A reality TV show that transforms Chicago fixer-uppers into million-dollar homes garnered complaints from residents and multiple stop-work orders and now the show’s developers could lose their license to do work in the city.
“Windy City Rehab” hosts Alison Victoria and Donovan Eckhardt were notified by the Chicago Department of Buildings that the pair can no longer pull new permits to work in Chicago and Eckhardt was hit with a suspension of his construction license, although he is appealing that decision.
In March 2019, the Sun-Times documented how complaints had poured in from residents upset about trash, noise and unsecured work sites — and how the older homes rehabbed by the show have changed the character of neighborhoods.
The show’s developers have been hit with stop-work orders by the buildings department for doing construction without permits, among other problems.
In January 2020, the Sun-Times reported that the buyers of a Lincoln Square home the duo had flipped were filing suit, alleging the property was plagued by leaks and shoddy work. In communications with the homeowners that were included with the lawsuit, Victoria distanced herself from Eckhardt, saying she did not want him “to f--- with my life or business any more than he already has.”
