Chicago Demolition Delay: Does Your Building Trigger It?

If you own an older brick building and plan to tear it down, the Chicago demolition delay ordinance can add a hold before your permit issues. It does not apply to every building. It depends on one thing: how your building is rated in a City survey. Here is the rule, who it hits, and what to do about it. This changes, so confirm current details with the Department of Buildings before you file.

What the Chicago demolition delay says

Under the City's code, if a building is color-coded orange or red in the 1996 Chicago Historic Resources Survey, a demolition permit may not issue for up to 90 days. The time lets the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) explore preservation options, including landmark designation (City of Chicago).

Three details from the same source matter in practice:

• When the clock starts. The delay begins when a complete application and photographs go to DPD Historic Preservation. An incomplete file does not start it.
• It can move. The hold can be extended by mutual written agreement, or waived by the building official when there is an imminent danger.
• Landmarks are a different track. Landmarks and proposed landmarks are handled separately under their own section of the code (City of Chicago).

The wording is "up to 90 days." It is a ceiling, not a promise of how long your file will sit.

Does your building trigger it?

The test is the survey rating, not the age or the look of the building. Brick two-flats, greystones and older storefronts are the kind of buildings people ask about, but a rating decides it, not an opinion.

We do not have an official City definition of what each survey color means, so we will not guess at one. What the Department of Buildings and the code say is that an orange or red rating triggers the hold (City of Chicago). To find your building's rating, ask DPD Historic Preservation or the Department of Buildings before you plan a schedule around a demolition.

How the delay fits into the permit process

The delay is one item on a longer list. Before a demolition permit issues, the City checklist includes a health department notice, rodent control, sewer and water disconnection, and Department of Housing approval where there are dwelling units. For orange or red buildings and landmarks, it also includes a review by DPD Historic Preservation (City of Chicago). Our permit requirements explainer covers the whole list.

Two timing rules sit nearby. Work must begin within six months after the permit is paid, and an application expires after 120 days of inactivity, with one 90-day extension (City of Chicago). If you stall other parts of the file while waiting out a hold, watch those clocks. For what usually slows a file down, see what slows a Chicago demolition permit.

The surcharge is a different rule

People mix these up. The demolition surcharge is a separate ordinance. It applies to residential demolition in the Pilsen and 606 pilot areas, and it is not citywide. Dwelling-unit demolitions also need Department of Housing sign-off through its surcharge e-form (City of Chicago).

So a building can face the delay and no surcharge, the surcharge and no delay, both, or neither. Rating and location are two separate questions. Our fees and surcharge explainer covers the money side.

What this means for your plan

• Find out the survey rating before you hire a demolition crew or set a closing or construction date.
• If the building is orange or red, have a complete application and photographs ready so the review starts as early as it can.
• Ask your contractor, a City-licensed general contractor (City of Chicago), to tell you in writing whether they expect a hold on your file.
• If the building is not worth keeping, compare the numbers honestly. Our guide on tearing down versus rehabbing helps with that.

Not sure where your building stands? Walk through the house demolition guide first, then have our demolition crew look at the address and tell you what the file will need.

Common questions

This article explains general rules and common situations in Chicago. It is not legal advice, and City rules change. For a specific property, check with the Chicago Department of Buildings or a licensed professional.