Bloomington, IL Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)

Bloomington City Code § 45-201, Sec. 900.3, requires every owner of a building containing residential rental units, whether vacant or occupied, and including dormitories and rooming houses, to file an annual registration statement with the Department of Economic & Community Development on the Department's own forms. Registration runs on the calendar year, January 1 through December 31, and the statement has to be filed before January 1 of the year being registered, except when ownership transfers mid-year, in which case the new owner has 30 days from the transfer to register.

The statement has to identify the building's address, unit count and unit designations, the owner's name and contact information, a registered agent for any corporate or trust owner, and the name and contact information of whoever prepared the form, along with a signed certification that the information is true. A registration fee applies, set in the City's Schedule of Fees, and statements filed after March 1 pick up a late fee on top. Owner-occupied single-family homes, owner-occupied portions of duplexes, owner-occupied condominiums, hotels, motels, nursing homes, Bloomington Housing Authority housing, bed-and-breakfasts, and community reception establishments are exempt, but a single-family home that is rented even once has to register every year after that unless the owner files a sworn statement that it is owner-occupied or vacant and not intended for rent. Registration is not transferable: a new owner has to register and pay the fee within 30 days of taking title.