SB1559 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB101 07432 CPF 52474 b

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.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning safety.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Tenants Radon Protection Act.

Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:

Radon is the leading cause of death in private homes and a radioactive element that is part of the radioactive decay chain of naturally occurring uranium in soil. Unlike carbon monoxide and many other home pollutants, radon's adverse health effect, lung cancer, is usually not produced immediately.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Dwelling unit" means a room or suite of rooms used for human habitation. "Dwelling unit" includes a single family residence as well as each living unit of a multiple family residence and each living unit in a mixed use building.

"IEMA" means the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.

"Landlord" means any person or entity leasing a dwelling unit to a tenant, and includes, but is not limited to, an individual, company, corporation, firm, group, association, partnership, joint venture, trust, government agency, or subdivision thereof.

"Lease" means an oral or written agreement under which a property owner allows a tenant to use the property for a specified rent and period of time.

"Mitigation" means the act of repairing or altering a building or building design for the purpose, in whole or in part, of reducing the concentration of radon in the indoor atmosphere according to procedures described in 32 Ill. Adm. Code 422.

"Radon" means a gaseous radioactive decay product of uranium or thorium.

"Radon contractor" means a person licensed under the Radon Industry Licensing Act to perform radon mitigation or to perform measurements of radon in an indoor atmosphere.

"Radon hazard" means exposure to indoor radon concentrations at or in excess of the IEMA's recommended Radon Action Level.

"Radon test" means a measurement of indoor radon concentrations in accordance with the provisions of 32 Ill. Adm. Code 422 for performing radon measurements.

"Tenant" means a person who is about to enter or has entered into an oral or written lease with a landlord to lease a dwelling unit.

Section 15. Radon testing and disclosure.

(a) At the time of or before a lease is entered into, and at any time that a lease is in effect, the landlord shall provide to each tenant in a dwelling unit copies of any records or reports pertaining to radon concentrations within the dwelling unit that indicate a radon hazard to the tenant, as provided in subsection (e).

(b) If a tenant performs a radon test, the tenant shall provide to the landlord copies of any records or reports pertaining to radon concentrations within 10 days after receiving the measurement result.

(c) Nothing in this Section is intended to or shall be construed to imply an obligation of a landlord or tenant to conduct any radon testing activities.

(d) The landlord shall provide to the tenant the IEMA pamphlet entitled "IEMA Radon Guide for Tenants" or an equivalent pamphlet approved for use by IEMA.

(e) The following Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards to Tenants shall be provided to each tenant of a dwelling unit:

"DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION ON RADON HAZARDS TO TENANTS"

Radon Warning Statement

Each tenant in this residence is notified that the property may present exposure to levels of indoor radon gas that may place the occupants at risk of developing radon-induced lung cancer. Radon, a Class-A human carcinogen, is the leading cause of death in private homes and the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. The landlord of any residence is required to provide each tenant with any information on radon test results of the dwelling unit that present a radon hazard to the tenant.

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) strongly recommends that ALL rental properties have a radon test performed and radon hazards mitigated if elevated levels are found in a dwelling unit or a routinely occupied area of a multiple family residence. Elevated radon concentrations can easily be reduced by a radon contractor.

Property address: ..................................

Landlord's Disclosure (initial each of the following which applies)

(a) ...... Landlord has no knowledge of elevated radon concentrations (or records or reports pertaining to elevated radon concentrations) in the dwelling unit.

(b) ...... Radon concentrations (above the IEMA recommended Radon Action Level 4.0 pCi/L) are known to be present within the dwelling unit.

(c) ...... Landlord has provided the tenant with copies of all available records and reports pertaining to radon concentrations within the dwelling unit.

Tenant's Acknowledgment (initial)

(d) ...... Tenant has received copies of all information listed above.

(e) ...... Tenant has received the pamphlet "IEMA Radon Guide for Tenants".

Certification of Accuracy

The following parties have reviewed the information above and each party certifies, to the best of his or her knowledge, that the information he or she provided is true and accurate.

Landlord ............... Date ...............

Tenant ............... Date ...............

Section 20. Mitigation of radon hazard.

(a) If a landlord disputes the results of a radon test performed by a tenant, the landlord may hire a radon contractor to perform a radon test within 30 days after the tenant notifies the landlord of the results of his or her radon test. This measurement by a radon contractor is valid for a period of 2 years after the date of the testing unless any renovations, additions, or modifications are made to the building.

(b) Landlords deciding to have radon mitigation performed shall have the mitigation system installed by a radon contractor.

(c) Tenants deciding to have radon mitigation performed shall have the mitigation system installed by a radon contractor. Tenants shall have the landlord's consent prior to undertaking any mitigation activities.

(d) Nothing in this Section is intended or shall be construed to imply an obligation of a landlord or tenant to conduct any radon testing or mitigation activities.

Section 25. Termination of lease.

(a) A tenant has the right to terminate a lease if the landlord has failed to correct the radon hazard within 120 days after having been initially informed of a radon hazard.

(b) A landlord of a dwelling unit vacated by a tenant in accordance with subsection (a), who has received a security deposit from a tenant to secure the payment of rent or to compensate for damage to the leased property, may not withhold any part of that deposit as compensation for radon testing or mitigation activities. However, the landlord may withhold part of the security deposit in cases where the tenant had a mitigation system installed without the landlord's consent and the system was not properly installed by a radon contractor. An itemized statement must be provided to the tenant if any part of the security deposit is withheld.

Section 30. Home rule. A home rule unit may not regulate lease agreements in a manner that diminishes the rights of tenants under this Act. This Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of powers and functions exercised by the State.

Section 99. The Illinois Radon Awareness Act is amended by repealing Section 25.

Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2020.