Chicago real estate, living and neighborhood perspective

Dept of Buildings requiring fee for permits

City of Chicago Announcement:

Department of Buildings Requiring 50 Percent Fee With All Permit Applications

Deposit to Increase Efficiency and Recoup Partial Costs for Plans Reviewed

The Department of Buildings will start requiring a 50 percent deposit on permit applications on January 3, 2012.

The deposit requirement is designed to recoup a portion of the cost the department incurs for reviewing and approving plans that are never completely permitted and also to discourage design and building professionals from submitting plans for projects that may not yet have financing.

Currently, permit fees are not assessed until the end of the process when the applicant picks up the permits. Hundreds of permits are reviewed and approved each year for which applicants do not pay or complete the process.

“Our plan examiners spend time and effort reviewing all drawings that are submitted,” said Michael Merchant, Commissioner for the Department of Buildings.  “Reviewing plans that never complete the permit process forces other projects to wait longer for their permit times.  Charging a deposit will allow us to capture part of the fees owed to us without overly burdening submittals at the start of the process and allow other projects to move along quicker.”

Realty Evolved