It is hereby declared unlawful for any person or persons, firm
or corporation to construct, erect, enlarge, remodel, alter, repair,
raise, lower, underpin, move or wreck any building, structure, or
any portion thereof, in violation of the building ordinance. It is
further declared unlawful to equip, use or occupy any building, structure,
or any portion thereof in the City with any devices, or for any business
or other purposes, in any manner prohibited by the building ordinances
of the City. Violators of any of the provisions or requirements of
this section of the building ordinance shall be subject to the general
penalty provided for violations of the building ordinance.
Any building, structure, or any portion thereof hereafter constructed,
erected, enlarged, remodeled, altered, repaired, raised, lowered,
underpinned or moved within the City, in any manner contrary to the
provisions of the building ordinance or any laws of the City, is hereby
declared a nuisance, and the person, owner, lessor or lessee, agent,
architect, builder, contractor, housemover, or mechanic so constructing,
erecting, enlarging, remodeling, altering, repairing, raising, lowering,
underpinning or moving the same, contrary to any of the provisions
of said laws or ordinance, shall be subject to the general penalty
provided for violations of said laws or ordinance.
The procedure in all cases of unauthorized deviations from,
or violations of, the provisions of the building ordinance found on
inspections required by the preceding section shall be as follows:
A verbal notice shall be immediately served by the building officer
at the site, and on the person or persons doing or in charge of the
work being done, or responsible for or capable of correcting or of
causing to be corrected the deviations observed. If a verbal notice
cannot be served on the site, or if served is disregarded (or deemed
inadequate by the building officer for the purpose), then written
notice, on forms prepared for the purpose and designating the deviation
observed, shall be posted at the site, in as safe and conspicuous
a place as practicable and where, if unmolested, the same must certainly
come to the notice of any person or persons either employed on the
work or frequenting or occupying the building, structure, or premises,
and a copy of the notice so posted shall be mailed to the last known
address of the owner, agent or person in control of the building or
structure involved. In the event a written notice of a deviation observed
from the provisions of the building ordinance has been posted and
mailed, as aforesaid, and the work or condition continues in defiance
thereof, or if the deviation, of whatever nature, is not promptly
corrected in a manner consistent with the provisions of the building
ordinance and the urgency of the case, then the deviation shall be
considered a willful violation and the building officer shall promptly
stop the work and, if need be, shall close the building or structure
to the public. The facts pertaining to the case and the steps so far
taken therein shall next (and forthwith) be reported in writing (on
forms prepared for the purpose) to the Building Commissioner, who
in turn shall forthwith proceed to enforce the provisions and penalties
of the building ordinance for and in such case provided. The Chief
of Police and City Attorney, pursuant to and consistent with the duties
of their respective offices, shall assist in enforcing the building
ordinance against violators who defiantly refuse to comply with notices
from the building officers; and each officer named in this section
shall act in conjunction with the Building Commissioner and Deputy
Building Commissioners, insofar as may be necessary and practicable.
But nothing in this section is intended, or shall be construed, to
disqualify or exempt any officer of the City not named therein from
the duty of assisting in the enforcement of the building ordinance.
The building officers and other officers named, who may assist them
in case of flagrant or defiant violations of the building ordinance,
are hereby authorized to use the police power of the City in such
manner and to such extent as the character of the violation and the
urgency, hazards, rights and interests of public health and safety
may justify and demand for the case involved. No failure on the part
of any officer to take any action hereby required, nor any failure
to give any notice hereby required, shall excuse any violation of
any law or ordinance.
Building officers are hereby empowered and directed to stop
work on any building, structure, or portion thereof that is being
done in a reckless, unsafe or unsanitary manner, or with the use of
defective or improper materials; and on any building, structure, or
portion thereof proposed for unlawful purposes as regards location,
intended use, or occupancy; and any work that in any other respect
is being done contrary to the provisions of the building ordinance
or to the requirements of any other laws or ordinances. This right
and duty shall exist and be performed irrespective of any permit that
may or may not have been either required or issued for the work, building,
structure, or any portion thereof involved. The suspension of work
shall be for such time as may be necessary to secure a correction
of the particular violations and features complained of, or at least
until a satisfactory agreement and arrangement (approved of by the
Mayor and Building Commissioner) is reached that such correction will
be made; and if a court trial is made, then the work shall be suspended
and held in abeyance until the court renders its decisions. Any person,
firm or corporation having charge of, directing, or in any way engaged
in work that violates the building ordinance who shall refuse or fail
to promptly desist from such work on written notice from any building
officer, or who, having desisted on either verbal or written notice,
shall resume the work before the violation which occasioned the work
is corrected or agreed to be corrected satisfactory to the officer
causing the work to be stopped (or some other building officer higher
in authority) and consistent with the purposes of the building ordinance,
or who, before having been authorized by the officer causing the same
to be stopped (or by some other building officer higher in authority),
resumes work stopped by building officer, shall be deemed guilty of
violating the building ordinance, and shall be subject to the general
penalty provided therefor in said building ordinance. Permits for
work being done in violation of the building ordinance may be canceled
or revoked on order of the Building Commissioner, as is elsewhere
provided in said ordinance.
Any architect, structural engineer, contractor, subcontractor
or other person, firm or corporation directly or indirectly engaged
in the design, construction, erection, enlargement, remodeling, altering,
repairing, raising, lowering, underpinning, moving, or wrecking of
any building, structure or portion thereof who shall knowingly design,
construct, erect, enlarge, remodel, alter, repair, raise, lower, underpin,
move or wreck such building, structure or a portion thereof, or suffer
or permit any building, structure or portion thereof to be designed,
constructed, erected, enlarged, remodeled, altered, repaired, raised,
lowered, underpinned, moved or wrecked in violation of the building
ordinance, shall be subject to the general penalty provided for violation
of the building ordinance and all licenses and permits granted by
the City to any such person, firm or corporation so engaged may be
suspended for not less than 90 days nor more than two years.
Any architect, structural engineer, contractor or other person,
firm or corporation directly or indirectly engaged in the design,
construction, erection, enlargement, remodeling, altering, repairing,
raising, lowering, underpinning, moving or wrecking of any building,
structure or portion thereof who has not completed the work being
done under the authority of a permit within the period of two years
from the date the permit was issued shall be fined as provided by
the general penalty of this chapter. Such person or corporation shall
be deemed guilty of a separate offense for every day until such time
as the work is completed or the land or building is restored to its
original form as it appeared at the time the permit was applied for.
(A)
No land shall be occupied or used and no building hereafter erected
or altered shall be occupied or used in whole or in part for any purpose
whatsoever until a certificate shall have been issued by the Building
Commissioner, stating that the building complies with all the building,
zoning, health laws and ordinances and with the provisions of this
chapter.
(B)
No change of use shall be made in any building or part thereof, now
or hereafter erected or altered, that is not consistent with the provisions
of these regulations. Nothing in this section shall prevent the present
occupancy or use of any existing fully completed building constructed
under permits issued by municipal authority, except as may be necessary
for health and safety of life and property.
(C)
Certificates of occupancy and compliance shall be applied for coincident
with the application for a building permit and shall be issued within
10 days after the erection or alteration of such building shall have
been completed.
(D)
A record of all certificates shall be kept on file in the office
of the Building Commissioner and copies shall be furnished on request
to any person having a proprietary or tenancy interest in the buildings
affected. A fee of $2 shall be charged for each original certificate
and $1 for each copy thereof.
(E)
No permit for excavation for the erection of any building shall be
issued before application has been made for a certificate of occupancy
and compliance. No buildings or premises or part thereof may be occupied
or used until such certificate shall have been issued. The Building
Commissioner shall enforce this provision by mandatory injunction,
when necessary.
(F)
The Building Commissioner may, when the building is completed or
nearly completed, except for certain items which will not affect the
occupancy of the building, including on-site improvements similar
to landscaping, sidewalks, paving of the parking lot, fences, painting,
and similar work, issue a temporary occupancy permit upon the deposit
with the City of a bond equivalent to 125% of the estimated cost of
the improvements or work to be completed, to be returned to the contractor
upon completion of the improvement within seven months. In the event
that said improvements are not completed by said date, the City may
revoke said temporary occupancy permit, and shall have the right,
by mandatory injunction, to compel the owner or contractor to complete
same at the owner's or contractor's cost, the money on deposit to
be returned to the contractor, less the City's cost for the mandatory
injunction, including reasonable attorney's fees, when the work is
completed and a final occupancy permit is issued.
(A)
It shall be unlawful for a person who is the new owner or lessee
of residential housing to occupy the same until a certificate of housing
inspection without any deficiencies has been issued for the subject
property, within the prior three months.
(B)
LEASE
OWNER
SALE
For the purpose of this section, the following words shall have the
meanings set forth below:
The transfer of occupancy rights of real property for consideration,
even if no written agreement is entered into.
The title holder of the real property, including but not
limited to the beneficiaries of a land trust, all partners in a partnership,
and the officers of a corporation.
The transfer for consideration of the title to real estate
and includes the purchase of a condominium unit or the share in a
cooperative apartment association or a corporation.
(C)
All applications for a certificate of housing inspection shall be
made on such forms as prescribed by the Building Department.
[Amended 5-9-2006 by Ord.
No. 6-2006]
(1)
The Building Department shall issue a certificate within 14
days after gaining access to the subject property, whether by consent
or by warrant, and after the payment of the following fee:
(2)
In the event the applicant requires an inspection within five
days of filing the application, the fee shall be $100. The above-referenced
fees only apply to the original inspection and a reinspection. Should
an applicant or the City require more than two inspections, the applicant
will be required to pay an additional $50.
(3)
The Building Department shall inspect the subject property for
compliance with the building, housing, property maintenance, and zoning
code and ordinances of the City. All deficiencies shall be noted on
said certificate.
(D)
No evidence obtained in a consented inspection of real property pursuant
to this section shall be used in the prosecution of any criminal or
ordinance violation against the owner of the property when inspection
was made.
(E)
Where no consent has been given to enter or inspect any property,
no entry or inspection shall be made without the procurement of a
warrant from the Circuit Court of Cook County.
(1)
The court may consider any of the following factors, along with
such other matters as it deems pertinent in its decision as to whether
a warrant shall issue:
(a)
Eyewitness account of violation.
(b)
Citizen complaints.
(c)
Tenant complaints.
(d)
Plain-view violations.
(e)
Violations apparent from City records.
(f)
Property deterioration.
(g)
Age of property.
(h)
Nature of alleged violation.
(i)
Similar properties in the area.
(j)
Documented violations of similar properties in the area.
(k)
Passage of time since last inspection.
(l)
Previous violations on the property.
(2)
Cause for issuance of a warrant shall be deemed to exist in
light of reasonable legislative and administrative standards which
show that there is reason to believe that a condition of nonconformity
exists with respect to a particular property in violation of a City
ordinance.
(F)
Nothing herein shall prohibit the sale or lease of real estate to
a new owner or lessee even if no certificate of housing inspection
has been obtained or even if such certificate shows deficiencies thereon.
The City does not guarantee the condition of the subject property
and is not responsible for any claims arising out of the subject property
or the condition thereof. The City does not warrant that all deficiencies
are listed in a certificate and does not warrant anything as to the
condition of the property or the habitability thereof.
