Buying 2-Flat w/ Not Legal Finished Basement

[Jordan Gerkin]

Hey All! 

Curious if anyone has insight or experience with buying a 2-Flat property in Chicago with a finished basement that is not technically a legal unit. My plan would be to live in the basement unit and rent out the other two legal units. I’m just worried on how likely it would be if the city were to find out and me be fined and then required to deconvert the basement to a non livable plan basement. 

Thanks for any input! 

[John Warren]

@Jordan Gerkin welcome to the forums! This is one of the biggest gray areas in Chicago. The amount of "bonus" units is incredible honestly. You living in the bonus unit is probably the safest way to do this if you think it isn't a legal space. If you really want to know if the unit is legal, just get the zoning cert from the city which will describe how many units there are.