Getting a Chicago Housing Authority (CHA/section 8) tenant into your property is full of red tape and pitfalls that may make you think is the process worth it. In my opinion depending on the area of your rental the guarantee of on time rent out ways the red tape we must get through to get approved. With that being said here are 5 horror story reasons we have seen someone fail an inspection for that should never happen ( due to it being cheap and easy fixes)
6) CO2 smoke detectors not within 15 feet of each bedroom: your smoke detector must be installed outside the bedrooms within 15 feet of each bedroom door. And must detect smoke and co2. Also note all new smoke detectors in Chicago must not have removable batteries.
5) No unit number on the unit door: if units are not clearly labeled with the unit number on the front door of the apartment, you will automatically fail the inspection so make sure to get some stickers and put them on your unit door. Also note that if the numbers are fading or peeling they will also fail your unit so make sure they are easily readable and in good condition.
4) utilities turned off: even if the tenant is to put the utilities in their name, they must be on in your name at the time of inspection in order to pass the inspection.
3) No Appliances: If you don’t have appliances for the unit you must mark that the tenant is to supply them, if you are agreeing to supply them they must all be installed and work properly before your inspection in order to pass.
2) Unit is dirty: If you just did a brand new rehab and left a bunch of supplies and dust everywhere your unit can fail for needing to be cleaned so make sure your contractors are cleaning up after themselves.
1) No GFCI outlets near sinks: if there is an outlet within 5 feet of a water source it needs to be a gfci outlet. These are $2 parts so don’t skimp on them and make sure they are installed in your kitchen, bathroom, and laundry rooms
Got a cha inspection coming up and not sure what to do? We would love to talk to you about managing your property and taking all the worries out of your “passive investment” reach out to us today.
