Illinois real estate laws practice questions

The fraction-of-$500 rule changes the answer

A nonexempt Illinois transfer has $100,001 of taxable value. Calculate only the state transfer tax.

1. $100,001 contains 200 full $500 units plus a fraction.
2. The statute charges each $500 or fraction, so the taxable count rounds up to 201 units.
3. 201 multiplied by $0.50 equals $100.50.

Answer: The Illinois state transfer tax is $100.50.

Land-trust roles do not merge

A trustee holds record title under an Illinois land trust. The beneficiary directs a proposed sale and expects the proceeds. A question asks which interest is personal property.

1. Under the statutory Illinois land-trust definition, the trustee holds both legal and equitable title.
2. The beneficiary exercises the power of direction and receives the economic benefit.
3. Illinois treats the beneficial interest as personal property.

Answer: The beneficiary's beneficial interest is the personal-property interest.

Tenancy by the entirety requires both signatures

Two married spouses validly hold their Illinois homestead as tenants by the entirety under an express instrument. Both are living and the estate continues. One alone signs a deed attempting to convey that homestead; no separate authorized signature for the other is supplied.

1. The parties and property meet the stated qualifying relationship and homestead facts.
2. The ownership was expressly created as tenancy by the entirety.
3. Section 1c requires both tenants to sign the homestead deed. These stipulated facts do not supply the missing signature.

Answer: The attempted deed is not effective without the other tenant's signature.

Source-of-income language is an Illinois red flag

For a covered nonexempt Illinois rental, the landlord directs a listing broker to advertise: No housing vouchers or other rental assistance accepted. The sole reason is the lawful source, with no separate lawful criterion supplied.

1. The statement advertises housing availability and terms.
2. Source of income is protected in Illinois real estate transactions.
3. A blanket rejection communicates a prohibited preference rather than a neutral ability-to-pay standard.
4. The example identifies the source-only advertisement problem; it does not decide an applicant's approval or every other screening requirement.

Answer: The broker should refuse the advertisement and use lawful, consistently applied screening criteria.

A commission contract does not guarantee lien coverage

A broker has a signed commission agreement for the sale of an Illinois vacant parcel with no building or structure and proposes to record a lien under the Commercial Real Estate Broker Lien Act.

1. The signed agreement may create a contractual compensation right.
2. The lien statute separately defines covered commercial real estate.
3. Property with no building or structure is excluded from that definition.
4. This answer concerns the proposed statutory lien, not a ruling that the broker has proved a commission claim or may record some other kind of lien.

Answer: The agreement may support a fee claim, but the statute does not provide the proposed lien on that vacant parcel.

Passive radon construction is not a test result

A newly built covered home includes the required passive radon-resistant system. The seller claims this proves that radon is below every action level and eliminates transaction disclosure.

1. The construction statute addresses how covered new housing is built.
2. A passive system does not itself measure the home's radon concentration.
3. Transaction disclosure arises under a separate statute and cannot be erased by the construction feature.
4. The applicable construction, testing and transaction requirements retain their own scope; the passive feature does not establish compliance with every law.

Answer: The passive system neither guarantees a test result nor automatically replaces applicable transaction disclosure.

Identify the kind of homestead benefit

A homeowner asks whether the $50,000 figure in Section 12-901 automatically reduces taxable equalized assessed value by $50,000.

1. Section 12-901 addresses a qualifying homestead interest in specified creditor process, with statutory exceptions.
2. Property-tax relief follows the applicable Property Tax Code exemption, its coverage and local administration.
3. The shared word homestead does not turn one benefit into the other.

Answer: No. Identify and apply the separate property-tax exemption instead of deducting the judgment-homestead figure from taxable value.

Evaluate an assistance-animal form objection

Assume a covered housing accommodation request has a non-apparent need. The resident supplies written documentation meeting Section 10(b), but on the treating provider's letter rather than the landlord's preferred form. No separate lawful denial ground is supplied.

1. The stipulated non-apparent need allows the permitted documentation request.
2. The submitted document is expressly assumed to meet the writing, therapeutic-relationship and need requirements.
3. Section 10(a) does not permit denial solely because a preferred form was not used.

Answer: The format alone is not a lawful reason to deny this compliant request; other actual accommodation requirements retain their own analysis.

Keep the state and county tax layers separate

A problem stipulates $100,001 of nonexempt taxable transfer value for both layers and an applicable county tax of $0.25 per $500 or fraction. Find the state-plus-county amount only; no municipal calculation is requested.

1. Both stipulated layers use 201 taxable units after rounding the fraction upward.
2. State: 201 x $0.50 = $100.50. County: 201 x $0.25 = $50.25.
3. Add only the requested layers: $100.50 + $50.25 = $150.75. The absence of a municipal calculation does not prove that the actual municipality charges nothing.

Answer: The stated state-plus-county total is $150.75, with municipal tax outside this calculation.

Keep a current rental duty separate from a future reform

In October 2026, a covered lease executed after January 1, 2025 uses a third-party rent portal that charges a transaction fee. The provider says no fee-related duty applies until the January 2027 reform.

1. Public Act 104-514 changed the identified new reform's operative date, not the existence of every current rental duty.
2. Section 3.5 already provides a paper-check, cash or other no-fee payment alternative when its conditions apply.
3. The stipulated current obligation must be considered separately from the future reform; this does not decide every other fee or local requirement.

Answer: The provider cannot use the future reform date to erase the current Section 3.5 payment alternative in this covered example.

1. In an Illinois land trust, which interest is generally treated as personal property?

1. The beneficiary's individually recorded fee title to the parcel
2. The trustee's legal and equitable title to the real estate
3. The trustee's ownership of the real estate as an ordinary personal asset
4. The beneficiary's beneficial interest

2. A nonexempt Illinois transfer has taxable value of $100,001. What is the state transfer tax before county or municipal tax?

1. $100.50
2. $150.00
3. $100.00
4. $200.02

3. Which Illinois housing advertisement creates the clearest source-of-income problem?

1. Income verification permitted within lawful limits
2. Subsidized applicants considered using the tenant rent portion where required
3. No housing vouchers accepted
4. Rental history considered under lawful criteria

4. When may an Illinois housing provider request reliable written assistance-animal documentation?

1. When the disability or disability-related need is not readily apparent or known
2. Only if the resident agrees to disclose a specific diagnosis
3. Whenever a provider dislikes an animal despite an already apparent and known need
4. Only if a resident first agrees to an ordinary pet fee

5. Which property is excluded from the Commercial Real Estate Broker Lien Act's commercial-real-estate definition?

1. A shopping center with no residential units, not classified as farmland
2. An office building with no residential units, not classified as farmland
3. An industrial warehouse with no residential units, not classified as farmland
4. A vacant parcel with no building or structure

6. A question concerns levy by a judgment creditor. Which homestead source fits that issue?

1. 735 ILCS 5/12-901
2. The municipal transfer-tax schedule
3. The lender's interest-rate table
4. Only the condominium declaration

7. In October 2026, which is the qualifying individual judgment-homestead amount under Section 12-901?

1. $15,000
2. $10,000
3. $50,000
4. $7,500

8. Two living spouses validly continue to hold their Illinois homestead as tenants by the entirety. Which signature rule applies to its deed on the stated facts?

1. Neither tenant needs to sign if it is recorded
2. Only the spouse who paid more signs
3. Only the listing broker signs
4. Both tenants must sign

9. A problem supplies $100,001 of nonexempt taxable transfer value. If the authorized county rate of $0.25 per $500 or fraction applies, what is the county tax alone?

1. $100.50
2. $25.00
3. $50.25
4. $50.00

10. Does every division creating a parcel under five acres automatically qualify for a Plat Act exception?

1. Yes, a street address replaces plat requirements
2. No, because every division of any size is automatically unlawful
3. No; evaluate the statutory trigger, actual exceptions and applicable local requirements
4. Yes, small parcels are always exempt

11. Which interest accompanies an Illinois condominium unit under the Condominium Property Act?

1. Sole title to every common area
2. Its attached percentage interest in common elements
3. A right to ignore the declaration
4. Only a revocable permission to use any unit

12. For a covered assistance animal, does Section 10 allow an ordinary pet deposit merely because the building allows pets?

1. Yes, every pet rule applies unchanged
2. Yes, provided the form is signed
3. Yes, if the deposit is refundable
4. No; the specified pet-related deposit is prohibited

13. Which is accurate about an assistance-animal request with documentation expressly stipulated to meet Section 10(b)?

1. A landlord's form always overrides compliant documentation
2. The document must state a specific diagnosis
3. The preferred-form objection alone does not justify denial
4. Documentation guarantees approval despite every separate lawful denial ground

14. A covered third-party rent portal charges a transaction fee under Section 3.5, and the lease was executed after January 1, 2025. What must be available?

1. Only payment through that portal
2. A mandatory credit-card surcharge
3. Automatic forgiveness of rent
4. An allowed means of paying rent without the portal transaction charge

15. Can a real estate license alone establish the Business Brokers Act incidental-activity exemption?

1. Yes, possession of the credential proves every condition
2. No; the exemption requires the actual licensed, primarily engaged and incidental-activity facts
3. Yes, every business sale is real estate brokerage
4. No, because no real estate licensee can ever qualify

16. Does the required passive radon system itself establish the home's measured radon concentration?

1. Yes, if the home is newly built
2. Yes, it cancels every disclosure duty
3. No; construction features and an actual measurement are different
4. Yes, it is a laboratory result

17. As of October 2026, which is accurate about the operative date of the rental-fee reform addressed by Public Acts 104-479 and 104-514?

1. Its publication made every provision operative immediately
2. No existing rental-fee rule applies before 2027
3. The adopted date amendment moved the reform to January 1, 2027; other current rules still need review
4. The original July 2026 date controls despite the adopted amendment

18. May Section 15's particular dwelling rekey duty be taught as automatically applying in every Illinois county?

1. Yes, every county has identical statutory coverage
2. No, because a written dwelling lease is always exempt
3. No; its county-population limit and other coverage and exceptions must be checked
4. Yes, a verbal lease always proves every condition

19. In the ordinary annual property-tax sale process described by IDOR, does buying the tax-sale certificate immediately make the buyer the property owner?

1. No, because unpaid property taxes can never result in a later deed
2. Yes, every occupant loses title at the auction
3. No; the lien/certificate, redemption and tax-deed process are separate stages
4. Yes, the certificate is automatically a completed deed

20. Which approach fits Section 10(c)'s specified assistance-animal safety ground?

1. Reject whenever any resident expresses fear, without assessing the animal
2. Use an individualized assessment and reliable objective evidence of the specified direct threat that another reasonable accommodation cannot reduce or eliminate
3. Reject the request because the animal belongs to an unpopular breed
4. Grant every request even when the statutory denial conditions are met