Legal ceiling height for Chicago basement apartments

 

Hopefully... very soon... this will be your dream apartment! All photos Eric Rojas, Broker, Kale Realty and VHT.com unless otherwise noted.

We're working with several buyers and sellers that are dealing with potential basement apartments. There was a lot of buzz early this year about the the introduction of a new Chicago Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance. Among other things it would make converting a basement to a legal apartment dwelling much easier. Here's an explanation of the ordinance introduced early spring. Foremost if your property is zoned RS3 or above you would not need a zoning change under the new ordinance to convert the basement to an apartment. 

As it stands... Chicago awaits the new ordinance. A property owner still needs to apply for a zoning change to create a basement dwelling.  Luckily, the Chicago building code changes have "reduced" some requirements for a legal basement unit.  Mainly the ceiling height for living spaces has been lowered six inches to 7' from 7'6".  This is helpful now... the new ordinance may be helpful in the near future.

This great article and illustration from MAPS covers the new basement dwelling code enacted last year.