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DuPage County
Bar Association

Legal Staff News & Views Newsletter
January 2006

THE STATUTORY RESIDENTIAL TENANTS’ RIGHT TO REPAIR ACT

A new statute has created a limited right for residential tenants to deduct the cost of repairs required by the lease or law. This a limited remedy. The goal of the statute is that the limited tenant remedy should prevent the passage of a law that could create extreme and unworkable tenant remedies. The statute became effective January 1, 2005 and is codified at 765 ILCS 742/1.

The law provides:

1. It only applies to repairs required under a residential lease or required by law, administrative rule or local ordinance or regulation.

2. The tenant must strictly comply with all the requirements of the statute to exercise the remedy of deducting the cost from one month’s rent for repairs.

3. The reasonable cost of the repairs must be the lesser of $500 or one-half the month’s rent.

4. The tenant must give the landlord a 14 day written notice prior to having the repairs done except in an emergency.

5. The 14 day written notice must be sent to the landlord or agent by certified, registered, or restricted delivery to the landlord’s or agent’s address on the lease or last known address if no address is on the lease.

6. An emergency is a condition that will do irreparable harm to the tenancy or any fixture attached to the tenancy or pose an immediate threat to the health or safety of an occupant to the tenancy or common area.

7. Only trades persons or suppliers not related to the tenant may perform the repairs.

8. The repairs must be a reasonable price that is customarily charged for such repairs.

9. The tenant is responsible for the trades person or supplier performing in compliance with all appropriate law, be properly licensed, and adequately insured to cover any property damage or bodily harm.

10. The tenant is responsible for any damage done by the trades persons or suppliers.

11. The trades person or supplier does not have a right to assert a mechanic’s lien for the repairs.

12. The tenant must provide the landlord a paid written receipt for the repairs and the name, address, and telephone number of the trades person or supplier.

13. The tenant may not make repairs and deduct an amount from rent for conditions caused by deliberate or negligent acts or omissions of the tenant, tenant’s family or person on the premises with the tenant’s permission.

14. The statute only applies to residential tenancies.

15. The statute does not apply to tenancies of public housing, condominiums, not for profit cooperatives, or mobile home parks.

16. The statute does not apply to owner occupied six or fewer residential unit buildings.

17. The statute does apply to tenancies in home rule municipalities.

An important omission is that the law does not provide for attorney fees or damages. The limit on the amount available for repairs will prevent a tenant from failing to pay at least half the monthly rent. A tenant who stops paying all rent cannot use the remedy or claim it as a defense in an eviction case.

The limited remedy should be a major improvement in tenant’s right to repair conditions that violate local housing or building codes. The remedy should assist tenants and municipalities in gaining more compliance with local housing or building codes of minimum standards for residential units.

PAY OFF YOUR MORTGAGE FASTER AND SAVE THOUSANDS

Most of us cannot buy a house without taking out a mortgage. Over the course of your loan, the interest payments can really add up - representing tens of thousands of dollars. There is something simple you can do to pay off your mortgage and the amount of total interest you pay: Simply add a little additional money to your mortgage payment each month. By applying additional money to your principal balance, you could save thousands of dollars over the course of your loan. Just be sure your mortgage company applies the extra amount to principal only. Take a look at how much money and time could be saved on a typical $175,000, 30-year loan at 6% interest rate:

Extra Amount: Dollars saved: Repayment period reduced by:

$25 applied per month to principal: $14,809.00 1 year, 10 months

$50 applied per month to principal: $27,348.00 3 years, 5 months

$75 applied per month to principal: $38,138.00 4 years, 9 months

$100 applied per month to principal: $47,546.00 6 years

SERVICE MEMBERS CIVIL RELIEF ACT (SCRA)

As a result of the aftermath of September 11, 2001 events, the War on Terrorism led to the deployment of active duty military personnel in numbers not seen in recent history. The SCRA (formerly known as the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act) is intended to respond to the needs of service men and women in the current geo-political, financial and legal environment. Attorneys will encounter the application of the Act including those practicing landlord-tenant law, representing lenders and chancery practitioners as well as those traditionally representing military personnel. Some of the significant provisions and changes in the new SCRA of interest to real estate practitioners are:

• The service man/woman may apply for an automatic, non-discretionary stay on civil proceedings for a period of 90 days, and the application does not constitute an appearance. Under the old act, the stay was discretionary with the court. The stay applies to both judicial as well as federal and state administrative proceedings.
• The 6% interest rate cap for obligations incurred by a service man/woman before military service results in a reduction of monthly payments. The Act, in contrast to prior law, clarifies that the cap is mandatory, and interest in excess of 6% is not deferred but forgiven.
• A service man/woman tenant whose rent under a lease agreement is $2,465 or less monthly cannot be evicted without a court order. If military service materially affects the service man/woman’s ability to pay rent, the court must stay the proceeding upon application by the service man/woman unless the court determines a longer or shorter period of stay is warranted.
• An active duty service man/woman has the right to terminate a residential lease upon 30 days’ written notice if he or she receives permanent change of station order or deployment orders for 90 days or more.

Attorneys should do more than update their affidavit forms. In light of the expanded scope of the Act and sanctions for non-compliance, attorneys who ask clients to sign affidavits stating that the client has made a diligent search for a defendant should be cautioned to admonish the client that utmost diligence is required. A new public access system is expected shortly from Defense Manpower Data Center, Military Verification, is located at 1600 Wilson Blvd., Suite 400, Arlington, VA 22209; Tel: 703-696-6762/5190 or Fax: 703-696-4156. Also see: servicememberscivilreliefact.com .

FUN IN THE WINTER...

January 27, 2006 Downers Grove Ice Sculpture Festival. Downtown Downers Grove will be transformed for the 9th annual Ice Sculpture Festival. Ice sculptures will line the streets as well as a carving competition on Saturday. Free. More info at: or call: 630-434-5555.

January 28, 2006 Celebrate Mozart’s 50th birthday with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra playing Symphony No. 39 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. Wheaton College, Washington & Franklin Sts. Wheaton. $14/$19. More info at: or call: 630-752-5010.

February 11, 2006 The Black Watch and Welsh Guards performance. The pipes, drums and highland dancers provide entertainment. Wheaton College. $14-$19.00. More info at: or call: 630-752-5010.

February 25, 2006 Songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Paramount Theatre, Aurora. $30.50-$40.50. More info at: or call 630-896-6666.

TIPS FOR AROUND THE HOUSE...

Painting ideas: To maintain a clean roller frame (the metal pieces that runs from the roller to the handle) wrap the frame with painter’s tape before you start to paint. After you finish painting, peel the tape off and discard. ? If you are using a new roller sleeve, mist it with water before the first use to prevent lint from the sleeve getting into the paint and onto your wall. Simply roll off the excess water before painting. ? If you don’t finish painting at one time you can store the wet roller in a plastic grocery bag. Slip the bag over the roller sleeve then seal it in the bag with a twist tie. The wet roller can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. You can do the same thing with your paint brushes. You will need to squeeze all of the extra air out of the bag before you seal it tightly. ?If the sleeve works its way off the wire roller basket, pull the sleeve off and bend the wire basket tines out for a tighter fit.

To prevent splitting the wood and to make screws go in easier try rubbing it over a piece of wax or soap before driving them in.

Best New Product: Husky Jump-Start System is a power source that can come in pretty handy. It is a battery equipped with built-in jumper cables and has its own recharging device. In the event your car battery goes dead you can use this device to jump start your car. It can also be recharged by using your cigarette lighter and comes with a cable for that, or you can recharge it by plugging it into a regular household outlet. It has an LED read-out on top to let you know it’s fully charged. Check with your mechanic to make sure it is safe to use on your car. The unit retails for about $50. More info at:

WHAT’S COOKIN’...

HOT FUDGE SAUCE

3 Cups Chocolate chips

1-1/2 Cups Mini marshmallows

3/4 Cup Butter (1-1/2 sticks)

Microwave 1-2 minutes and stir well until smooth (an electric mixer works well for this)

1-1/2 Cups Powered sugar

1/2 Cup Milk

Stir in and microwave 1-2 minutes then stir in

1 Tsp. Vanilla

For chocolate-mint - substitute white chips for chocolate, add 1 tsp. mint flavoring and 8 drops of red food coloring.

Sound health is the greatest of gifts; contentedness, the greatest of riches;

trust, the greatest of qualities.

Buddha

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Please contact Gloria Norton at the Bar Center.