Building permit history for a Chicago house, and what the listing claims
To check a Chicago home’s building permit history, look the address up free on this page: it returns the permits and building violations the City of Chicago holds for that property, newest first, matched to the Assessor’s parcel number. The $49 report does the part the City’s own data cannot: it compares what the listing claims — bedrooms, bathrooms, dwelling units, a finished basement or attic, an addition — against those permits and the Assessor’s record, marks each claim Consistent, Check or Investigate, and turns every gap into a question for the seller, inspector or attorney before your attorney review or inspection contingency ends.
Build your report
- Look up the home by address or PIN (free).
- Enter what the listing claims: beds, baths, units, basement, attic, addition.
- Review your report and go to checkout.
Free: how many permits and violations are on record, how many aren’t complete or are still open, and the 10 newest of each with their date, type and status, for City of Chicago homes, flats and condo units.
If the free lookup already shows every record the City holds for the property and you haven’t told us what the listing claims, we don’t offer the report — it would repeat what you just read for free.
How to check for unpermitted work in Chicago, and what the records can’t show
Permit History & Discrepancy Report · $49
- The listing checked against the records: each claim you enter (bedrooms, full and half bathrooms, dwelling units, finished basement, basement apartment, finished attic, addition) compared with the Assessor’s record and with related permits, and marked “Consistent”, “Check” or “Investigate”
- Questions to ask the seller, inspector or attorney, drawn from each gap
- The full record, not just the newest lines: every matched permit with its date, type, status, work description and reported cost, and every violation at the street address with its date, code, status, status date, description and location (up to the 200 most recent of each; the report says when there are more)
- A dated document to forward: how each record was matched, and every dataset with its capture date
Free Permit Lookup · $0
- Your address confirmed against the Assessor’s records by PIN
- How many City building permits are on record, and how many aren’t recorded as complete
- How many building violations are on record at the street address, and how many the City lists as open
- The 10 newest permits and the 10 newest violations, with their date, type and status
Not included: permit contact names and inspector comments, which can name private people. The report can’t prove unpermitted work: work done without a permit leaves no record.
How often a home has records to show
Measured on 14 Sep 2026 on random samples of City of Chicago residential PINs. Many homes simply have no permits or violations since 2006, when the City’s data starts, so a zero is a valid result.
| Properties | At least one permit | At least one violation |
|---|---|---|
| Houses and flats (12,158 sampled) | 42.7% | 20.5% |
| Condo units (8,000 sampled) | 88.5% | 57.3% |
Condo permits are matched by building PIN and by the street address the building’s units share (found for 71.9% of sampled units); for condos, records may concern other units or common areas.
Before your contingency ends
The permits and violations here are City of Chicago records; the parcel, square footage and room counts come from the Cook County Assessor. Read how each record is matched to a property, or the datasets behind this page with their load dates.
EPA-regulated facilities near the same address · whether the property is over-assessed · where this report works · how many old violations are still listed open · guide: checking for unpermitted work
Questions buyers ask about Chicago permits
How do I check the building permit history of a Chicago house?
Enter the address in the free lookup above. It matches the address to the Assessor’s parcel number and returns how many City of Chicago permits and building violations are on record, how many are not recorded as complete or are still open, and the ten newest of each with date, type and status. The City’s permit data begins in 2006.
How can I tell if work on a house was done without a permit?
You cannot prove it from records alone — work done without a permit leaves no record at all. What you can do is compare what the property claims to be against what was permitted: a listing advertising a finished basement, a fourth bedroom or an addition with no matching permit is the gap worth asking about. That comparison is what the paid report produces.
Does a clean permit record mean there is no unpermitted work?
No. Absence of a record is never clearance. The report states what the records show and what they cannot show, and says so on every page.
How often does a Chicago home actually have records to show?
Measured on 14 September 2026 on random samples of City of Chicago residential parcels: 42.7% of houses and flats had at least one permit and 20.5% at least one violation; for condominium units it was 88.5% and 57.3%. Many homes have nothing on file, and a zero is a valid answer.
Where do the listing claims come from?
You enter them yourself from the listing or the seller’s disclosure. We do not copy listings from real estate websites.
Why do some Chicago violations stay listed as open for years?
The City’s data keeps many violations in an open status long after the violation date, whether or not the work was put right. Each one is shown with its date and its status exactly as the City lists it, never re-interpreted.
Will I be charged if the free lookup already showed me everything?
No. If the free lookup has already listed every record the City holds for the property and you have entered no listing claim, the report is not offered — there would be nothing in it you had not just read for free.
Is this a home inspection or legal advice?
Neither. It is a dated record of public data to hand to your inspector or attorney. CivicDelta is not affiliated with the City of Chicago or Cook County.
- You choose
- The Chicago property and what its listing claims
- For
- Buyer attorneys, inspectors, title teams and homebuyers
- Delivery
- Emailed within 2 business days
- Where
- City of Chicago only
See a sample report · a real report from public records, with identifying details masked
How ordering works
- Look up the home in the Permit Lookup at the top of this page, by address or PIN.
- Enter what the listing claims. Leave blank anything it doesn’t say.
- Review your report summary and continue to secure checkout. If the free lookup has already shown you every record on file and you have entered no claim, we say so instead of taking your money.
- We build and check the report against the city and Assessor records and email it within 2 business days.
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