Joliet, IL Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

City Code Sec. 11 lists the conditions that render a rental dwelling structure substandard where they threaten the life, limb, health, safety or property of occupants or the public. The list runs to 22 items, including a dangerous structure or premises as defined by the adopted International Property Maintenance Code; inadequate sanitation such as a missing water closet, lavatory, bathtub, shower or kitchen sink, or lack of hot and cold running water; inadequate heating facilities; lack of proper ventilation, natural light or required electrical lighting; excessive dampness or insect, vermin or rodent infestation; general dilapidation; hazardous wiring, plumbing or mechanical equipment; faulty weather protection such as broken windows, deteriorated waterproofing or crumbling plaster; hazardous or unsanitary premises from accumulated junk, garbage or stagnant water; inadequate exits or fire protection; and overcrowding as defined by the Property Maintenance Code.

Under Sec. 10, every rental dwelling must hold a rental registration certificate, and a substandard finding under Sec. 11 is itself listed as grounds to deny, refuse to renew, revoke or suspend that certificate. When an inspection under Sec. 12 turns up violations, the city issues written notice and a reinspection date; if defects that make a building substandard under Sec. 8 are not corrected, the notice gives the owner sixty days to fix them (shorter if the hazard is imminent), while lesser standards violations under Sec.

10 carry a ten-day correction window. Sec. 13 governs the denial, suspension or revocation notice itself, and gives the owner fifteen days to appeal to an administrative hearing officer under Sec. 15. If a certificate is denied, revoked, suspended or not renewed and violations remain uncorrected, Sec. 16 requires the director of neighborhood services to order the affected units vacated, giving tenants reasonable time to arrange new housing.