Illinois § 5

§ 5.

Disclosure of utility payments included in rent. (a) No landlord may demand payment for master metered public utility services pursuant to a lease provision providing for tenant payment of a proportionate share of public utility service without the landlord first providing the tenant with a copy in writing either as part of the lease or another written agreement of the formula used by the landlord for allocating the public utility payments among the tenants. The total of payments under the formula for the building as a whole for a billing period may not exceed the sum demanded by the public utility. The formula shall include all those that use that public utility service and may reflect variations in apartment size or usage. The landlord shall also make available to the tenant upon request a copy of the public utility bill for any billing period for which payment is demanded. Nothing herein shall preclude a landlord from leasing property to a tenant, including the cost of utilities, for a rental which does not segregate or allocate the cost of the utilities. (b) No condominium or common interest community association may demand payment for master metered public utility services from a unit owner of a proportionate share for public utility service without the condominium or common interest community association first providing the unit owner with a copy in writing of the formula used by the association for allocating the public utility payments among the unit owners. The total of payments under the formula for the association as a whole for the annual budgeted billing period may not exceed the sum demanded by the public utility, provided however, that the board of directors of the association may direct that any payments received by the association in excess of actual utility bills be applied to other budgeted items having a deficit, or be applied to the association's reserve fund, or be credited to the account of the unit owners for the following year's budget. The formula shall include all those that use that public utility service and may reflect, but is not limited to, percent interest, unit size, or usage. The condominium or common interest community association shall also make available to the unit owner upon request a copy of the public utility bill for any billing period for which payment is demanded. A condominium association shall have the right to establish and maintain a system of master metering of public utility services pursuant to Section 18.4 of the Condominium Property Act. A common interest community association shall have the right to establish and maintain a system of master metering of public utility services pursuant to Section 18.5 of the Condominium Property Act. (Source: P.A. 87-176; 88-417.)