101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB1559

 

Introduced 2/15/2019, by Sen. David Koehler

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Tenants Radon Protection Act. Provides that before a lease is signed, a landlord shall provide to each tenant in a dwelling unit any records or reports pertaining to radon concentrations within the dwelling unit that indicate a radon hazard. Provides that if a tenant performs a radon test, the tenant shall provide to the landlord the test result within 10 days after receiving the result. Provides that before a lease is signed a landlord shall furnish each prospective tenant with a prescribed radon hazard disclosure form. Provides that nothing implies an obligation on a landlord or tenant to conduct any radon testing. Provides that a lease may be terminated under specified circumstances involving radon hazards. Provides that this is a limitation on home rule powers. Amends the Illinois Radon Awareness Act. Repeals a provision requiring landlords to give certain disclosures to tenants. Effective January 1, 2020.


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A BILL FOR

 

SB1559LRB101 07432 CPF 52474 b

1    AN ACT concerning safety.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Tenants Radon Protection Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:
7    Radon is the leading cause of death in private homes and a
8radioactive element that is part of the radioactive decay chain
9of naturally occurring uranium in soil. Unlike carbon monoxide
10and many other home pollutants, radon's adverse health effect,
11lung cancer, is usually not produced immediately.
 
12    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
13    "Dwelling unit" means a room or suite of rooms used for
14human habitation. "Dwelling unit" includes a single family
15residence as well as each living unit of a multiple family
16residence and each living unit in a mixed use building.
17    "IEMA" means the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
18    "Landlord" means any person or entity leasing a dwelling
19unit to a tenant, and includes, but is not limited to, an
20individual, company, corporation, firm, group, association,
21partnership, joint venture, trust, government agency, or
22subdivision thereof.

 

 

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1    "Lease" means an oral or written agreement under which a
2property owner allows a tenant to use the property for a
3specified rent and period of time.
4    "Mitigation" means the act of repairing or altering a
5building or building design for the purpose, in whole or in
6part, of reducing the concentration of radon in the indoor
7atmosphere according to procedures described in 32 Ill. Adm.
8Code 422.
9    "Radon" means a gaseous radioactive decay product of
10uranium or thorium.
11    "Radon contractor" means a person licensed under the Radon
12Industry Licensing Act to perform radon mitigation or to
13perform measurements of radon in an indoor atmosphere.
14    "Radon hazard" means exposure to indoor radon
15concentrations at or in excess of the IEMA's recommended Radon
16Action Level.
17    "Radon test" means a measurement of indoor radon
18concentrations in accordance with the provisions of 32 Ill.
19Adm. Code 422 for performing radon measurements.
20    "Tenant" means a person who is about to enter or has
21entered into an oral or written lease with a landlord to lease
22a dwelling unit.
 
23    Section 15. Radon testing and disclosure.
24    (a) At the time of or before a lease is entered into, and
25at any time that a lease is in effect, the landlord shall

 

 

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1provide to each tenant in a dwelling unit copies of any records
2or reports pertaining to radon concentrations within the
3dwelling unit that indicate a radon hazard to the tenant, as
4provided in subsection (e).
5    (b) If a tenant performs a radon test, the tenant shall
6provide to the landlord copies of any records or reports
7pertaining to radon concentrations within 10 days after
8receiving the measurement result.
9    (c) Nothing in this Section is intended to or shall be
10construed to imply an obligation of a landlord or tenant to
11conduct any radon testing activities.
12    (d) The landlord shall provide to the tenant the IEMA
13pamphlet entitled "IEMA Radon Guide for Tenants" or an
14equivalent pamphlet approved for use by IEMA.
15    (e) The following Disclosure of Information on Radon
16Hazards to Tenants shall be provided to each tenant of a
17dwelling unit:
 
18
"DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION ON RADON HAZARDS TO TENANTS"

 
19    Radon Warning Statement
20    Each tenant in this residence is notified that the property
21    may present exposure to levels of indoor radon gas that may
22    place the occupants at risk of developing radon-induced
23    lung cancer. Radon, a Class-A human carcinogen, is the
24    leading cause of death in private homes and the leading

 

 

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1    cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. The landlord of any
2    residence is required to provide each tenant with any
3    information on radon test results of the dwelling unit that
4    present a radon hazard to the tenant.
5    The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) strongly
6    recommends that ALL rental properties have a radon test
7    performed and radon hazards mitigated if elevated levels
8    are found in a dwelling unit or a routinely occupied area
9    of a multiple family residence. Elevated radon
10    concentrations can easily be reduced by a radon contractor.
11    Property address: ..................................
12    Landlord's Disclosure (initial each of the following which
13    applies)
14    (a) ...... Landlord has no knowledge of elevated radon
15    concentrations (or records or reports pertaining to
16    elevated radon concentrations) in the dwelling unit.
17    (b) ...... Radon concentrations (above the IEMA
18    recommended Radon Action Level 4.0 pCi/L) are known to be
19    present within the dwelling unit.
20    (c) ...... Landlord has provided the tenant with copies of
21    all available records and reports pertaining to radon
22    concentrations within the dwelling unit.
23    Tenant's Acknowledgment (initial)
24    (d) ...... Tenant has received copies of all information
25    listed above.
26    (e) ...... Tenant has received the pamphlet "IEMA Radon

 

 

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1    Guide for Tenants".
2    Certification of Accuracy
3    The following parties have reviewed the information above
4    and each party certifies, to the best of his or her
5    knowledge, that the information he or she provided is true
6    and accurate.
 
7    Landlord ...............           Date ...............
 
8    Tenant   ...............           Date ...............
 
9    Section 20. Mitigation of radon hazard.
10    (a) If a landlord disputes the results of a radon test
11performed by a tenant, the landlord may hire a radon contractor
12to perform a radon test within 30 days after the tenant
13notifies the landlord of the results of his or her radon test.
14This measurement by a radon contractor is valid for a period of
152 years after the date of the testing unless any renovations,
16additions, or modifications are made to the building.
17    (b) Landlords deciding to have radon mitigation performed
18shall have the mitigation system installed by a radon
19contractor.
20    (c) Tenants deciding to have radon mitigation performed
21shall have the mitigation system installed by a radon
22contractor. Tenants shall have the landlord's consent prior to
23undertaking any mitigation activities.

 

 

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1    (d) Nothing in this Section is intended or shall be
2construed to imply an obligation of a landlord or tenant to
3conduct any radon testing or mitigation activities.
 
4    Section 25. Termination of lease.
5    (a) A tenant has the right to terminate a lease if the
6landlord has failed to correct the radon hazard within 120 days
7after having been initially informed of a radon hazard.
8    (b) A landlord of a dwelling unit vacated by a tenant in
9accordance with subsection (a), who has received a security
10deposit from a tenant to secure the payment of rent or to
11compensate for damage to the leased property, may not withhold
12any part of that deposit as compensation for radon testing or
13mitigation activities. However, the landlord may withhold part
14of the security deposit in cases where the tenant had a
15mitigation system installed without the landlord's consent and
16the system was not properly installed by a radon contractor. An
17itemized statement must be provided to the tenant if any part
18of the security deposit is withheld.
 
19    Section 30. Home rule. A home rule unit may not regulate
20lease agreements in a manner that diminishes the rights of
21tenants under this Act. This Section is a limitation under
22subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois
23Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of
24powers and functions exercised by the State.
 

 

 

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1    Section 99. The Illinois Radon Awareness Act is amended by
2repealing Section 25.
 
3    Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
41, 2020.