How to Fix a Chicago Building Code Violation, Step by Step

Here is how to fix a Chicago building code violation: find out which track your case is on, scope the repair with a contractor, pull the permit if the work needs one, do the work while documenting it, and bring proof to the hearing or the reinspection. The order matters, because the City alleges the condition existed on the day of inspection, and your documents are what show it has been corrected.

Our guide to Chicago building violations gives the overview. This article goes one level down: what to do at each step, what to ask, and where owners lose time.

Step 1: Pin down your case before you hire anyone

Three facts on your notice decide the rest of the plan.

• The level. A Department of Buildings supervisor sets the level of each case. A "20" is a maintenance warning, a "50" is life safety and goes to Administrative Hearings, and an "80" is dangerous and goes to the Circuit Court of Cook County (City of Chicago). If you have an 80, bring in an attorney before the contractor.
• The hearing date. For building cases at Administrative Hearings, the date cannot be set less than 30 days after the inspector reports the violation, except in emergencies (Municipal Code 2-14-152). We cannot point you to a general "comply within a set number of days" rule in the City's published materials, so the date on your notice is your real deadline. See how long you have to fix a violation.
• The list of items. Every line is its own problem to solve and to prove. Copy them into a table with three columns: item, fix, proof.

If you are still reading the notice itself, what a Chicago building violation notice really says goes line by line.

Step 2: Scope the repair with a contractor, item by item

A contractor should come out and look at every listed item before anything is priced. What you want from that visit is not a number, it is a plan: what is wrong, what the fix is, whether it needs a permit, and whether it needs drawings.

For the exterior items that make up so many Chicago cases, the Title 14X text is the standard the City is applying. It says the exterior of a structure must be maintained in good repair, structurally sound and sanitary. The unsafe conditions it lists include masonry joints not maintained weather resistant or water tight, veneer, cornices, trim and facings not properly anchored, and exterior stairs, decks, porches and balconies not structurally sound or properly anchored (Title 14X). For porches in particular, the standard is that they are structurally sound, in good repair, properly anchored and capable of supporting the loads placed on them, with handrails and guards firmly fastened (Title 14X).

Translate that into questions for your contractor:

The honest answer to "what will this cost" depends on the answers to those questions, not on the notice. See what drives the cost of fixing a violation. And when you interview contractors, see hiring a contractor to clear a Chicago violation.

Step 3: Get the permit right, because it is part of the fix

Chicago requires a building permit before most construction, demolition, rehabilitation and repair work, with a limited list of exemptions for site work, nonstructural repairs and minor alterations (City of Chicago). Whether your repair is exempt is a question for your contractor and the Department of Buildings, not a guess.

Skipping the permit can turn one problem into two. For unpermitted work, the City describes a stop work order, a work restart only after the permit is obtained and the stop work penalty is paid, a permit fee that is tripled in most cases, and possible enforcement action (City of Chicago). Confirm current amounts with the Department of Buildings.

Practical rules:

1. Ask the contractor, before signing, who pulls the permit and what it covers.
2. Get the permit number in writing. You will need it as proof.
3. Do not let work start on an item that needs a permit until the permit is issued.

Our companion piece, do you need a permit to fix a Chicago building violation, covers the question itself.

Step 4: Do the work so it proves itself

The best repair for a violation case is the one you can show. That is a work habit, not a paperwork afterthought.

• Photograph the condition before the first tool comes out. Wide shot, close shot, then a shot with something for scale. Date and label it by the item on your table.
• Photograph progress. Especially anything that will be covered up: framing, flashing, bricks behind the joint.
• Photograph the finished work from the same angles as the "before" photos.
• Keep every invoice and the signed contract with the item descriptions.
• Keep communication with tenants about scheduled work. If an occupant refuses you entry to make a repair, that is a defense recognized at a building hearing, and you will want the record of when you asked (Municipal Code 2-14-155).

If you cannot finish before the hearing date, do not wait for the date to start. The hearing officer can, if liability is found and the owner has begun correcting, set a separate fines hearing within 30 days (longer for good cause) and order a reinspection to verify compliance first (Municipal Code 2-14-156). Starting is part of what you can show.

Step 5: Reinspection and proof: what we can and cannot tell you

This is the step with the most guesswork online, so here is what the City's own materials support.

• Follow-up inspections tied to a hearing or court case are scheduled through the case, not through the online permit inspection request. If you are in Circuit Court, a court inspector is assigned and you call the number on your notice. If you are at Administrative Hearings, the Department of Buildings says to bring proof of compliance, meaning the permit and before and after photos, to your hearing date (Department of Buildings).
• A reinspection can be ordered at the hearing. See step 4.
• A standalone way to ask for a compliance reinspection outside the hearing is not something we can confirm from an authoritative City page. If someone tells you there is a form and a set number of business days, ask the Department of Buildings to confirm it for your case.

Permit inspections for the repair itself are a separate track from the enforcement case. Do not assume that passing the permit's final inspection closes the violation. See Chicago violation reinspection: what the inspector checks.

Step 6: Take the proof to the hearing

At Administrative Hearings, the Department of Buildings alleges the violation existed on the inspection date. The hearing is your chance to show proof of correction (Department of Administrative Hearings). A case can also end in a nonsuit when the owner has timely provided proof the violations are fixed (City of Chicago).

Assemble one binder or one folder per violation:

1. The notice and the list of items.
2. The permit and its number.
3. Before photos and after photos, labeled.
4. Contract, invoices and any contractor sign off.
5. Notes on tenant access, if relevant.

What to say and how to order it is in what to bring and say at your hearing. What counts as proof is in what proof shows a Chicago violation is fixed. Whether to contest the violation or admit it is a legal decision, so talk to an attorney.

Akats handles the repair, the permit and the City paperwork in English or Spanish. If the City flagged it, we want to look at it. See our building code violation service page for how we work a case from the notice to the final photos.

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.