13-12-125 Vacant buildings – Owner required to act – Enforcement authority.

   (a)   (1)   The owner of any building that has become vacant shall within 30 days after the building becomes vacant or within 30 days after assuming ownership of the building, whichever is later, file a registration statement for each such building with the department of buildings on forms provided by that department for such purposes. The registration shall remain valid for six months from the date of registration. The owner shall be required to renew the registration for successive six-month periods as long as the building remains vacant and shall pay a registration or renewal fee in the amount prescribed in paragraph (3) of this subsection (a) for each registered building; provided, however, that all governmental agencies shall be exempt from the payment of the registration and renewal fees. The owner shall notify the department of buildings, within 20 days, of any change in the registration information by filing an amended registration statement on a form provided by the department of buildings for such purposes. The registration statement shall be deemed prima facie proof of the statements therein contained in any administrative enforcement proceeding or court proceeding instituted by the city against the owner or owners of the building. Registration of a building in accordance with this section shall be deemed to satisfy the notification requirement set forth in Section 13-11-030. After filing a registration statement the building owner shall provide access to the city to conduct an exterior and interior inspection of the building to determine compliance with the municipal code, following reasonable notice, during the period covered by the initial registration or any subsequent renewal.

      (2)   In addition to other information required by the commissioner of buildings, the registration statement shall include the name, street address and telephone number of a natural person 21 years of age or older, designated by the owner or owners as the authorized agent for receiving notices of code violations and for receiving process, in any court proceeding or administrative enforcement proceeding, on behalf of such owner or owners in connection with the enforcement of this Code. This person must maintain an office in Cook County, Illinois, or must actually reside within Cook County, Illinois. An owner who is a natural person and who meets the requirements of this subsection as to location of residence or office may designate himself as agent. By designating an authorized agent under the provisions of this subsection the owner is consenting to receive any and all notices of code violations concerning the registered building and all process in any court proceeding or administrative enforcement proceeding brought to enforce code provisions concerning the registered building by service of the notice or process on the authorized agent. Any owner who has designated an authorized agent under the provisions of this subsection shall be deemed to consent to the continuation of the agent's designation for the purposes of this subsection until the owner notifies the department of buildings of a change of authorized agent or until the owner files a new annual registration statement. Any owner who fails to register a vacant building under the provisions of this subsection shall further be deemed to consent to receive, by posting at the building, any and all notices of code violations and all process in an administrative proceeding brought to enforce code provisions concerning the building.

      (3)   The registration and renewal fee for each registered building shall be $300. The registration fee or renewal fee shall be doubled if the applicable registration or renewal takes place not through voluntary and timely compliance, but as the result of a City identification of a violation of this section.*

* Editor's note – Pursuant to Coun. J. 9-6-17, p. 54189, § 7 and Coun. J. 3-28-18, p. 74459, Art. V, § 13, the amendments to this subsection (a)(3) shall take effect on a date determined by the Commissioner of Buildings, but in the absence of such determination, shall become effective no later than January 1, 2019.

   (b)   The owner of any building that has become vacant, and any person maintaining, operating or collecting rent for any building that has become vacant, shall do the following:

      (1)   immediately enclose and secure the building as provided in Section 13-12-135 of this Code; and

      (2)   within 30 days after the building becomes vacant or within 30 days after assuming ownership of the building, whichever is later, post a sign affixed to the building indicating (i) the building's vacant building registration number; and (ii) the name, address and telephone number of the building owner and the owner's authorized agent for the purpose of service of process; and (iii) if the person responsible for day-to-day supervision and management of the building is different from the owner holding title to the building or from the owner's authorized agent, the name, address and telephone number of such person. The sign shall be of a size, and shall be placed in such a location, so as to be legible from the nearest public street or sidewalk, whichever is nearer; and

      (3)   maintain the building in a secure and closed condition, and maintain the sign required under subsection (b)(2), until the building is again occupied or demolished or until repair or completion of the building has been undertaken in accordance with the building code.

   (c)   The owner of any building that has become vacant shall, within 30 days, acquire or otherwise maintain liability insurance, in an amount of not less than $300,000.00 per occurrence for bodily injury, personal injury and property damage for buildings designed primarily for use as residential units and commercial general liability in an amount not less than $1,000,000.00 per occurrence for bodily injury, personal injury and property damage for any other building, including, but not limited to, buildings designed for manufacturing, industrial, storage or commercial uses, covering any damage to any person or any property caused by any physical condition of or in the building. Any insurance policy acquired after the building has become vacant shall provide for written notice to the commissioner of buildings within 30 days of any lapse, cancellation or change in coverage. The owner shall maintain the insurance required under this subsection in full force and effect throughout the period that the building is vacant. Such insurance shall be issued by an insurer authorized to insure in Illinois. The owner and the owner's authorized agent for service of process shall provide evidence of the insurance, upon request, to the commissioner of buildings or his or her designee.

   (d)   The building commissioner may issue rules and regulations for the administration of this section. These rules may designate board-up materials and methods which must be used when securing a building so that the boarding is reasonably incapable of being removed by trespassers or others acting without the building owner's consent. Any person who violates any provision of this section or of the rules and regulations issued hereunder shall be fined not less than $500.00 and not more than $1,000.00 for each offense. Every day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. Fines assessed under this chapter shall be recoverable from the owner and shall be a lien on the property.

   (e)   For purposes of this section, “vacant” means a building which is lacking habitual presence of human beings who have a legal right to be on the premises, or at which substantially all lawful business or construction operations or residential occupancy has ceased, or which is substantially devoid of content. In determining whether a building is vacant, it is relevant to consider, among other factors, the percentage of the overall square footage of the building or floor to the occupied space, the condition and value of any items in the building and the presence of rental or for sale signs on the property; provided that a residential property shall not be deemed vacant if it has been used as a residence by a person entitled to possession for a period of at least three months within the previous nine months and a person entitled to possession intends to resume residing at the property; and further provided that multi-family residential property containing ten or more dwelling units shall be considered vacant when ninety percent or more of the dwelling units are unoccupied.

   (f)   A rebuttable presumption shall exist that a building has been vacant for more than 30 days if:

      (1)   the building is vacant and has not been secured in accordance with the building security standards set forth in subsection (d) of Section 13-12-135; or

      (2)   the building is vacant and more than one window, door or other opening, in any combination, is boarded up and (i) the yard contains grass or weeds more than 10 inches in height, or (ii) the yard contains an accumulation of junk and debris, or (iii) snow and ice have not been removed from the walk leading to the building's main entrance and/or from the public sidewalk adjoining such building in the manner and within the period of time provided in Section 10-8-180 .

(Added Coun. J. 10-2-91, p. 6032; Amend Coun. J. 4-12-00, p. 29471, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 12-4-02, p.99931, § 9.1; Amend Coun. J. 7-30-08, p. 36080, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 7-28-11, p. 5537, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 11-2-11, p. 11801, § 1; Amend Coun, J, 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. VIII, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 14596, Art. IV, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 10-16-13, p. 62699, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-16, p. 37901, Art. II, § 42; Amend Coun. J. 9-6-17, p. 54189, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 3-28-18, p. 74459, Art. V, § 13)

 

Notes

10-8-180

The hyper-linked material is not part of the Chicago Building Code infobase and therefore is not included herein.  The material is included in other provisions of the Chicago Municipal Code.  The complete Chicago Municipal Code is available for purchase from American Legal Publishing in both print and Folio® versions.  Please click here for the appropriate American Legal order form in printable Adobe® PDF format.  For additional information, you may visit American Legal's website by clicking here.