Mold Inspection & Remediation in Illinois

A registration law that is not in effect yet. Illinois enacted the Mold Remediation Registration Act (Public Act 103-0893). Once it starts, mold remediators will have to register with the Illinois Department of Public Health and show third-party certification and financial responsibility. IDPH says registration is not yet in effect: proposed rules were published in October 2025, and no start date has been announced. Until then, there is no state mold license or registration to look up, so ask which certification the crew holds and get it in writing.

Contractor licenses for the rebuild. Mold removal often ends with new drywall, flooring, or framing. In Chicago, most construction, alteration, and repair work requires a City of Chicago general contractor license, and the city's building department lists the license classes. Outside Chicago, licensing is set by each municipality, so ask your village or city which license applies.

What to ask for. Ask for a certificate of general liability insurance, the certification the technicians hold, a written scope that lists rooms and materials, and how the result will be checked at the end. Many companies follow the ANSI/IICRC S520 standard. Illinois does not stop one company from both testing and remediating, so an independent inspection before the work and a separate final check are worth considering.

Selling a home. The Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure Act form asks sellers about flooding or recurring leakage problems in the basement or crawl space. Mold is not named on the form, but water history often is, which is why buyers order mold inspections after reading it.

Illinois has a humid continental climate: cold winters, warm and humid summers, and rain in every season. NOAA's 1991–2020 normals put Chicago O'Hare at about 38 inches of precipitation a year, with the most falling from April through August, often in short, heavy thunderstorms. Southern Illinois is wetter. Summer humidity slows drying in basements, and cold winters bring condensation on windows, rim joists, and foundation walls.

The EPA recommends drying wet materials within 24 to 48 hours and keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30% to 50%. In older Illinois housing, about 64% of homes statewide were built before 1980 according to the Census Bureau, and basements and crawl spaces are the most common places for mold to start.

In Illinois, the classic mold claim starts in the basement, and the cause decides the answer. Water that backs up through a floor drain or sewer line is covered only if your policy has a sewer or water backup endorsement. Water that rises from outside, such as a river or overland flooding, needs a flood policy. Mold that follows a sudden event inside the house, such as a burst pipe or a failed water heater, is the case a homeowners policy is most likely to cover, often up to a separate mold limit.

Seepage through a foundation wall and mold from long-term humidity are commonly excluded. Read the endorsements on your declarations page before the next storm season, photograph damage before cleanup, and report promptly. The Illinois Department of Insurance takes consumer complaints. See does insurance cover mold.

Our phone line is for homeowners. If you rent in Illinois, there is no statewide mold statute for rentals, but Illinois courts recognize an implied warranty of habitability in residential leases, and many cities have their own rules. In Chicago, the Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance requires landlords to maintain units in compliance with the city's codes and sets out what tenants can do after written notice.

Give your landlord written notice of the leak and the mold, keep a copy, and take dated photos. If repairs are not made, contact your city's building or housing code office (in Chicago, 311) or a legal aid organization before withholding rent, because the rules on rent withholding are specific. For your belongings, see renters insurance and mold.