Public Act 103-0298

HB2217 Enrolled LRB103 25346 CPF 51691 b

AN ACT concerning safety.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Radon Awareness Act is amended by

changing Sections 5 and 20 and by adding Sections 26, 30, and

35 as follows:

(420 ILCS 46/5)

Sec. 5. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the

context otherwise requires:

(a) "Agent" means a licensed real estate "broker" or

"salesperson", as those terms are defined in Section 1-10 of

the Real Estate License Act of 2000, acting on behalf of a

seller or buyer of residential real property.

(b) "Buyer" means any individual, partnership,

corporation, or trustee entering into an agreement to purchase

any estate or interest in real property.

"Dwelling unit" means a room or suite of rooms used for

human habitation. "Dwelling unit" includes a mobile home, a

single family residence, each living unit in a multiple family

residence, and each living unit in a mixed use building.

(c) "Final settlement" means the time at which the parties

have signed and delivered all papers and consideration to

convey title to the estate or interest in the residential real

property being conveyed.

"Lease" means an oral or written agreement under which a

lessor allows a tenant to use the property for a specified rent

and period of time.

"Lessor" means any person or entity that leases a dwelling

unit to a tenant. "Lessor" includes, but is not limited to, an

individual, company, corporation, firm, group, association,

partnership, joint venture, trust, government agency, or

subdivision thereof.

(d) "IEMA" means the Illinois Emergency Management Agency

Division of Nuclear Safety.

(e) "Mitigation" means measures designed to permanently

reduce indoor radon concentrations according to procedures

described in 32 Illinois Administrative Code Part 422.

"Mobile home" has the meaning given to that term in

Section 10 of the Manufactured Home Quality Assurance Act.

"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

measurement in an indoor atmosphere.

(f) "Radon hazard" means exposure to indoor radon

concentrations at or in excess of the United States

Environmental Protection Agency's, or IEMA's recommended Radon

Action Level.

(g) "Radon test" means a measurement of indoor radon

concentrations in accordance with 32 Illinois Administrative

Code Part 422 for performing radon measurements within the

context of a residential real property transaction.

(h) "Residential real property" means any estate or

interest in a manufactured housing lot or a parcel of real

property, improved with not less than one nor more than 4

residential dwelling units.

(i) "Seller" means any individual, partnership,

corporation, or trustee transferring residential real property

in return for consideration.

"Tenant" means a person who has entered into an oral or

written lease with a lessor to lease a dwelling unit.

(Source: P.A. 95-210, eff. 1-1-08.)

(420 ILCS 46/20)

Sec. 20. Exclusions. The provisions of this Act do not

apply to the following:

(1) Transfers pursuant to court order, including, but

not limited to, transfers ordered by a probate court in

administration of an estate, transfers between spouses

resulting from a judgment of dissolution of marriage or

legal separation, transfers pursuant to an order of

possession, transfers by a trustee in bankruptcy,

transfers by eminent domain, and transfers resulting from

a decree for specific performance.

(2) Transfers from a mortgagor to a mortgagee by deed

in lieu of foreclosure or consent judgment, transfer by

judicial deed issued pursuant to a foreclosure sale to the

successful bidder or the assignee of a certificate of

sale, transfer by a collateral assignment of a beneficial

interest of a land trust, or a transfer by a mortgagee or a

successor in interest to the mortgagee's secured position

or a beneficiary under a deed in trust who has acquired the

real property by deed in lieu of foreclosure, consent

judgment or judicial deed issued pursuant to a foreclosure

sale.

(3) Transfers by a fiduciary in the course of the

administration of a decedent's estate, guardianship,

conservatorship, or trust.

(4) Transfers from one co-owner to one or more other

co-owners.

(5) Transfers pursuant to testate or intestate

succession.

(6) Transfers made to a spouse, or to a person or

persons in the lineal line of consanguinity of one or more

of the sellers.

(7) Transfers from an entity that has taken title to

residential real property from a seller for the purpose of

assisting in the relocation of the seller, so long as the

entity makes available to all prospective buyers a copy of

the disclosure form furnished to the entity by the seller.

(8) Transfers to or from any governmental entity.

(9) Transfers of any residential dwelling unit located

on the third story or higher above ground level of any

structure or building, including, but not limited to,

condominium units and dwelling units in a residential

cooperative.

As used in this Section, "transfers" includes any legal

transfer of possession of property, including purchases and

leases.

(Source: P.A. 95-210, eff. 1-1-08; 96-278, eff. 8-11-09.)

(420 ILCS 46/26 new)

Sec. 26. Disclosure of radon hazard to current and

prospective tenants.

(a) At the time of a prospective tenant's application to

lease a dwelling unit, before a lease is entered into, or at

any time during the leasing period, upon request, the lessor

shall provide the prospective tenant or tenant of a dwelling

unit with:

(1) the Illinois Emergency Management Agency pamphlet

entitled "Radon Guide for Tenants" or an equivalent

pamphlet approved for use by the Illinois Emergency

Management Agency;

(2) 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 (c); and

(3) the Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards to

Tenants form, as set forth in subsection (f).

(b) At the commencement of the agreed leasing period, a

tenant shall have 90 days to conduct his or her own radon test

of the dwelling unit. If the tenant chooses to have a radon

test performed, the tenant shall provide the lessor with

copies of the results, including any records or reports

pertaining to radon concentrations, within 10 days after

receiving the results of the radon test. If the tenant's radon

test provides a result in excess of the Illinois Emergency

Management Agency's recommended Radon Action Level and the

lessor has elected to not mitigated the radon hazard, the

tenant may terminate the lease.

(1) Nothing in this subsection is intended to or shall

be construed to imply that a tenant is not permitted to

conduct a radon test of unit following the completion of

the 90-day period. Following the 90-day period the tenant

may conduct further radon testing if he or she elects to;

however, upon a result of a radon hazard, he or she does

not have a right to terminate the lease under this

Section.

(2) Nothing in this subsection is intended to or shall

be construed to imply that a tenant waives any other right

to terminate the lease if he or she conducts a radon test

after the completion of the 90-day period under any other

applicable State or federal law.

(c) If the tenant elects to conduct a radon test during the

90-day period and the results indicate a radon hazard, the

lessor may hire a radon contractor to perform an additional

radon test within 30 days after the tenant notifies the lessor

of the results of his or her radon test. The results of a

measurement by a radon contract may be used by the lessor to

disprove the presence of a radon hazard. Test results are

valid for a period of 2 years after the date of the testing

unless any renovations, additions, or modifications are made

to the building containing the dwelling unit.

(d) Nothing in this Section is intended to or shall be

construed to imply an obligation of a lessor or tenant to

conduct any radon testing activity or perform any radon

mitigation activity.

(e) If a lessor fails to provide the prospective tenant or

tenant with the documents as required in subsection (a), then,

at any point during the term of the lease the tenant may elect

to have a radon test conducted under this Section. If the radon

test shows the existence of a radon hazard, the tenant shall

provide the lessor with copies of the results of the test,

including records or reports pertaining to radon

concentrations, within 10 days after receiving the results of

the radon test. If the lessor disputes the results of the radon

test performed by the tenant, the lessor may elect, at the

lessor's expense, to hire a radon contractor to perform a

radon test within 30 days of the tenant notifying the lessor of

the results of the tenant's radon test. The results of a

measurement by a radon contract may be used by the lessor to

disprove the presence of a radon hazard. Test results are

valid for a period of 2 years after the date of testing unless

any renovation, addition, or substantial modifications are

made to the building containing the dwelling unit. If the

lessor declines to dispute the results of the tenant's radon

test showing a radon hazard or does not mitigate the hazard,

the tenant may, within 60 days:

(1) hire, at the tenant's expense, a radon contractor

to perform radon mitigation activities. If the tenant

chooses to conduct mitigation activities, the mitigation

activities shall only be done with express consent of the

lessor; or

(2) terminate the lease.

(f) 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 or dwelling unit 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 nonsmokers. The lessor 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.

Dwelling Unit Address: .............................

Lessor's Disclosure (initial each of the following that

apply)

.... Lessor has no knowledge of elevated radon

concentrations (or records or reports pertaining to elevated

radon concentrations) in the dwelling unit.

.... Radon concentrations (at or above the IEMA

recommended Radon Action Level 4.0 pCi/L) are known to be

present within the dwelling unit.

.... Lessor has provided the tenant with copies of all

available records and reports, if any, pertaining to radon

concentrations within the dwelling unit.

Tenant's Acknowledgment (initial each of the following

that apply)

.... Tenant has received copies of all information listed

above.

.... Tenant has received the pamphlet "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.

Lessor ............................. Date ............

Tenant ............................. Date ............"

(g) This Section applies to leases entered into on or

after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd

General Assembly.

(420 ILCS 46/30 new)

Sec. 30. Mitigation of radon hazards.

(a) A lessor who decides to have radon mitigation

performed shall have the radon mitigation system installed by

a radon contractor.

(b) A tenant who decides to have radon mitigation

performed shall have the radon mitigation system installed by

a radon contractor and shall have the lessor's express consent

prior to undertaking any mitigation activities. If the tenant

receives express consent from the lessor, the tenant may

deduct the cost of installation of the radon mitigation system

from tenant's rent. This deduction shall be divided in equal

parts for the remainder of the leasing period.

(c) A lessor of a dwelling unit vacated by a tenant under

subsection (e) of Section 26 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 security deposit as compensation for radon

testing or mitigation activities. However, the lessor may

withhold part of the security deposit if the tenant had a

mitigation system installed without the lessor'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.

(d) This Section applies to leases entered into on or

after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd

General Assembly.

(420 ILCS 46/35 new)

Sec. 35. Home rule. A home rule unit may not regulate lease

agreements or tenant rights in a manner that is inconsistent

with the regulation of lease agreements and tenant rights

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.