SB0769eng 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0769 Engrossed LRB102 04587 RLC 14606 b

AN ACT concerning criminal law.

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

Section 5. The Home Repair Fraud Act is amended by changing Section 3 as follows:

(815 ILCS 515/3) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 1603)

Sec. 3. Home Repair Fraud.

(a) A person commits the offense of home repair fraud when he knowingly enters into an agreement or contract, written or oral, with a person for home repair, and he knowingly:

(1) Misrepresents a material fact relating to the terms of the contract or agreement or the preexisting or existing condition of any portion of the property involved, or creates or confirms another's impression which is false and which he does not believe to be true, or promises performance which he does not intend to perform or knows will not be performed; or

(2) uses or employs any deception, false pretense or false promises in order to induce, encourage or solicit such person to enter into any contract or agreement; or

(3) enters into an unconscionable agreement or contract requiring payment to the contractor of at least $4,000. A contract is unconscionable within the meaning of this Act when an unreasonable difference exists between the value of the services, materials and work to be performed and the amount charged for those services, materials and work. For purposes of this Section, prima facie evidence shall exist that the contract or agreement is unconscionable if the total payment called for by the contract or agreement is in excess of four times the fair market value for those services, materials and work; or

(4) fails to comply with the provisions of "An Act in relation to the use of an assumed name in the conduct or transaction of business in this State", approved July 17, 1941, as amended, and misrepresents or conceals either his real name, the name of his business, or his business address.

(b) A person commits the offense of home repair fraud when he knowingly:

(1) damages the property of a person with the intent to enter into an agreement or contract for home repair; or

(2) misrepresents himself or another to be an employee or agent of any unit of the federal, State or municipal government or any other governmental unit, or an employee or agent of any public utility, with the intent to cause a person to enter into, with himself or another, any contract or agreement for home repair; or .

(3) promises performance which the person knows will not be completed at any time during the performance of the service.

(c) For purposes of subsection (a), paragraph (1), it shall be a rebuttable presumption of intent or knowledge that a person promises performance which he does not intend to perform and knows will not be performed when, after no performance or no substantial performance of a contract or agreement for home repair, he fails or refuses to return payments made by the victim and he:

(1) fails to acknowledge or respond to a written demand for commencement or completion of home repair within 10 days after such demand is mailed or presented to him by the victim or by the victim's legal representative or by a law enforcement or consumer agency acting on behalf of the victim; or

(2) fails to notify the victim in writing of a change of business name or address prior to the completion of the home repair; or

(3) makes false statements or representations to the victim to excuse his non-performance or non-substantial performance; or

(4) uses deception to obtain the victim's consent to modification of the terms of the original contract or agreement; or

(5) fails to employ qualified personnel necessary to perform the home repair; or

(6) fails to order or purchase the basic materials required for performance of the home repair; or

(7) fails to comply with municipal, county, State or federal regulations or codes relating to the performance of home repair.

Intent and knowledge shall be determined by an evaluation of all circumstances surrounding a transaction and the determination shall not be limited to the time of contract or agreement.

Substantial performance shall not include work performed in a manner of little or no value or work that fails to comply with the appropriate municipal, county, State or federal regulations or codes.

(Source: P.A. 87-820.)