99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB4528

 

Introduced , by Rep. Emily McAsey

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
420 ILCS 46/25 rep.

    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, 2017.


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HOME RULE NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning safety.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Tenants Radon Protection Act.
 
6    Section 5. Purpose. Radon is the leading cause of death in
7private homes and is a radioactive element that is part of the
8radioactive decay chain of naturally occurring uranium in soil.
9Unlike carbon monoxide and many other home pollutants, radon's
10adverse health effect, lung cancer, is usually not produced
11immediately.
 
12    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
13    "Dwelling unit" means a room or suite of rooms used for
14human habitation. "Dwelling unit" includes a single family
15residence as well as each living unit of a multiple family
16residence and each living unit in a mixed use building.
17    "IEMA" means the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
18    "Landlord" means any person or entity leasing a dwelling
19unit to a tenant, and includes, but is not limited to, an
20individual, company, corporation, firm, group, association,
21partnership, joint venture, trust, government agency or
22subdivision thereof.

 

 

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1    "Lease" means an oral or written agreement under which a
2property owner allows a tenant to use the property for a
3specified rent and period of time.
4    "Mitigation" means the act of repairing or altering a
5building or building design for the purpose in whole or in part
6of reducing the concentration of radon in the indoor atmosphere
7according to procedures described in 32 Ill. Adm. Code Part
8422.
9    "Radon" means a gaseous radioactive decay product of
10uranium or thorium.
11    "Radon contractor" means a person licensed in accordance
12with the Radon Industry Licensing Act to perform radon
13mitigation or to perform measurements of radon in an indoor
14atmosphere.
15    "Radon hazard" means exposure to indoor radon
16concentrations at or in excess of the IEMA's recommended Radon
17Action Level.
18    "Radon test" means a measurement of indoor radon
19concentrations in accordance with the provisions of 32 Ill.
20Adm. Code Part 422 for performing radon measurements.
21    "Tenant" means a person who is about to enter or has
22entered into an oral or written lease with a landlord to lease
23a dwelling unit.
 
24    Section 15. Radon testing and disclosure.
25    (a) At the time of or before a lease is entered into, and

 

 

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1at any time that a lease is in effect, the landlord shall
2provide to each tenant in a dwelling unit copies of any records
3or reports pertaining to radon concentrations within the
4dwelling unit that indicate a radon hazard to the tenant, as
5provided in subsection (e).
6    (b) If a tenant performs a radon test, the tenant shall
7provide to the landlord copies of any records or reports
8pertaining to radon concentrations within 10 days after
9receiving the measurement result.
10    (c) Nothing in this Section is intended to or shall be
11construed to imply an obligation of a landlord or tenant to
12conduct any radon testing activities.
13    (d) The landlord shall provide to the tenant the IEMA
14pamphlet entitled "IEMA Radon Guide for Tenants" or an
15equivalent pamphlet approved for use by IEMA.
16    (e) The following Disclosure of Information on Radon
17Hazards to Tenants shall be provided to each tenant of a
18dwelling unit:
 
19
"DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION ON RADON HAZARDS TO TENANTS

 
20Radon Warning Statement
 
21Each tenant in this residence is notified that the property may
22present exposure to levels of indoor radon gas that may place
23the occupants at risk of developing radon-induced lung cancer.

 

 

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1Radon, a Class-A human carcinogen, is the leading cause of
2death in private homes and the leading cause of lung cancer in
3non-smokers. The landlord of any residence is required to
4provide each tenant with any information on radon test results
5of the dwelling unit that present a radon hazard to the tenant.
 
6The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) strongly
7recommends ALL rental property have a radon test performed and
8radon hazards mitigated if elevated levels are found. Elevated
9radon concentrations can easily be reduced by a radon
10contractor.
 
11Property address:............................................
 
12Landlord's Disclosure (initial each of the following which
13applies)
 
14(a) ...... Landlord has no knowledge of elevated radon 
15concentrations (or records or reports pertaining to elevated 
16radon concentrations) in the dwelling unit.  
 
17(b) ...... Radon concentrations (above the IEMA recommended 
18Radon Action Level 4.0 pCi/L) are known to be present within 
19the dwelling unit.
 
20(c) ...... Landlord has provided the tenant with copies of 

 

 

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1all available records and reports pertaining to radon 
2concentrations within the dwelling unit.
 
3Tenant's Acknowledgment (initial)
 
4(d) ...... Tenant has received copies of all information 
5listed above.
 
6(e) ...... Tenant has received pamphlet "IEMA Radon Guide for 
7Tenants".
 
8Certification of Accuracy
 
9The following parties have reviewed the information above and
10each party certifies, to the best of his or her knowledge, that
11the information he or she provided is true and accurate.
 
12Landlord ....................     Date ....................
13Tenant   ....................     Date ...................."
 
14    Section 20. Mitigation of radon hazard.
15    (a) If a landlord disputes the results of a radon test
16performed by a tenant, the landlord may hire a radon contractor
17to perform a radon test within 30 days after the tenant
18notifies the landlord of the results of his or her radon test.
19This measurement by a radon contractor is valid for a period of

 

 

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12 years after the date of the testing.
2    (b) Landlords deciding to have radon mitigation performed
3shall have the mitigation system installed by a radon
4contractor.
5    (c) Tenants deciding to have radon mitigation performed
6shall have the mitigation system installed by a radon
7contractor. Tenants shall have the landlord's consent prior to
8undertaking any mitigation activities.
9    (d) Nothing in this Section is intended to or shall be
10construed to imply an obligation of a landlord or tenant to
11conduct any radon testing or mitigation activities.
 
12    Section 25. Termination of lease. A tenant has the right to
13terminate a lease if the landlord has failed to correct the
14radon hazard within 120 days after having been initially
15informed of a radon hazard.
 
16    Section 30. Home rule. A home rule unit may not regulate
17lease agreements in a manner that diminishes the rights of
18tenants under this Act. This Section is a limitation under
19subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois
20Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of
21powers and functions exercised by the State.
 
22    (420 ILCS 46/25 rep.)
23    Section 99. The Illinois Radon Awareness Act is amended by

 

 

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1repealing Section 25.
 
2    Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
31, 2017.