Skip to main content

City of Chicago Water Certification

Effective January 1, 2012, it will now be necessary to obtain a City of Chicago Water Department certificate of full payment of water and sewer charges prior to recording any deed of conveyance, including conveyances that are exempt from the transfer tax stamps requirement.   In other words, (1) the usual procedure for obtaining a water cert applies when the conveyance is a taxable transfer, and (2) the City is now requiring a certificate of full payment on conveyances otherwise exempt from transfer tax.  The only good news is the City will not charge the $50 fee when the transfer is exempt from transfer tax.