The new Tenants Radon Protection Act

The Illinois legislature recently passed the Tenants Radon Protection Act.  Under this new Act, landlords are not required to conduct any radon testing.  However, if the landlord is leasing a unit that is on or below the third floor of a building, and if the landlord does in fact have a radon test disclosing hazardous radon conditions, then the landlord must disclose the results of that test to the tenant or prospective tenant.  If the landlord mitigates the radon hazard and obtains a radon test showing that the hazard is no longer present, the landlord need not disclose the past radon hazard to prospective tenants.

If the tenant tests for radon, finds it, and presents the results of the test to the landlord, the landlord then has 30 days to obtain another radon test.  Moreover, the landlord must then disclose the radon hazard to subsequent lessees, until a radon test proves that the radon hazard is no longer present.

Lastly, before signing any lease with the prospective tenant, the landlord must also provide a state-issued radon guide for tenants (known as the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Radon Guide), along with the standard radon disclosures.

While these requirements may seem onerous for landlords, keep in mind that landlords are not required to conduct radon testing.  They must, however, provide the radon guide and the radon disclosures to prospective tenants regardless.

The Tenants Radon Protection Act takes effect on January 1, 2012!