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| 1 | AN ACT concerning civil law.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 5. The Security Deposit Return Act is amended by | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | changing Section 1 as follows:
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| 6 | (765 ILCS 710/1) (from Ch. 80, par. 101)
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| 7 | Sec. 1. Statement of damage. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), a lessor of | |||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | residential real property, containing 5 or more units,
who has | |||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | received a security deposit from a lessee to secure the payment
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| 11 | of rent or to compensate for damage to the leased premises may | |||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | not
withhold any part of that deposit as reimbursement for | |||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | property damage
unless the lessor has, within 30 days of the | |||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | date that the lessee vacated the
leased premises, furnished to | |||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | the lessee, by personal delivery, by postmarked mail
directed | |||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | to his or her last known address, or by electronic mail to a | |||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | verified electronic mail address provided by the lessee, an | |||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | itemized statement of the damage
allegedly caused to the leased | |||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | premises and the estimated or actual cost for
repairing or | |||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | replacing each item on that statement, attaching the paid
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| 21 | receipts, or copies thereof, for the repair or replacement.
If | |||||||||||||||||||
| 22 | the lessor utilizes his or her own labor to repair or replace | |||||||||||||||||||
| 23 | any damage or damaged items caused
by the lessee, the lessor | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | may include the reasonable cost of his or her
labor to repair | ||||||
| 2 | or replace such damage or damaged items. If estimated
cost is | ||||||
| 3 | given, the lessor shall furnish to the lessee, delivered in | ||||||
| 4 | person or by postmarked mail directed to the last known address | ||||||
| 5 | of the lessee or another address provided by the lessee, paid | ||||||
| 6 | receipts,
or copies thereof, within 30 days from the date the | ||||||
| 7 | statement showing
estimated cost was furnished to the lessee, | ||||||
| 8 | as required by this Section. If a written lease specifies the | ||||||
| 9 | cost for cleaning, repair, or replacement of any component of | ||||||
| 10 | the leased premises or any component of the building or common | ||||||
| 11 | areas that, if damaged, will not be replaced, the lessor may | ||||||
| 12 | withhold the dollar amount specified in the lease. Costs | ||||||
| 13 | specified in a written lease shall be for damage beyond normal | ||||||
| 14 | wear and tear and reasonable to restore the leased premises to | ||||||
| 15 | the same condition as at the time the lease began. The itemized | ||||||
| 16 | statement shall reference the dollar amount specified in the | ||||||
| 17 | written lease associated with the specific building component | ||||||
| 18 | or amenity and include a copy of the applicable portion of the | ||||||
| 19 | lease. Deductions for costs or values not specified in the | ||||||
| 20 | lease shall otherwise comply with the requirements of this | ||||||
| 21 | Section.
If no such statement and receipts, or copies thereof, | ||||||
| 22 | are furnished to
the lessee as required by this Section, the | ||||||
| 23 | lessor shall return the
security deposit in full within 45 days | ||||||
| 24 | of the date that the lessee vacated
the premises, delivered in | ||||||
| 25 | person or by postmarked mail directed to the last known address | ||||||
| 26 | of the lessee or another address provided by the lessee. If the | ||||||
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| 1 | lessee fails to provide the lessor with a mailing address or | ||||||
| 2 | electronic mail address, the lessor shall not be held liable | ||||||
| 3 | for any damages or penalties as a result of the lessee's | ||||||
| 4 | failure to provide an address.
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| 5 | (b) If, through no fault of the lessor, the lessor is | ||||||
| 6 | unable to produce as required in subsection (a) receipts for | ||||||
| 7 | repairs or replacements, or copies thereof, then the lessor | ||||||
| 8 | shall produce an itemized list of the cost of repair or | ||||||
| 9 | replacement, any other evidence the lessor has of the cost, and | ||||||
| 10 | a verified statement of the lessor or the agent of the lessor | ||||||
| 11 | detailing the specific reasons why the lessor is unable to | ||||||
| 12 | produce the required receipts or copies and verifying that the | ||||||
| 13 | lessor has provided all other evidence the lessor has of the | ||||||
| 14 | cost. | ||||||
| 15 | (c) Upon a finding by a circuit court that a lessor has | ||||||
| 16 | refused to supply
the itemized statement required by this | ||||||
| 17 | Section, or has supplied such statement
in bad faith, and has | ||||||
| 18 | failed or refused to return the amount of the security
deposit | ||||||
| 19 | due within the time limits provided, the lessor shall be liable
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| 20 | for an amount equal to twice the amount of the security deposit | ||||||
| 21 | due, together
with court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
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| 22 | (Source: P.A. 100-269, eff. 1-1-18.)
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| 23 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 24 | becoming law.
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