Basement Apartment? (Chicago, Elgin, Elmwood Park: apartments, rental, houses)

[ZanMom]

Can anyone tell me if a basement apartment is legal in the state of Illinois? This particular apt. has NO windows, one entrance (front door) and a set of attic-type stairs leading up to the main floor.

[middle-aged mom]

Each municipality determines their own zoning and standards. There is no state standard.

Having said this, I am hard-pressed to imagine any municipality that allows a basement without windows to be a legal rental, unless the apartment is grandfathered back to a time when it was lega or zoning did not exist.

My inlaws used to rent out their basement in Chicago and it had dirt floors. Imagine that.

[knitgirl]

That shouldn't be legal anywhere, there's no ventilation. I have a rental in Elgin and it has to be inspected annually. They're pretty strict. We also live in the property so we maintain it pretty well, but they usually come up with something that needs to be done.

[lviz4ever]

I live in Elmwood Park in a my mother's single family home. My mother had the basement finished into a small apartment for me and my son. It only has one entrance. Does it have to have more then on entrance?

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by lviz4ever

I live in Elmwood Park in a my mother's single family home. My mother had the basement finished into a small apartment for me and my son. It only has one entrance. Does it have to have more then on entrance?

Last time I looked, yes.

[linicx]

Since you live at home with your parents, I doubt that EP ordinances will apply to a family home with a finished basement. However, If you have a signed rental contract with your parents, and you pay rent for this unit, then it is an entirely different issue. Their SFH has been converted to a two unit building and you can then address the issue with EP officials.

Please be aware that when children do these things, they often open Pandora's Box and suddenly find they need a place to live that is not in their parents home.

[Peer79]

Elmwood Park had an open forum last week with the mayor and the trustees. There were many people in attendance; comprising mostly landlords and tenants. The purpose of the meeting was the proposal of a new village ordinance which would require 6 flat owners to register for a rental license and perform mandatory background checks.

However, some of it did pertain to the situation of the poster living in her parent's basement in EP. According to my understanding of Silvestri and the trustees, they would be exempt, due to the fact that she is living with a relative. However, if she was trying to rent this out to a tenant, it would be an illegal 2 (or 3) flat depending on the home. All apartments are required to have 2 entrances for fire code purposes. The fact that it only has one entrance would make it unsuitable to be rented (What if there was a fire blocking the one stairwell and the occupants were trapped in the basement).

The officials also may extend the ordinance to apply to even 3 flats or any rental housing. There is a problem of illegally rented houses in EP which was touched upon by the village officials

[chet everett]

In this, and frankly many others, the Cook Co. code is much stricter than the national model codes. Further when it comes to these kind of things people need to understand that County codes only apply to unincorporated areas -- municipalities codes are in effect within the corporate limits.

The older National Model code for life safet specified egree windows of at least 30"X 36" but since more and more fire fighters have gear on their backs the newer recommendation is 36"X48"