Buying single family home zoned as multi unit
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Architect · Chicago, IL · Member since 2020 · 214 posts · 236 votes
6yThe Zoning designation and the number of units do not necessarily coincide; especially in the City of Chicago.
@J Folsom If you want you can send me the property address and I can do a quick Zoning review of the property. I am a licensed Architect and do a lot of work in the City of Chicago as well as surrounding suburbs.
If your lot is RS3, that means that it is in fact "Single Family Zoning" according to the Chicago Zoning Ordinance
"17-2-0102 RS, Residential Single-Unit (Detached House) Districts. The primary purpose of the RS districts is to accommodate the development of detached houses on individual lots. It is intended that RS zoning be applied in areas where the land-use pattern is characterized predominately by detached houses on individual lots or where such a land use pattern is desired in the future. The Zoning Ordinance includes three RS districts – RS1, RS2 and RS3 – which are differentiated primarily on the basis of minimum lot area requirements and floor area ratios."
That being said, with RS3, you are allowed to have 1-unit per 2,500 sq.ft. of lot area. So if your lot is more than 5,000 sq.ft you are legally allowed to legally have more than one unit, but not required. I agree with @Brian Ploszay, based in the information you provided you shouldn't have any concerns. My only concern for you would be, as you mentioned before, that there was previously a 2nd unit in the building, and the fact that there doesn't appear to be any permits pulled on the property to remove it. That being said, with the address, we can look that up as well and see what work was done on the property with permits pulled. There's also the possibility that the previous 2nd unit, may never have been a legal unit, which is actually the more common issue at hand here in the City of Chicago, is that a home is Zoned for Single Family but has more than one unit. In those cases, some may be grandfathered in, while others may be required to remove the illegal unit. One easy, quick check is to see how many Water meters/services there are, or how many electrical panels there are. Those can be a good designation for having multiple legal units.
All of that being said, if you have a Single Family residence on a RS3 Zoned lot, you have no concerns for a legal/permitted use of the lot.
14 Replies
- Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes6y
I have the answer to this one. Don't worry about it. You have the automatic right to "down zone" your property. If the zoning allows for multi-unit, a single family is allowed. The other way around is usually what concerns people. Developers want to build apartments, but are often restricted by zoning. R3 is the Chicago single family zoning. R4 allows multiple units.
I actually think that having your underlying zoning actually potentially makes your property more valuable. The land could be worth more than a single family land zoning. I don't know the address, else I would give a more concise opinion.
No worries, and continue the purchase if you like the property.
- 6yBjorn AhlbladPro MemberInvestor · Shelton, WA · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 6k+ votes
I had a SFR in California that we held for 35 years as a rental (in a 1031x) along the way the municipality rezoned to R2 we made out even better when we sold. The numbers did not make sense for me to develop it as the property became too expensive over the years, but the people who bought it did build a duplex in it's place. I think their hourly rate was a lot lower than mine! 🤑
- Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes6y
@Brian Ploszay - that is not true. You DO NOT have the automatic right to downzone in Chicago. MOST 2-4 units in Chicago properties are currently zoned as SFH or RS, which makes downzoning easy, because you are just bringing it to it's current zoning. But you need to look up the address on the zoning map to determine if it is currently a RS designation, 99% of the time it is. @J Folsom you can look up the address in the link below.
https://gisapps.chicago.gov/ZoningMapWeb/terms.html
Where you may run into problems is the number at the end of the zoning. RS-2 is a lot different than RS-3. It has to do with set back, floor area ratio, ect. If you are this early into the deal, I highly suggest switching lawyers and hiring @Bob Floss II
https://secondcityzoning.org/zones/
Second City Real Estate4.821 Reviews - 6yJ FolsomMember since 2020 · 3 posts · 0 votesOP
Ok thank you for all the replies. It is zoned RS3.
I personally wouldn’t mind keeping the zoning as a MU in case we do want to make it into an investment property down the line. Just nervous when the appraiser comes out and sees it is most definitely a single family home...not a multi unit.
- Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes6y
@J Folsom - The appraiser is going to look at what is on file with the assessor, department of buildings, and zoning map, so if the first 2 show multiple units it can cause a problem with the appraisal.
I would be way more concerned with the implications down the road. Does it have a finished basement or attic? If the basement is 50% + 1 inch below grade it is not counted in the floor area ratio total. But if the finished space is more than .9 of the lot size you can run into issues down the road for the illegal conversion and being outside the RS-3 designations.
Second City Real Estate4.821 Reviews - Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2015 · 213 posts · 162 votes6y
@J Folsom, I don't know the laws in Chicago but if I found a Single-Family Residence with Multi-Family zoning in Los Angeles, CA I would be all over it. Check with your broker, lawyer, etc. but it is usually a good thing. It literally means the city will allow you to build more units there. It's a great way to expand your current property or demolish the existing structure and build a whole new complex of units...
Best of luck and be sure to call the city and check local zoning laws with a trusted attorney or architect/consultant.
- Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes6y
@Brie Schmidt I disagree with you. If the zoning is R4, you can build a single family house or a structure that doesn't maximize FAR. But that point is mute; Chicago has lots of older housing stock that doesn't conform to current zoning laws. Those structures are grandfathered - the city isn't making you alter such buildings. One of my apartment buildings sits on R3 zoning (single family), but it has 10 units on a 35x125 foot lot. The building was built in the 1920s.
@J Folsom Since these posts may not give you a definitive answer, I'd consult a zoning attorney, or a Chicago architect to give you another opinion.
- Rental Property Investor · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2012 · 115 posts · 42 votes6y
@J Folsom
City should have zoning info online. You typically can do a lesser density zoning, but it should clearly say that under the zoning info. Sometimes you can build less density but still have to follow the restrictive yard setbacks of the current zoning for example.
Don’t confuse the City zoning plan/land use plan with the actual current zoning.
Agree this should be good
news for you unless there is info we are missing.
- San Jose, CA · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes6y
Laws are so different in different cities and states. I agree in CA, this would be great news. You might also just want to see if your tax rate would be higher being zoned for multiple units.
- Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes6y
Originally posted by @Brian Ploszay:
@Brie Schmidt I disagree with you. If the zoning is R4, you can build a single family house or a structure that doesn't maximize FAR. But that point is mute; Chicago has lots of older housing stock that doesn't conform to current zoning laws. Those structures are grandfathered - the city isn't making you alter such buildings. One of my apartment buildings sits on R3 zoning (single family), but it has 10 units on a 35x125 foot lot. The building was built in the 1920s.
@J Folsom Since these posts may not give you a definitive answer, I'd consult a zoning attorney, or a Chicago architect to give you another opinion.
correct, most of 2-4 units are grandfathered in. If the sellers did not alter it, it can remain as a 2-4 unit. But they did alter it. Once you alter it you must conform to the new zoning. You can't just deconvert it without going through the proper channels to make it a legal deconversion into RS-3. Additionally, the concern is if it meets the requirements of RS-3. If it is a standard lot of 3125 you can do a 2812 sq foot house, but say they finished off the attic and it is now 3000 sq feet. Then you are not within the requirements of RS-3.
Second City Real Estate4.821 Reviews - 6yJ FolsomMember since 2020 · 3 posts · 0 votesOP
From what we are learning, is was a brick ranch SFH. Two owners ago, they added a 2nd floor upstairs "in law" suite and had it zoned for multi-unit. The block is RS3, and it is on an extra wide (35ft) lot. Current owners said they bought and just really had to remove the upstairs kitchen to make it a SFH.
- Attorney · Northbrook, IL · Member since 2017 · 719 posts · 549 votes6y
@Brie Schmidt Thanks for the mention.
@J Folsom Removing the kitchen doesn't make it a single family. Zoning will continue to classify the property as multi until a formal change is made. There are a few reasons to make the change like any negative effects the zoning could have on your appraisals and your real estate tax bill. However, there's also risk of going through the process of getting zoning changed and the city making you do significant alterations on the property. If the appraisal goes through without an issue, I might lean towards leaving it alone for now.
- Architect · Chicago, IL · Member since 2020 · 214 posts · 236 votes6y
The Zoning designation and the number of units do not necessarily coincide; especially in the City of Chicago.
@J Folsom If you want you can send me the property address and I can do a quick Zoning review of the property. I am a licensed Architect and do a lot of work in the City of Chicago as well as surrounding suburbs.
If your lot is RS3, that means that it is in fact "Single Family Zoning" according to the Chicago Zoning Ordinance
"17-2-0102 RS, Residential Single-Unit (Detached House) Districts. The primary purpose of the RS districts is to accommodate the development of detached houses on individual lots. It is intended that RS zoning be applied in areas where the land-use pattern is characterized predominately by detached houses on individual lots or where such a land use pattern is desired in the future. The Zoning Ordinance includes three RS districts – RS1, RS2 and RS3 – which are differentiated primarily on the basis of minimum lot area requirements and floor area ratios."
That being said, with RS3, you are allowed to have 1-unit per 2,500 sq.ft. of lot area. So if your lot is more than 5,000 sq.ft you are legally allowed to legally have more than one unit, but not required. I agree with @Brian Ploszay, based in the information you provided you shouldn't have any concerns. My only concern for you would be, as you mentioned before, that there was previously a 2nd unit in the building, and the fact that there doesn't appear to be any permits pulled on the property to remove it. That being said, with the address, we can look that up as well and see what work was done on the property with permits pulled. There's also the possibility that the previous 2nd unit, may never have been a legal unit, which is actually the more common issue at hand here in the City of Chicago, is that a home is Zoned for Single Family but has more than one unit. In those cases, some may be grandfathered in, while others may be required to remove the illegal unit. One easy, quick check is to see how many Water meters/services there are, or how many electrical panels there are. Those can be a good designation for having multiple legal units.
All of that being said, if you have a Single Family residence on a RS3 Zoned lot, you have no concerns for a legal/permitted use of the lot.
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