Certain tenant-paid utility payment arrangements prohibited; Notice of change in payment arrangement.
     (a) No landlord shall rent or cause to be rented any unit in which the tenant is responsible by agreement, implication, or otherwise for direct payment for utility service to the utility company and in which the utility company billing for that service includes any service to common areas of the building or other units or areas used or occupied by persons other than the individual tenant and those occupying the unit with the tenant on the utility account, unless, before offering an initial lease or a renewal lease, accepting a security deposit, or otherwise entering into an agreement with the prospective tenant to let the premises:

Need help with a review of a residential lease?
Have it reviewed by a lawyer, get answers to your questions and move forward with confidence.
Connect with a lawyer now

Terms Used In Illinois Compiled Statutes 765 ILCS 735/1.2

  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See Illinois Compiled Statutes 5 ILCS 70/1.36
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC

        (1) The landlord provides the prospective tenant with
    
a written statement setting forth the specific areas of the building and any appurtenances that are served by the meter that will be in the tenant’s name and the nature of the utility uses of those areas, including any that have not been reflected in past utility company billings but that may arise (such as the rental of a neighboring unit that has been vacant, the installation of washers and driers in the basement, or the use of the garage for mechanics);
        (2) The landlord provides the prospective tenant with
    
copies of the utility bills for the unit for the previous 12 months, unless waived by the tenant in writing;
        (3) The landlord neither suggests nor requires the
    
tenant to collect any money for utility bills from neighboring tenants whose utility usage will be reflected in the prospective tenant’s utility company billings; and
        (4) The landlord sets forth in writing the amount of
    
the proposed rent reduction, if any, that is offered to compensate for the tenant’s payments for utility usage outside of the tenant’s unit.
    (b) No landlord shall request or cause to be effected a change (i) from landlord-paid master metered utilities to tenant-paid individually metered utilities or (ii) from landlord-paid to tenant-paid utilities, regardless of the metering arrangement, during the term of a lease. The landlord shall provide a minimum of 30 days notice to each affected tenant before effecting such a change in service; for tenants under a lease, the notice shall be provided to the tenants no less than 30 days before the expiration of the lease term. This subsection does not prohibit the landlord and tenant from agreeing to amend the lease to effect such a change; the amendment must be in writing and subscribed by both parties.
     (c) Any term or condition in a rental agreement between the landlord and the tenant that is inconsistent with this Section is void and unenforceable.
     (d) Nothing in this Section affects the relationship between a utility company and its customers.