The Homeless Prevention Program is the main state fund for stopping an eviction before it happens. The Illinois Department of Human Services has run it under state law since 1999, and funding is set each year in the state budget. Local agencies in every region take the applications and may pay back rent, a security deposit, or overdue utility bills, along with case management.

Program rules generally cap total help at the value of six months of the household's rent. The Illinois housing assistance programs page covers other IDHS support for renters. Call the IDHS Help Line at 1-800-843-6154 to ask which agency serves your county, or see https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=30360.

General Assistance and Emergency Assistance from your township - Illinois is divided into more than a thousand townships, and state law requires each one to run a General Assistance program for residents with no other source of support. Many townships also offer Emergency Assistance, a separate one-time payment that may cover rent when a household has a five-day notice from the landlord. Payments usually go directly to the landlord, and each township sets its own income rules and dollar limits.

Contact the township supervisor's office where you live to ask about both programs. In Chicago and a few other places, a city or state office fills this role instead, and the county pages at the bottom list local contacts.

Court-Based Rental Assistance for eviction cases - The Illinois Housing Development Authority runs the Court-Based Rental Assistance Program, known as CBRAP, for tenants and landlords who already have an eviction case in court. The program opens for applications when new state funding arrives and pauses when the money runs out, so it is not open year-round. When a round is open, a grant may pay past-due rent, some future rent, and court costs, with award limits set for each round.

As part of the grant, the landlord generally must agree to dismiss the eviction case. Check the current status and apply at https://www.illinoishousinghelp.org/cbrap. Cook County residents apply through a separate county program instead.

Charity funds from the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, and St. Vincent de Paul - Many Salvation Army centers across Illinois hold small funds that may pay part of a rent balance for a household in a documented crisis. As an example, Catholic Charities covers the state through six diocesan agencies — Chicago, Joliet, Rockford, Peoria, Springfield, and Belleville — and rent or deposit help varies by office and by month. Local St. Vincent de Paul conferences may also help with a rent shortfall after a volunteer home visit.

Community action agencies - Community action agencies cover every Illinois county and may hold emergency rent and deposit funds alongside their energy programs. Their caseworkers can check one household against several programs in a single visit. The Illinois community action agency page lists the office for each area.

Free legal help for an eviction - Eviction Help Illinois is a state-funded network that provides free legal aid and mediation to renters with an eviction case; call (855) 631-0811. The free legal aid in Illinois page lists more offices and what each one covers.

Government housing resources - HUD lists Illinois rental programs and free HUD-approved housing counselors at https://www.hud.gov/states/illinois. The state posts its rent program status at https://www.illinoishousinghelp.org/, and ILHousingSearch.org is a free search for income-restricted units, with phone help at (877) 428-8844. Dialing 211 adds referrals to nearby rent and utility programs, in addition to the offices above.

Long-term rent assistance programs

RHSP and Section 8 - Two other programs lower the monthly rent itself and involve waiting lists. The Rental Housing Support Program is run by IHDA. It pays part of the rent for extremely low-income households living in participating buildings, and tenants apply through those properties or the local administering agency — not through a housing authority. The current property list is posted at https://www.ihda.org/rental-housing-main/rhsrp/.

Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers in Illinois come from local public housing authorities, and IHDA does not take voucher applications. Waiting lists open and close by authority, and the Section 8 housing in Illinois page explains the income rules and local contacts.

Illinois renters share program experiences in the forum

Programs work differently in the Chicago area than they do downstate, and township decisions differ from one office to the next. Renters use the moderated NHPB forum to report which agencies had funds, how long a decision took, and what a township office asked for. Read recent posts or add a question in the Illinois rent assistance forum discussion.

Illinois county and city pages for local rent help

Local charities, township offices, and county programs hold their own funds. Select an area below for contacts, phone numbers, and application details.

Champaign and Vermilion County

Chicago and Cook County

Danville and Vermilion County