About

The City of Evanston enforces the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) with local amendments.  The provisions of the 2021 IPMC went into effect on May 25, 2022..

In order to help Evanston stay safe and beautiful, the City's Property Standards team works to educate and assist property owners with property maintenance code compliance. Property Standards enforces the City's code and responds to complaints about properties within the City, including graffiti, debris, building conditions, vacant buildings, illegal apartments, over-occupancy, hazardous stairways/porches, abandoned vehicles, illegal signs, and illegal dumping, for both commercial and residential properties.

Property Standards administers the City's vacation rental licensing, shared housing licensing, vacant building registration, and rental registration programs. This includes performing routine inspections for all non-owner occupied single and multi-family rental dwelling units to ensure compliance with the Code.

Long-term residential rental units must be registered with the City and have their registration renewed each year. Rental units are also inspected regularly for code compliance.

All shared housing providers, including hotels, motels, transitional treatment facilities, shelter for abused persons, congregate housing, rooming houses, sheltered care homes, transitional shelters, apartment hotels, dormitories, and boarding houses, must be licensed as such. The webpage linked above shares information regarding applicable ordinances and the licensing process.

Short-term residential rental units, such as those listed on AirBnB, VRBO, and other hosting platforms, must be licensed with the City. Information regarding the licensing procedure and City requirements for short-term rentals can be found on the webpage linked above.

Buildings that are no longer occupied must be registered with the City as vacant buildings and must be continually maintained. The webpage linked above contains information for property owners who need to register their buildings as vacant.

The City of Evanston enforces the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code. The City's Property Maintenance Inspectors endeavor to educate and assist property owners to achieve compliance with the code.

Some common code violations are listed below:

All exterior property should be free of weeds or plant growth in excess of eight inches. Noxious weeds are prohibited. Cultivated grasses, flowers and gardens are not considered weeds. (Code Section 302.4)

Motor Vehicles, Boats and Trailers
Inoperative, unlicensed or unregistered motor vehicles, boats or trailers should not be parked, kept or stored on any premises. No vehicle on the premises should be in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled. (Code Section 302.8)

Accumulation of Garbage
All exterior and interior property should be free from any accumulation of garbage. (Code Section: 308.1)

Accessory Structures
All accessory structures, including detached garages, sheds, fences, gates and walls, should be maintained structurally sound and in good repair. (Code Section: 302.7)

Alley Addresses
Buildings that border an alley should display their address number on the alley side of their property. Addresses can be numbered or spelled out, and should contrast with their background so that they’re legible and visible. (Code Section 304.3.1)

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