Is a written "frozen pipe agreement" legal in Chicago?

[Zachary Davidson]

Hi, all. First time poster here out of Chicago! My Question; is it legal for me (property owner/landlord) to create a signed agreement with future Tenants that states, when the outside temperature drops below a certain degree they must "trickle" water from all faucets to prevent bursting and frozen pipes? (property was built in 1890)

Also in the agreement I wrote, if they did not apply this "trickle" technique, the potential repair responsibility$$ would fall on them after acknowledging and signing the agreement. 

Not sure if anyone has created something like this, or let alone be legal for a tenant to sign?

Thank you, Zach. 

[Nathan Gesner]

Yes. Will it stand up in court? Depends.

You require the tenant to maintain heat in the home and if they don't, it would be considered neglect because the lack of heat could allow the pipes to freeze. The same principal applies here but may be a little harder to prove in a court of law.

It's worth doing. The worst that could happen is the tenant refuses to pay, you end up in court, and the judge throws out your claim for some obscure reason or because he doesn't have enough fiber in his life. 

More importantly, I would try to find other ways to solve the problem like insulating the pipes better, adding heat tape, a circulation pump on the water lines, etc.