Increased Filing Fees for Illinois Residential Real Estate Foreclosures

Illinois’ new law¹ imposing additional court filing fees for residential real estate foreclosure cases is now in effect.  The new law has a three-tier fee schedule based on the number of residential foreclosures a lender and its affiliates or servicers filed during the preceding calendar year.  The three tiers are:

• Tier I:  Lenders and their affiliates or servicers that have filed 175 or more residential foreclosures during the preceding calendar year.  The additional filing fee is $500.00.
• Tier II:  Lenders and their affiliates or servicers that have filed between 50 and 174 residential foreclosures during the preceding calendar year.  The additional filing fee is $250.00.
• Tier III:  Lenders and their affiliates or servicers that have filed less than 50 residential foreclosures during the preceding calendar year.  The additional fee is $50.00.

These fees are in addition to the already existing filing fees: (1) the base filing fee already required by the particular Circuit Court Clerk; and (2) a $50.00 fee for deposit into the Foreclosure Prevention Program Fund.

In order to determine the applicable additional filing fee, the Circuit Court Clerks may rely on a verified statement filed by the Plaintiff attesting to its tier.

The Illinois State Treasurer is to deposit 28% of the additional fees into the Foreclosure Prevention Program Fund and 70% into the Abandoned Residential Property Municipality Relief Fund, while the Circuit Court Clerks are allowed to retain 2% for administrative expenses.  According to the Illinois Governor’s Office, the additional fees will provide an estimated $28 million to local governments to maintain abandoned residential properties, and an estimated $13 million for housing counseling assistance.[2]