Inherited a House With Building Violations in Chicago? Start Here

If you inherited a house with building violations in Chicago, do two things first: stop the mail from going unanswered, and find out exactly what the City has on the property. Then talk to an attorney about who holds title and what authority you have to act. Only after that does it make sense to start repairs. Violations do not disappear because the owner died, and cases can move on without you.

We are a contractor, not a lawyer. This page is about the building side of the problem: what the City's process is, what to look up, and what a repair involves. It is not legal or probate advice. Questions about the estate, who owns the property and what you can sign belong with an attorney. For the wider picture, see our guide for building owners and buyers.

What should you do first?

Here is the order we would take it in.

1. Collect every notice. Mail on the property, mail at the old owner's address, anything taped to the door. Violation notices have a date, a description of the violation and your options, including what to do if you must appear (City of Chicago). Put them in one folder, oldest first.
2. Look up what the City has. Use the steps below. Write down every case and permit number.
3. Call an attorney before you sign or pay anything. Ask who holds title right now, whether you have authority to deal with the case, and what the attorney wants you to do about hearing dates.
4. Deal with anything unsafe. A loose porch, falling brick or a hole in the roof does not wait for the paperwork. Tell your attorney, then make the area safe.
5. Get the building looked at. A contractor walk-through turns a list of violations into a scope of work.

How do you find out what violations the building has?

The City's Search Building Department Records tool lets you search permit, inspection and violation records by address. The Chicago Data Portal's Building Violations dataset covers violations issued by the Department of Buildings from 2006 to present. We walk through both in how to look up Chicago building violations by address.

Now the limit. The City's own dataset notice says the data is historical, may not reflect current condition, includes both liable and not liable findings, and should not be relied on for real estate transactions. It tells lenders and title companies to consult the title commitment for outstanding enforcement actions in the Circuit Court of Cook County or the Department of Administrative Hearings (City of Chicago).

So treat the online search as a first look. Your attorney and the title records are where the full picture comes from.

Where does the case live, and who is it against?

A building case can be in one of two places. The Department of Buildings sets the enforcement level on each notice. Life safety conditions that are not dangerous go to the Department of Administrative Hearings. Dangerous and hazardous ones go to the Circuit Court of Cook County (City of Chicago). In court, the City has more options, including vacating the building and appointing a receiver (City of Chicago).

At Administrative Hearings, a Department of Buildings case typically names only the legal title holder and others in control of the building. If there is no living owner, the case is upgraded to the Circuit Court (City of Chicago).

Read that last sentence slowly. Who counts as the title holder after a death is a legal question, and the answer decides how the City's case is handled. That is exactly what to ask your attorney. We cannot answer it, and neither can the online search.

One more fact that helps: the Department of Administrative Hearings does not investigate or prosecute. The Department of Buildings files the case, and questions about why the building was cited go to the Department of Buildings (City of Chicago).

Why can an old violation turn into a lien?

Because ignored cases get worse. A default judgment, which is what happens when the notice is ignored, can be used to place a lien on the property, garnish wages and affect credit, and the City usually asks for the maximum fine in default matters (City of Chicago).

For a building declared a public nuisance, fines and the City's repair, demolition and abatement costs become a lien on the property. City repair and demolition costs are a first lien ahead of prior liens, except taxes, and a business license cannot be issued for a property with such a lien until it is satisfied or waived (City of Chicago).

Those rules are volatile, and your attorney is the one to apply them to your situation. We explain how liens come off in how a Chicago building violation lien gets released.

If the building has been empty since the owner passed, note that 311 takes reports on vacant and abandoned buildings, and neighbors use it (City of Chicago). A vacant building with a failing porch or open door is the kind a neighbor reports.

Are there deadlines you cannot miss?

Yes, and the notice itself is the best place to find yours. Some deadlines are in the City's own materials:

• For building cases, the hearing date cannot be less than 30 days after the inspector reports the violation in non-emergency situations (City of Chicago).
• A written Motion to Set Aside a default generally has to be filed within 21 days of the mailing date on the default order, and a final order can be appealed to the Circuit Court of Cook County within 35 days (City of Chicago).

Those are the City's published rules. Whether and how they apply to your case, especially when the notices were addressed to someone who has passed, is for an attorney. If you find a date that has already gone by, do not panic and do not guess. Bring the paperwork to your attorney as soon as you can.

How do you get a repair scope and a decision?

Once your attorney has told you what you can do, the contractor part is straightforward.

1. Walk the building with a contractor. Bring every notice. Ask for a written scope that matches each cited item.
2. Separate urgent from later. Safety items and cited items come first.
3. Ask about permits. Chicago requires a licensed general contractor for most repair and construction work, including work that does not need a building permit (City of Chicago). Ask who pulls the permit and get the permit number.
4. Keep records. Before and after photos, the permit, the invoice. Proof of correction is what you bring to the Department of Buildings and, if there is a hearing, to the hearing.

If you are deciding whether to keep, repair or sell, the repair scope is the number your family needs. Selling with open violations is its own subject, and we cover it in selling a Chicago house with building violations.

Need someone to look at an inherited building?

Akats is a family-operated Chicago contractor, licensed and insured in Illinois, and bilingual in English and Spanish. We fix the underlying problem, document the work and help you get cleared. Send us the notices and the address and our violations team will walk the building, write the scope and tell you what is urgent. Free estimate. For legal questions about the estate or the title, talk to an attorney.

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.