A new white paper by Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and Urban Institute assesses the effectiveness of New York State’s 2016 “Zombie Law” (also known as the Abandoned Property Neighborhood Relief Act) and LISC’s “Vacants Initiative”.

Included in the white paper:

To access the report, please click here.

Let’s Pull Together works with local faith-based organizations and major employers’ volunteer groups to enlist their help with homeowners in need with minor code compliance issues.

A similar program in Round Rock TX was the recipient of the 2021 American Association of Code Enforcement (AACE) Innovative Code Dept. Award

Vital resources, creative collaborations, excellent promotion/marketing.

A true “win-win solution”!

Engaging private sector, non-profits, faith based groups and any and all interested parties will surely deliver the most robust value for your constituents.

To learn more, please click here. 

One city in New York State has partnered with a drone company to conduct inspections of vacant properties.

“This cutting edge technology and data collection will allow the city to have a more complete picture of its vacant properties, and reduces the time, money, personnel, and risk that’s required on the city’s standpoint on vacant property inspection.”

For more information, please click on following links:

Media Article: click here.

City’s Press Release: click here

Update May 1, 2023
A recent hearing of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs discussed the idea of Pennsylvania’s “Whole-Home Repair” program being utilized across the country.
Testimony was provided by

For media coverage please click on the following link:
Fetterman wants Pennsylvania’s “Whole-Home Repair” program to go nation-wide
To view the video recording of the hearing, please click here.

 

 

“The Whole-Home Repairs Act (Senate Bill 1135) is a bipartisan bill that creates a one-stop shop for home repairs and weatherization while building out our workforce and creating new family-sustaining jobs in a growing field. The Whole-Home Repairs Act is the first bill of its kind in the nation, making it so that Pennsylvanians can stay warm, safe, and dry in homes they can afford.”

The “one-stop-shop” includes three main initiatives:

For more information, please click on the following link:
City & State Pennsylvania: “Hidey-ho neighbor: GOP backs Dems’ home improvement bill in bipartisan effort to fight blight”

A recent Massachusetts Municipal Association report focused on Holyoke’s Property Preservation Group, a working group started in 2015 comprised of professional employees who work for the City who issued their initial report.

“By putting away their separate binders and embracing interdepartmental collaboration and technology, Holyoke officials have cleaned up dozens of blighted and vacant buildings and helped give new life to properties around the city.”

To view the Massachusetts Municipal Association report, please click here.

To view the Press Release from Holyoke, including a link to the report, please click here.

May 20, 2025
Roanoke VA In a unanimous vote City Council approves an added tax for blighted and derelict properties.
“Blighted” means a property that is so dilapidated it poses a threat to the safety of the public. Those properties will face an added 5% tax.
A derelict building has the same definition, but in addition, the building has to be vacant, boarded up, and not connected to utilities for at least six months. Those will face an extra 10% tax.For more information, please click here

May 15, 2025
Steamboat Springs CO considers a vacancy tax. For more information, please click here

Boulder CO temporarily passes on considering a vacancy tax. For more information, please click here

April 17, 2025
California Senate Bill 789 may result in California becoming “the first state in the nation to impose a statewide tax on vacant commercial properties”.
Senate Bill 789 would impose a $5-per-square-foot annual tax on buildings that remain empty for 182 or more days, whether consecutive or nonconsecutive, in the calendar year”
For more information, please click here.
To view the current version of the proposed bill, please click here

November 2, 2025
A tax that would levy taxes on owners of buildings that were vacant 182 or more days in a tax year that was approved by San Francisco voters in November 2022, has been struck down by a judge.
Opponents argued that the measure violated their right to keep their property vacant and was an unconstitutional confiscation of their property.
For more information, please click here. (article behind paywall)

October 25, 2024
The Legislative Policy Division of the City off Detroit (LPD) has released a report regarding a proposed vacant house tax (VHT), similar to the recent passage of a VHT in one Canadian community.
To view the report, please click here.

October 22, 2024
Members of the Baltimore City Council voted to advance a proposal that would set a new, higher property tax rate on vacant and abandoned houses. If passed by the rest of the council, the special tax rate could take effect as early as July 2026. “The bill received unanimous co-sponsorship by every member of the council when it was introduced earlier this month, a rarity relative to most pieces of legislation that move through City Hall”.
To view the article, please click here.

April 17,2024
In a recent release, Maryland Association of Counties discusses their advocacy on HB 2 to apply statewide, instead of the original version that would have been strictly for Baltimore.
For more information, please click here.

April 10, 2024
From “north of the border”, comes a warning sign and potential lessons to learn. Headline says it all “Tens of thousands of Torontonians caught in bureaucratic nightmare due to vacant homes tax”
For more information, please click here.

April 9, 2024
In a guest Op-Ed, The Baltimore Sun advocates for the passage of HB 2 which would enable Baltimore City to implement a Vacancy Tax on these vacant structures and vacant lots.
For more information, please click here.

December 28th, 2023
In the beginning of 2023, San Francisco landlords filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of the Empty Homes Tax. On December 20, 2023, the San Francisco Superior Court ruled that the case would be allowed to proceed, even though the Empty Homes Tax has yet to be assessed or collected.
For more information, please click here.
To view a related article from the San Francisco Chronicle, please click here.

November 9th, 2023
The city of Davis CA is the latest community considering a new tax “to keep buildings from being left vacant”.
For more information, please click here. 

October 19th, 2023 Update
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a vacant home tax law. Owners of vacant homes will have to file and pay the tax starting April 30, 2025.
For more information, please click here.

May 19, 2023 Update
Honolulu officials are considering ways to boost city income and expand the pool of rental housing by raising the property taxes on homes that have been left vacant by their owners.
For more information, please click here.

April 25th Update
College Park, MD is looking at “raising taxes for…under-leased commercial properties, vacant housing, abandoned buildings and unused lots”
For more information, please click here.

March 12th Update
Sacramento is in the early stages of implementing a “tax on undeveloped land and vacant, blighted properties”
For more information, please click here.

February 10th Update
A group of San Francisco property owners have filed suit against the city and Tax Collector Jose Cisneros challenging the legality of Prop. M, a voter-approved ballot measure that would levy a tax on vacant residential properties.
For more information, please click here.

December 12th Update
Though already having a pricey property registry, Santa Ana, CA is considering a vacant property tax.
For more information, please click here.

December 5th Update
Vacant Property tax has been utilized in several areas in Canada. In a recent article, Vancouver’s program is featured showing a reduction in the number of vacant homes by 36%.
To view the article, please click here.

November 18th Update
Governing Magazine now reports Berkeley (in addition to previously reported San Francisco) have enacted their vacant property tax.
For more information, please click here.

November 14th Update
According to a new report from the The San Francisco Standard, Prop. M, the proposed vacant building tax will pass, according to new vote tallies released by the San Francisco Department of Elections. This tax “would apply to buildings with three or more units with some exceptions, like those in need of repairs”
For more information, please click on following link.
Vacant Homes Tax Passes, Fate of School Board Candidate Ann Hsu Uncertain

November 3rd Update
In the first instance outside of California (excluding international), Gunnison CO is now seeking to implement a vacant lot tax.
For more information, please click on following link:
City searches for method to deal with abandoned properties

October 6th Update
Pacific Grove is joining the list of communities investigating this initiative.
For more information, please click on following link:
Pacific Grove: City Council to discuss empty homes tax

August 23rd Update
Sacramento is joining the list of communities investigating this initiative.
For more information, please click on following link:
Could a vacancy tax help housing affordability in Sacramento?

Update  August 5th
According to a recent report, Napa is also moving forward with vacancy tax measure. West Hollywood and Los Angeles are also looking into this issue.
For more information, please click on following link:
Amid housing crisis, California cities look to target vacant homes with taxes

Update: July 28th, 2022

Four more California communities are now considering a similar initiative.
For an article discussing Berkeley, please click here.
For an article discussing Half Moon Bay, please click here.
For an article discussing Carmel and Monterrey (and Santa Cruz), please click here.

Update: June 22nd 2022

Two more California communities are now considering a similar initiative. For more information on the approach of Santa Cruz, CA and Capitola, CA, please click here.

Two California communities are looking at implementing a “vacant property tax”

Under consideration in the Washington Senate is SB 5825.If enacted would, require the department of commerce to convene a work group to make recommendations on the creation of a statewide rental and vacant property registration program for the purpose of inventorying both tenant-occupied and potentially available rental housing.
Last action (3/10) By resolution, returned to Senate Rules Committee for third reading.
For more information, please click here.

On January 11, 2022 HB 729 was introduced. If enacted, it would allow “cities and certain towns to require annual registration by the owners of buildings that have been vacant for a continuous period of 12 months or more and that may endanger the public health, safety, or welfare. Under current law, buildings must meet a specific definition of “derelict building” before their owners can be required to register by these localities.“
Last action (2/15/2022) “Left in Counties, Cities and Towns”
To view the text of the proposed legislation, please click here.

The Neighborhood Protection Act was introduced on Feb. 9. It would “require owners of vacant properties to file full contact information with their county auditor’s office. It would apply to residential and commercial properties”
Interesting that Dayton (one of the areas referenced in below article) and over 100 other Ohio communities have their own registry, several for many years.
For more information, please click here.
To access the Bill text, please click here.

More of the same? Or something new?

Following the tragic death of 3 firefighters at a vacant property, Baltimore officials promised a new plan to address abandonment and blight. Commenting on the initial announcement from Mayor Scott, an Op-Ed in the Baltimore Sun questioned the approach.  Now councilmembers are proposing new legislation. But questions need to be asked? Was a thorough review conducted of previous approaches that were tried and failed? Were national experts consulted? From all sectors, public, private, non-profit, academia….?
For example.

Creative, new and non-traditional approaches and partnerships are needed to deliver the needed results to not just Baltimore, but all communities across the country.

To view the Baltimore Sun Op-ed, please click here.

To view a TV report on the Council’s new legislative proposals, please click here.