Full Text of HB5224 96th General Assembly
HB5224 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010 HB5224
Introduced 2/3/2010, by Rep. Dan Reitz SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Creates the Tenants Radon Protection Act. Provides that the purpose of the Act is to protect residential tenants from radon hazards. Provides definitions. 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 present 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 form of disclosure of information on radon hazards and any test result. Provides that nothing implies an obligation on a landlord or tenant to conduct any radon testing. Provides that a lease may be terminated under designated conditions concerning radon. Provides that this is a limitation on home rule powers. Contains other provisions. Effective January 1, 2011.
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| HOME RULE NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
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A BILL FOR
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HB5224 |
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LRB096 16341 AJO 35520 b |
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| AN ACT concerning civil law.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 |
| Tenants Radon Protection Act. | 6 |
| Section 5. Purpose. Radon is a radioactive element that is | 7 |
| part of the radioactive decay chain of naturally occurring | 8 |
| uranium in soil. Unlike carbon monoxide and many other home | 9 |
| pollutants, radon's adverse health effect, lung cancer, is | 10 |
| usually not produced immediately. | 11 |
| Section 10. Definitions. For purposes of this Act: | 12 |
| "Dwelling unit" means a room or suite of rooms used for | 13 |
| human habitation, and includes a single family residence as | 14 |
| well as each living unit of a multiple family residence and | 15 |
| each living unit in a mixed use building. | 16 |
| "IEMA" means the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
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| "Landlord" means, but is not limited to, an individual, | 18 |
| company, corporation, firm, group, association, partnership, | 19 |
| joint venture, trust, government agency, or subdivision | 20 |
| leasing a dwelling unit to a tenant. | 21 |
| "Lease" means an oral or written agreement under which a | 22 |
| property owner allows a tenant to use the property for a |
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LRB096 16341 AJO 35520 b |
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| specified period of time and rent. | 2 |
| "Mitigation" means the act of repairing or altering a | 3 |
| building or building design for the purpose in whole or in part | 4 |
| of reducing the concentration of radon in the indoor atmosphere | 5 |
| according to procedures described in 32 Illinois | 6 |
| Administrative Code 422.
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| "Radon" means a gaseous radioactive decay product of | 8 |
| uranium or thorium. | 9 |
| "Radon contractor" means a person licensed in accordance | 10 |
| with the Radon Industry Licensing Act to perform radon | 11 |
| mitigation or to perform measurements of radon in an indoor | 12 |
| atmosphere. | 13 |
| "Radon hazard" means exposure to indoor radon | 14 |
| concentrations at or in excess of the IEMA's recommended Radon | 15 |
| Action Level. | 16 |
| "Radon test" means a measurement of indoor radon | 17 |
| concentrations in accordance with the provisions of 32 Illinois | 18 |
| Administrative Code 422 for performing radon measurements. | 19 |
| "Tenant" means a person who is about to enter or has | 20 |
| entered into an oral or written lease with a landlord whereby | 21 |
| the person leases the dwelling unit.
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| Section 15. Radon disclosure.
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| (a) At the time of or before a lease is entered into, or at | 24 |
| any time that a lease is in effect, the landlord shall provide | 25 |
| to each tenant in a dwelling unit any records or reports |
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LRB096 16341 AJO 35520 b |
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| pertaining to radon concentrations within the dwelling unit | 2 |
| that present a radon hazard to the tenant in accordance with | 3 |
| subsection (d). | 4 |
| (b) If a tenant performs a radon test, the tenant shall | 5 |
| provide to the landlord any records or reports pertaining to | 6 |
| radon concentrations within 10 days after receiving the | 7 |
| measurement result. | 8 |
| (c) Nothing in this Section is intended to or shall be | 9 |
| construed to imply an obligation to conduct any radon testing | 10 |
| activities. | 11 |
| (d) The following shall be the form of Disclosure of | 12 |
| Information on Radon Hazards to be provided to each tenant of a | 13 |
| dwelling unit as required by this Section:
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| DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION ON RADON HAZARDS | 15 |
| (For Rental Property)
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| Radon Warning Statement | 17 |
| Each tenant in this residence is notified that the property | 18 |
| may present exposure to levels of indoor radon gas that may | 19 |
| place the occupants at risk of developing radon-induced lung | 20 |
| cancer. Radon, a Class-A human carcinogen, is the leading cause | 21 |
| of lung cancer in non-smokers and the second leading cause | 22 |
| overall. The landlord of any residence is required to provide | 23 |
| each tenant with any information on radon test results of the |
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| dwelling unit that presents a radon hazard to the tenant.
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| Landlord's Disclosure (initial each of the following which | 3 |
| applies) | 4 |
| (a).......... Radon concentrations (above IEMA recommended | 5 |
| Radon Action Level) are known to be present within the dwelling | 6 |
| unit. (Explain) | 7 |
| (b).......... Landlord has provided the tenant with all | 8 |
| available records and reports pertaining to radon | 9 |
| concentrations within the dwelling unit.
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| Tenant's Acknowledgment (initial)
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| (c).......... Tenant has received copies of all | 12 |
| information listed above.
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| Certification of Accuracy
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| The following parties have reviewed the information above and | 15 |
| each party certifies, to the best of his or her knowledge, that | 16 |
| the information he or she provided is true and accurate.
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| Landlord _______________ Date _______
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| Tenant _______________ Date _______
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| Section 20. Mitigation of radon hazard. | 2 |
| (a) The landlord shall have 30 days after notification by | 3 |
| the tenant to have a radon test performed by a radon contractor | 4 |
| to confirm a radon test performed by the tenant. | 5 |
| (b) Landlords deciding to have radon mitigation performed | 6 |
| shall have the mitigation system installed by a radon | 7 |
| contractor. | 8 |
| (c) Tenants deciding to have radon mitigation performed | 9 |
| shall have the mitigation system installed by a radon | 10 |
| contractor. Tenants shall have the landlord's consent prior to | 11 |
| undertaking any mitigation activities. | 12 |
| (d) Nothing in this Section is intended to or shall be | 13 |
| construed to imply an obligation to conduct any radon testing | 14 |
| or mitigation activities.
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| Section 25. Termination of lease.
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| (a) The tenant shall have the right to terminate a lease if | 17 |
| the landlord, 90 days after having been initially informed of a | 18 |
| radon hazard, has failed to correct the radon hazard. | 19 |
| (b) A landlord of a dwelling unit vacated by a tenant in | 20 |
| accordance with (a) of this Section, who has received a | 21 |
| security deposit from a tenant to secure the payment of rent or | 22 |
| to compensate for damage to the leased property, may not | 23 |
| withhold any part of that deposit as compensation for radon | 24 |
| testing or mitigation activities. However, the landlord may | 25 |
| withhold part of the security deposit in cases where the tenant |
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LRB096 16341 AJO 35520 b |
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| had a mitigation system installed without the landlord's | 2 |
| consent and the system was not properly installed by a radon | 3 |
| contractor. An itemized statement must be provided to the | 4 |
| tenant if any part of the security deposit is withheld. | 5 |
| (c) Upon a finding by a circuit court that a landlord has | 6 |
| improperly held a security deposit because of radon testing or | 7 |
| mitigation activities, the landlord shall be liable for an | 8 |
| amount equal to twice the amount of the security deposit due, | 9 |
| together with court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
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| Section 30. Home rule. A home rule unit may not regulate | 11 |
| lease agreements in a manner that diminishes the rights of | 12 |
| tenants under this Act. This Section is a limitation under | 13 |
| subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois | 14 |
| Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of | 15 |
| powers and functions exercised by the State.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January | 17 |
| 1, 2011.
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