The City wants plans and permits, or says work was never permitted
Either something on your building needs a permit before it can be touched, or work already done was never filed. Read this as the item that blocks the rest: nothing else on your notice closes until this one does.
- Do I need a permit?
- This normally needs a permit before work starts. We file it.
- Who actually does it?
- Our own crews. This is work we self-perform, so the schedule is ours to keep.
- Am I unusual?
- Not at all. This is one of the items we are called out for most, and it is rarely the only thing on the notice.
What the inspector was looking at
Work visible on the building with no permit behind it. An owner or an unlicensed party doing work the code reserves for a licensed contractor. A repair the department will not accept without drawings.
What happens if you leave it
Unpermitted work does not age out. It surfaces when you sell, when you refinance, or when the next inspector walks past, and by then you have lost the ability to deal with it on your own timeline.
How we get it closed
- 1We read your notice against the actual permit record so we know precisely what the department wants filed
- 2Drawings prepared in a form the department will accept the first time
- 3Permit filed under our licence and carried through review, without you on hold
- 4Work completed and every inspection tied to that permit closed out
Before you start worrying about the cost
Legalising old work is far more routine than owners expect. It is paperwork and process, and process is something we do every week.
This is almost never the only item
Chicago inspectors write up everything they can see in one visit. Fixing this and leaving the rest means the case stays open and you go to the hearing anyway. We price and clear the whole notice: our own crews on nearly all of it, licensed partners on the plumbing, heating and electrical items, and nothing left dangling for you to chase.
See how the whole thing worksUsually on the same notice
If you see any of these on yours too, that is the normal pattern rather than bad luck. They tend to share a cause.
Porches and exterior stairs rebuilt to current Chicago code, which is the item the City is least willing to be patient about.
The engineer report the City is demanding, filed, plus the repairs it calls for. Until this lands, nothing else on your notice can close.
The joints get ground out and repointed to match, so the wall stops shedding mortar and the inspector stops writing it up.
Cited for permits & plans? Let us take it from here.
A quick call, then we come out and price every item on the notice in person. Free, and you are under no obligation to use us.
Licensed and insured. A person answers, Monday to Saturday.