New Illinois county recording fees starts 07-01-23

Buying or selling real estate in Illinois? If you close after July 1, 2023, your county's recording fees will include a new $9 increase. But there's a bright side to it.

Earlier this year, the Illinois General Assembly enacted Public Act 102-1135 which increased the document recording fees charged for the recordation of any real estate-related document in Illinois.

For those of us looking for the bright side, the fee goes to the Rental Housing Support Program (RHSP) to help Illinoisans afford decent, permanent rental housing. The new $9 increase is a 100% bump: the new RHSP fee will be $18 for each recording. Learn a little more about RHSP below.

What is a recording fee?

Buyers and sellers pay recording fees to the local county to register deeds, mortgages, and releases of mortgage into the public land records. Recording fees vary by county, but are generally between $50-$100 per document. Here's how the increases shake out around Chicago:

If you have any questions about selling and buying real estate in the Chicago area, our real estate law firm is ready and happy to help. It's easy, just contact our office.

What is RHSP?

The Rental Housing Support Program was created in 2005 to help address the ongoing need for decent, affordable, permanent rental housing. Low wages and limited availability of affordable rental housing requires many families and households throughout Illinois to pay a disproportionate share of their income for basic housing. Affordable housing can also be hard to find for household family members have disabilities or other special needs.

Eligible participants must have a household income of 30 percent or less of the area median income (AMI). Those clients pay 30 percent of their income towards their rents. Housing provider subsidies make up the difference between the client portion and fair market rents.

Unlike traditional Section 8 or Housing Choice Vouchers that are tenant-based. The RHSP is project based. Once a housing provider and property are qualified, any qualified client can move into the unit on the same terms if another vacates the unit.