Legal Basement Rental

[Eric Ruby]

I’m on the process of purchasing a legal 2-flat in Chicago, with an unfinished basement.  I plan to combine the first and second floor units into one unit for myself, and build out the basement as a rental unit (7.5 ceilings, separate entrance, egress windows, etc).  Do anyone know if that violates any zoning ordinances or restrictions?

Yes I plan to pull permits for the build out.  Any advice anyone can give is appreciated!

[Jonathan Klemm]

@Eric Ruby - Simple answer is it depends....

First you need to understand what you can and can not build by right, which starts by making sure you are zoned properly.  You can use this Chicago zoning map to find out what your lot is zoned (https://gisapps.chicago.gov/Zo...).  After that, you'd typically need to do some calculations to confirm the amount of SF you can use (https://secondcityzoning.org/z...), but given you are working in the same footprint of the existing building I wouldn't see that being an issue.

You can figure most of the information out on your own, but I've always found it easier to find experts at what they do like @Prashanth Mahakali and @Samuel Pavlovcik so that you can lean on their architectural expertise.