By Attorney Conor Grealish

Beginning in 2024, Illinois revised several laws to expand the rights of tenants. First, the legislature revised the Illinois Radon Awareness Act (420 ILCS 46/1) to allow tenants to terminate their lease when they discover high levels of radon in their home. Radon is a gaseous radioactive decay product of uranium and at certain levels, can be hazardous to humans. To protect tenants, the state now requires landlords to provide to their tenants prior to or during the lease term: (1) Illinois Emergency Management Agency pamphlet entitled “Radon Guide for Tenants”; (2) copies of any records or reports pertaining to radon concentrations within the unit that indicate a radon hazard to the tenant; and (3) a “Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards to Tenants” form. If a tenant does not receive these disclosures and discovers that there is a radon hazard in the Unit and their landlord refuses to mitigate the hazard after receiving notice, a tenant may terminate the lease. Furthermore, even if a tenant receives these disclosures and discovers a radon hazard in the unit within the first 90 days of the lease term and their landlord refuses to mitigate the radon hazard after receiving notice, the tenant may terminate the lease.

Additionally, the legislature recently expanded the scope of the Illinois Security Deposit Return Act (765 ILCS 710/0.01) to apply to all lessors who accept a security deposit, as opposed to just lessors who lease 5 or more units. This change now requires almost all landlords who accept security deposits to provide their tenants with documentation and proof of the cost of repairs if a landlord intends to make deductions to their tenant's security deposit for property damage.  

The Landlord and Tenant Act (765 ILCS 705/0.01) was also updated and applies to any lease agreements or renewals executed after January 1, 2024. For those leases, a landlord can no longer require a tenant to make recurring payments, such as rent, by an automatic electronic funds transfer. (765 ILCS 705/4). If a landlord requires a tenant to agree to make recurring payments by automatic electronic funds transfer, a tenant may be entitled to damages under the Consumer Fraud Act.

If you have any issues with your landlord or questions concerning your tenancy, CTM Legal Group's experienced attorneys can help. Call CTM Legal Group at 312.818.6700 or visit https://www.ctmlegalgroup.com/