Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch
Filed: 3/24/2014
 
 

 

 

 
09800HB4778ham001LRB098 18830 HEP 57413 a



1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4778




2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4778 by replacing 
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:

 
4    "Section 5. The Landlord and Tenant Act is amended  by 
5adding Section 17 as follows:
 
6    (765 ILCS 705/17 new)
7    Sec. 17. Application fees.
8    (a) As used in this Section, "application fee" means an

9amount required by a lessor to be paid by a prospective lessee

10of a dwelling unit prior to the lessor offering or accepting a

11lease agreement with the prospective lessee.
12    (b) A lessor may not charge an application fee that exceeds

13the lessor's actual out-of-pocket costs of evaluating a

14prospective lessee's application to enter into a lease with the

15lessor.
16    (c) Upon receiving an application fee, the lessor shall 
 
 
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1provide the prospective lessee with a written receipt which 
2shall state the amount of the application fee received and 
3specify a date on or before which the lessor will notify the 
4prospective lessee of a decision as to whether a lease will be 
5offered or accepted.
6    (d) On or before the date specified by the lessor under

7subsection (c), the lessor shall:
8        (1) provide a written itemized accounting of how the

9    application fee was expended by the lessor and return any 
10    amount not expended;
11        (2) notify the prospective lessee in writing of the

12    decision whether a lease will be offered or accepted;
13        (3) provide a copy of any information obtained
from a 
14    third party regarding the prospective lessee that is not 
15    prohibited from disclosure by State or federal law; if any 
16    third-party material subject to disclosure under this 
17    paragraph (3) is not in a form that can reasonably be 
18    copied or printed, the lessor shall in writing provide a 
19    substantially similar description of the information and 
20    the identity and contact information of its source.
21    (e)  If no decision has been made or if no unit is available 
22by the date specified under subsection (c), the lessor may, by 
23agreement of the prospective lessee, extend the date by which a 
24response under subsection (d) will be provided.
25    (f) A lessor who collects an application fee from a

26prospective lessee may not knowingly make any

 
 
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1misrepresentation to the prospective lessee regarding the

2current or future availability of a dwelling unit for lease.
3    (g) A lessor who violates this Section is liable to the

4prospective lessee for an amount up to double the application 
5fee,

and reasonable attorney's fees and costs.".