(Title and Section Amended by Ord. No. 181,643, Eff. 5/31/11.)
A. Within ten working days of the acceptance of a building into UMP, the Department shall establish an escrow account for the building into which tenants may deposit rent payments. The Department shall mail notification to all tenants of the existence of the account, include payment coupons to tenants and provide an explanation of how payments may be deposited into the account. The Department shall provide a receipt to each tenant making a deposit. The Department shall provide, at least once a month, a periodic report to the landlord(s) concerning the activity in the account. The records of the account shall be reasonably available to the landlord(s) or any interested party, or their representatives, in accordance with Department regulations, including the provision for payment of reasonable fees, as the Department may promulgate. Tenants shall be informed that non-payment of rent monies into UMP or inadequate participation by other tenants in the building may result in termination of utility services.
B. The gross amount of payment made into the escrow account by or on behalf of a tenant shall be deemed as a payment in the same amount to the landlord(s), including, but not limited to, for the purpose of determining whether a tenant has paid rent with respect to Section 151.09 A.1. of this Code. In any action by a landlord(s) to recover possession of a residential unit, the tenant may raise the fact of payments into UMP as an affirmative defense in the same manner as if those payments had been made to and accepted by the landlord(s).
C. If the dominant intent of the landlord(s) in seeking to recover possession of a residential unit is retaliation against the tenant for exercising his or her rights under this Article, and if the tenant is not in default as to the payment of rent, including payments into UMP, then the landlord(s) may not recover possession of a residential unit in any action or proceeding or cause the tenant to quit involuntarily.
D. The Department shall deduct a non-refundable administration fee of $50.00 for each individual rent payment made into the escrow account. Only one fee shall be deducted for each residential unit for each month.