September 27, 2007
Vacant Property Owners Could Face Higher Taxes
Amid growing, vocal frustration over dilapidated, abandoned buildings on the part of residents in neighborhoods like Shaw and Petworth, a D.C. Council committee approved a measure to double the tax rate on abandoned properties. As the Examiner notes, the move could generate millions in additional revenue while at the same time serve as an incentive for land owners to either renovate and develop their properties or sell to someone who will.
The measure, introduced as an amendment to a bill that's designed to consolidate vacant property enforcement under a single agency by Council member Kwame Brown (D-At-large), will increase the tax rate on Class 3 property from $5 per $100 of assessed value to $10 per $100.
Will it work? The Examiner cites a 1998 study by the D.C. Tax Revision Commission that suggests it might not. Considering the length of time many of these properties have been abandoned by their owners, it doesn't seem like this increase would necessarily give a speculator enough of an incentive to develop their buildings.
Former DCist editor Rob Goodspeed recently compiled a survey on his own blog of abandoned property on 9th St. NW, and explained how vacant buildings are classified as Class 3.
Photo by stgermh
The laws regulating the registration and taxation of vacant property are governed by DC ST § 42-3131.05-15 of the DC Code, which reads in part:(b) A vacant building shall not be subject to the registration and fee requirements if it is:
(1) Owned by the government of the United States or its instrumentalities;
(2) Owned by a foreign government or its instrumentalities;
(3) Under construction or undergoing rehabilitation, renovation, or repair, and if there is a valid building permit that was issued within 60 days of the required registration date; provided, that the scope of the permit is not limited to electrical or plumbing work; provided further, that this exemption shall not exceed one year from the date of issuance of the first building permit for rehabilitation, renovation or repair;
(4) In compliance with the requirements of § 42-3131.12 and the housing regulations of the District of Columbia and the owner or his agent has been actively seeking to rent or sell it; provided, that the time period for sale or rent shall not exceed one year from the initial listing, offer, or advertisement of sale, or 90 days from the initial listing, offer, or advertisement to rent; or
(5) Exempted by the Mayor, in his or her sole discretion, for good cause.
Mayor Fenty, it can be said, hasn't been one to dole out exemptions, instead pushing the DCRA to force some owners to complete repairs or face a lien. Still, some are calling for stronger measures than just a doubling of property taxes, and that a thorough, accurate database with up-to-date assessments of the status of such properties should be a higher priority to assist with the enforcement of existing laws.
The bill will still need to pass through the finance and revenue committee before it can be considered by the full Council.
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Well, it certainly can't hurt. Maybe it won't incentivize them to develop the property, but it might be sufficient incentive to sell.
Meh. Shiloh will still sit on its properties rather than let newcomers have them. Make the tax $50 per $100 assessed value, then we'll talk.
And by "newcomers" I mean "whitey."
Of course it doesnt work! Most of these dumps arent taxed at the class 3 rate so the threat of higher taxes is empty. OTR sucks at this.
Shiloh will just tithe more rather than sell or renovate. And parishioners will give and give.
Given the fact they they're all in violation of code in one way or another, why can't the city just figure out a way to seize them outright and auction them?
Perhaps this will be enough incentive to get DC to update the books. I live next to an obviously vacant property that they still haven't added to the rolls. It's frustrating to think that it's been there, empty and rotting, for a decade and they've been paying resident taxes. Infuriating!
Shaw Shaw Shaw Shaw Shaw Shaw Shaw Shaw Shaw Shaw.
Enough.
Shiloh gives churches a bad name in everything from this issue to double parking.
Talk about a church that has lost touch with the community cause it doesn't serve the community it is actually in. The people that go there live in MD or VA and the head of the church doesn't even live in DC. Classic!
BostonRay: Give them one year to either clean them up or seize them for auction. If you can falsely claim second hand smoke is a "danger" and seize private open and used property so easily than a real 'public health and safety' risk should be easy pick'ins.
Researchers say: A telephone poll strongly proves that 85% of the public strongly favors a ban on abandoned housing. See it's easy!
Separate legislation is pending that would also tighten or get rid of a number of the exemptions that keep vacant buildings out of Class 3 as well.
http://www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us/images/00001/20070207160603.pdf
Slap a For Sale sign on your eyesore of a property and you have nothing to worry about...you can leave your building abandoned for 10...20 years...or more and DC won't do anything about it...doubling the feeble tax rate will do zippo...
Inept doesn't even begin to describe DC's response to this problem...
And as for Shiloh, there's a special place for them...
I've never really understood the mindset of vacant property owners. With increased real estate values in DC over past 8 years, wouldn't the market provide an easy out for unutilized long held properties. Are these people holding out for a bigger pay off? Waiting for the market to outpace unaffordable tax liens, which will be even harder to afford with stepped up enforcement? Is the title history of these properties even clear to the relevant governing agencies?
If I'm sitting on a pile of crap and someone else is interested, I'm not gonna hold out too long to extract the maximum profit.
how does a lay person check on abandoned properties in one's neighborhood, to see whether they are being taxed appropriately as such?
p.s. and while i do not live in or near Shaw, THANK YOU for your posts regarding what is happening in the neighborhood. "Shaw" issues, if not city-wide issues already, are usually en route to becoming District issues. one might argue it is a not a laboratory for DC.
DC1 is assuming that people are rational. Churches mostly are not close to being rational, especially baptist ones.
Guest14:
Ouch. True though.
I heard that at Shiloh, they sacrifice live infants at the altar every Sunday. Not as horrific as the double parking, but still. Has anyone mentioned that no one who attends the church lives in the neighborhood or DC (they could be driving in from timbuktu for all we know!)? Monsters all of them!
guest 7 is right on, re Shiloh. Shiloh goes out of its weigh to antagonize its neighbors and make the neighborhood worse. further on guest 7's point, EIGHTY PERCENT of Shiloh's parishioners do not even live in DC, let alone the neighborhood.
talk about churches 'gone bad'....
Shiloh Baptist is not the only vacant property owner in the city. It's a persistent problem in other neighborhoods, and the owner demographics are likely more varied than this isolated case.
Most property owners with a vested financial interest are presumably rational actors in matters concerning their bottom line. Maybe the old tax policy was just too lenient on absentee/neglectful owners to serve as a disincentive for inaction.
"how does a lay person check on abandoned properties in one's neighborhood, to see whether they are being taxed appropriately as such?
[12] Posted by: Invisible Sun | September 27, 2007 4:12 PM"
Google.com -> copy and paste "DC Vacant Properties" -> "I'm Feeling Lucky" -> Your Answer