Chicago Landlords and Buyers: Your Building's Exterior Risks

Chicago building owner responsibilities start with the outside of the building. The City's code says the exterior must be kept in good repair, structurally sound and sanitary, and the owner is the one cited when it isn't. For landlords, buyers and investors, the exterior is where the surprise costs live: mortar, brick near the roofline, parapets, porches and roofs.

This guide covers three things: what the City expects, what usually goes wrong, and what to do about it whether you already own the building, are about to buy it or inherited it. It is not legal advice. Where a question is legal (tenant matters, liens, hearings, liability), we explain the process and tell you to talk to an attorney.

What does the City expect of the outside of your building?

The rule is Title 14X, the City's minimum requirements for existing buildings. It says the exterior of a structure must be maintained in good repair, structurally sound and sanitary. The unsafe conditions it lists include:

• Siding and masonry joints that are not weather resistant or water tight.
• Veneer, cornices, belt courses, corbels, trim and facings that are not properly anchored.
• Exterior stairs, decks, porches and balconies, including guards and handrails, that are not structurally sound or properly anchored (Title 14X).

For porches, the same title says exterior stairways, decks, porches and balconies must be maintained structurally sound, in good repair, properly anchored and capable of supporting the imposed loads (Title 14X).

That is the standard. It applies whether you live in the building or rent every unit. It applies to a two-flat and to a mixed-use storefront. The code puts the duty on the building. You, as the owner of record, carry it. For the full list of how violations start and get heard, read our Chicago building violations guide. For the Chicago laws that reach the building itself, see Chicago landlord laws that reach the building.

How does the City find out about a problem?

Mostly through 311. Inspections of occupied buildings are largely complaint driven. The Department of Buildings reviews every 311 complaint at the start of each business day to decide which need an immediate visit, and the inspector verifies the complaint and also checks smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and the ways out of the building, including interior and exterior stairs and porches (City of Chicago).

Anyone can make the call. Tenants, neighbors and passersby can report porch safety, construction without a permit, general safety problems and vacant buildings through 311 (Department of Buildings). The practical point for an owner: a complaint about one item can end with a notice listing others. A complaint about a leak can turn into a citation for the back porch.

If an inspector can't get in, the Department can leave a notice, write up exterior violations it can see from outside, or close the complaint. If an owner or occupant refuses entry, the Department has to get a court order (City of Chicago). We explain this in can a City inspector walk into your building.

Where do the exterior risks sit on a Chicago building?

On the buildings we work on, the same short list shows up. These are patterns we commonly see, not a claim about any single property.

Our related guides: mortar and tuckpointing, brick and masonry repair, porch repair, flat roof care and what code says about crumbling mortar.

What happens when something falls or fails?

This is the part nobody wants to plan for. When a porch, a railing or a piece of masonry fails and a person is hurt, the questions that follow are legal ones: who was responsible, what the owner knew, what the owner did. We can't answer them, and your contractor shouldn't try. Talk to an attorney, and talk to your insurance agent.

What we can say is what the public record shows. The 2003 Chicago porch collapse is the best known case. According to CBS Chicago, officials first blamed overcrowding and jumping, but later City findings cited a porch that extended too far from the building, inadequate supports, undersized flooring and screws that were too small. The building had been converted from five units to three without a permit. The City sued the owner and builder, and family suits settled for $16.6 million after about 10 years (CBS Chicago). We bring it up as a lesson in the combination of an unpermitted change and a porch that nobody checked.

On masonry, a reported July 2016 incident saw bricks fall from a two-family home in North Lawndale and injure two passersby (ABC7 Chicago). The take away for an owner isn't the headline, it is what an inspection of the building would have shown before it happened.

For the liability questions landlords ask, see porch collapse liability: what Chicago owners face. Our piece on porch collapse warning signs owners miss lists what to look for.

Who gets the case when a violation is issued?

In Administrative Hearings, the case typically names the legal title holder and others in control of the building (City of Chicago). In other words, the person on the deed. If you inherited a building or bought it recently, the notice is addressed to you whether or not you caused the problem. See inherited a Chicago building with violations.

The Municipal Code lists defenses at a building hearing. They include that the violation did not exist at inspection, that it has been remedied by the time of the hearing, that occupants caused it despite reasonable owner efforts, or that an occupant refused the owner entry to fix it (Municipal Code 2-14-155). Those are legal defenses. If you intend to rely on one, ask an attorney, and keep the paperwork that proves your attempts: dated photos, letters and texts, permits and invoices.

If you ignore a case, the consequences grow. A default judgment can be used to place a lien on the property, garnish wages and affect credit (Department of Administrative Hearings). For buildings declared public nuisances, fines and City repair or demolition costs become a lien, and the City's own costs can come ahead of earlier liens except taxes (Title 14A, 2019 text). The details are in how default becomes a lien and the cost of waiting. And if the case is a dangerous one in the Circuit Court of Cook County, the City has more options, including vacating the building or appointing a receiver (City of Chicago).

What should a buyer check on the outside first?

Look at the exterior before you look at the kitchen. The outside is where the City writes its citations and where the large repairs sit. Walk the building and look for:

• Mortar joints you can scrape out, brick with white salt or flaking faces, and bulges.
• Rust stains or cracks over windows and doors.
• A parapet that leans, a cap that has gaps, and flashing that has come loose.
• Back porch posts, stair treads and guards, checked from the ground and from the top.
• Roof surface and drainage, including where water sits.
• Cracks in the foundation wall and in the brick above it.

Our two-flat exterior inspection checklist for buyers is a printable version, and what to check outside first when buying a two-flat explains each item. A standard home inspection isn't written to answer all of this. See what a Chicago home inspection misses on a brick two-flat.

Can you trust the City's violation data when you're buying?

Use it, but don't rely on it. You can search permit, inspection and violation records by address through the Department of Buildings' records search, and the Chicago Data Portal publishes building violations from 2006 to the present (City of Chicago).

The City's own dataset notice says the data is historical, shouldn't be relied on for real estate transactions, doesn't necessarily reflect current conditions, and includes both liable and not liable findings. It tells lenders and title companies to check the title commitment for outstanding enforcement actions in the Circuit Court of Cook County or Administrative Hearings (Chicago Data Portal).

So a lookup is a starting point. What closes the gap is your attorney and your title company, who check for open cases before you close. See buying a two-flat in Chicago with open violations, buying a foreclosure: the violation check and how to look up violations by address.

If the building is already yours and you're thinking about selling or refinancing, see selling a Chicago house with open violations and building violations and your mortgage or refinance. Not sure who the owner of a building is? See how to find out who owns that Chicago building.

How should an owner budget for the exterior?

Plan for the exterior as a line item that comes up every year. We don't quote prices because they depend on the building and the scope. The cost drivers we see most often:

• Height and access. A three story wall needs scaffolding. A tight gangway limits equipment.
• How much failed. One bad corner versus a whole elevation.
• Public way. Scaffolding or a dumpster in the street or alley needs a separate permit from CDOT, and that adds a step.
• Permits and drawings. Many repairs need a permit, and the City requires one before most construction, demolition and repair work, with a limited exemption list (City of Chicago).
• Bundling. Doing mortar, porch and roof under one plan can be cheaper than three call outs. Ask your contractor to price both ways.

We lay out where the money goes in Chicago two-flat exterior repair budget and our cost pieces tuckpointing cost, brick repair cost and what drives a back porch rebuild.

How do you do repairs in a building with tenants in it?

Plan around the people who live there. The practical side of that is scheduling, access and communication. Tell occupants when work will happen, what noise and dust to expect and where equipment will sit. Keep a record of when you asked for access and what you were told. The Municipal Code does list an occupant refusing the owner entry to make repairs as one of the defenses in a building case (Municipal Code 2-14-155), which is why documentation matters.

What we aren't going to do is tell you what notice a tenant is owed or what a lease allows. That's tenant law. Ask your attorney.

Get the contract right. The Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act requires a contractor to give you a written contract or work order to sign before home repair or remodeling work over $1,000, stating the total cost and the contractor's business name and address (815 ILCS 513/15). The Act covers a "residence" of one to six units (815 ILCS 513/10). Whether it covers your building is a question for your attorney. Either way, a written scope and price is what you want.

More in repairs in an occupied Chicago building.

What about emergency repairs?

If something is about to hurt someone, fix it first. The City's rules let emergency work that normally requires a permit be done first when needed to prevent imminent harm. The permit application must be submitted the next business day, work may not be concealed without inspector approval, and emergency scaffolding needs an application within three business days (City of Chicago).

Call a contractor who can mobilize and who knows the permit side. See emergency repair in a rental building: who to call first and emergency repair in Chicago: fix first, permit later.

Who to hire, and in what order

Match the problem to the person:

1. Attorney for the legal side: hearings, liens, closing, tenants.
2. Licensed general contractor for the physical side. A City general contractor license is required for most building construction, alteration, repair and demolition work, including work exempt from a building permit (City of Chicago).
3. Architect or engineer when the repair needs drawings, such as structural porch repair.
4. Permit expediter if the work needs a plan based permit. See what permit expediters do.

If a City notice is already in hand, our building code violation service page explains how we handle the repair and the paperwork together. If spalling brick and insurance is the question, see is spalling brick covered by insurance.

Start with a walk around the building

Before you hire anybody, walk the outside once a year and after every hard winter. Take photos. Keep a dated record by address. If you see any of the signs above, call a contractor before the next season does the damage.

Akats is a licensed and insured Illinois contractor, minority owned and family operated, rated A+ by the BBB, with masonry, concrete, roofing, porch, demolition and excavation crews in-house. We work in English and Spanish. Request a free estimate or call 312-339-9627.

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.