2026-09-10 · Illinois · Compliance

What is happening. Chicago's facade ordinance — Municipal Code §§ 13-196-031 and 13-196-035 — and the City of Chicago Rules Regarding the Maintenance of High-Rise Exterior Walls and Enclosures impose recurring deadlines that fall in the next twelve weeks.¹

• Ongoing Inspection reports are due November 1.
• Critical Examination reports are due December 1.

No 2025 or 2026 amendment to the ordinance or the Rules was found; the current Rules took effect March 1, 2016. The Department of Buildings posts separate 2025 and 2026 Exterior Wall Forms. The deadlines are the live item.

Who it binds

Exterior walls and enclosures of all buildings 80 feet or more in height — roughly seven to eight stories — including balconies, fire escapes and signs. That is most downtown, Gold Coast, Lakeview and Hyde Park condominium high-rises.

The inspection must be by, or under the direct supervision of, an Illinois-licensed architect or structural engineer retained by the owner, who files a signed and sealed report classifying the facade as:

1. Unsafe and Imminently Hazardous;
2. Safe with a Repair and Maintenance Program; or
3. Safe

— plus the filing fee and two paper copies.

The two compliance paths

1. Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, topic brief on the Chicago facade ordinance (categories, cycles, scaffold requirements) ↩
2. Chicago facade ordinance compliance reference (filing deadlines and report classifications) ↩
3. Chicago building compliance guide (facade, life safety and benchmarking obligations) ↩