In Chicago, 61% of the residential renovation permits issued in 2022 now read “Expired.” In Los Angeles only 3% do, but another 17% still read “Issued” almost four years later, with no final inspection recorded. By project type, window and door jobs lead both cities: 30% of Los Angeles window and door permits have no final, and 77% of Chicago’s (a small group of 56) have expired.
We used permits issued in 2022, the same year as our Austin and Seattle analysis of expired permits by project, so every permit has had close to four years to reach a final. Statuses are as of October 24, 2026.
Los Angeles: one in five 2022 home permits has no final
LADBS issued 27,665 alteration and repair permits on one- and two-family homes in 2022. Today 19,540 (71%) read “Permit Finaled” and 2,307 (8%) “CofO Issued.” Another 4,653 (17%) still read “Issued” and 866 (3%) read “Permit Expired.” In this data, most Los Angeles permits without a final still carry the “Issued” label, so we count both labels as “no final.”
Grouped by the first matching keyword in the work description (groups with at least 100 permits):
| Project type | Permits, 2022 | Still “Issued” | “Permit Expired” | No final (both) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows or doors | 3,463 | 22% | 7% | 30% |
| Kitchen or bath | 3,557 | 19% | 4% | 23% |
| Roof | 8,812 | 19% | 2% | 22% |
| Addition | 161 | 19% | 3% | 22% |
| Deck, patio or porch | 644 | 16% | 2% | 19% |
| Garage | 839 | 13% | 3% | 15% |
| Interior remodel | 507 | 14% | 2% | 15% |
| Accessory dwelling unit | 3,060 | 13% | 2% | 15% |
| Foundation or seismic retrofit | 2,441 | 8% | 2% | 10% |
How the permit was issued matters as much as the job. Express Permits, which LADBS issues without plan check, made up 17,552 of the 27,665, and 24% of them have no final. Permits that went through plan check at the counter have no final at a rate of 12%, and regular plan check 15%. Our Los Angeles permit search guide shows the same pattern for 2023–2024 permits and explains where to read the inspection history.
Chicago: “Expired” is the most common status for 2022 renovation permits
Chicago issued 7,756 renovation and alteration permits in 2022. We kept the 2,262 whose description names a single-family house, a flat, a condo unit or a dwelling. Of those, 1,389 (61%) now read “Expired” and 663 (29%) read “Complete.” Almost all of the expired permits (1,358, or 98%) list “Inspections” as their last milestone, so they had reached the inspection stage before the permit ran out.
| Project type | Permits, 2022 | Now “Expired” | Now “Complete” |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows or doors | 56 | 77% | 23% |
| Accessory or coach house unit | 73 | 67% | 19% |
| Addition | 54 | 67% | 28% |
| Basement | 430 | 64% | 27% |
| Garage | 259 | 63% | 25% |
| Deck, porch or balcony | 685 | 61% | 31% |
| Interior remodel | 374 | 58% | 29% |
| Kitchen or bath | 126 | 58% | 36% |
The review path made little difference: 63% of self-certified projects and 61% of projects through standard plan review have expired. Porch and basement work account for the most expired permits by count, 419 and 275. Our Chicago permit search guide covers 2023–2024 renovation permits, where Expired already outnumbers Complete for those issued in 2023.
How to read an unfinished renovation permit in each city
- Los Angeles: look for “Permit Finaled” or a certificate of occupancy. A 2022 permit that still reads “Issued” has no final on record. The LADBS Permit and Inspection Report lists which inspections passed.
- Chicago: “Complete” means the permit closed; “Expired” means its time ran out, often after some inspections. Building Permit and Inspection Records shows the inspections on each permit.
Checklist before buying a house with a 2022-era renovation permit
- List every renovation permit on the address with its project description and current status.
- For each one without a final, open the inspection list and note the last inspection that passed.
- Match the description to the house: windows, a porch, a basement unit. Work you can see without a final on record is the item to ask about.
- Ask who will renew the permit or file a new one, and whether the work must be opened up for inspection.
- Paste the permit rows into our permit status decoder to sort statuses quickly, and see how to find open permits on a house for the inspection side.
Re-roof permits in Los Angeles follow the same pattern: 20.8% of those issued in 2022–24 never reached “Permit Finaled.” Our roof permit comparison with Miami-Dade breaks them down.
Counts are our calculations from LA Open Data, Building Permits Issued from 2020 to Present (permit type Bldg-Alter/Repair, 1 or 2 Family Dwelling) and Chicago Building Permits (permit type Renovation/Alteration), pulled October 24, 2026. Keyword groups use a fixed list order, so a permit that names several jobs counts once. The Chicago residential filter relies on words in the description and leaves out home permits that don’t use them. More analyses are on our permit data page.