Vacant Property Legislation Part 1
During the Mayor’s Press conference on March 11th where he announced $100 million in ARPA funding for housing and announced components of his 30 day examination to address vacant properties, Congressman Mfume issued a direct charge to the Baltimore City Council He charged us with doing something about the vacants but specifically about the court system to expedite the filing and foreclosure of vacant and abandoned properties.
Luckily, the City Council has been working toward this goal since the last council. In 2019 SB509/HB557 sponsored by Senator Eckardt (Dorchester) and Delegate Holmes (Prince George’s) passed the General Assembly allowing for jurisdictions to use In Rem foreclosure to aquire vacant and abandoned properties. In 2020, the Baltimore City Council passed 20-0529 which established the In Rem tax sale foreclosure process in Baltimore City.
In Rem tax sale foreclosure allows for the City to remove a vacant and abandoned property with liens that exceed the value of the property from tax sale, and foreclose on the liens. The City then takes title of these properties and can utilize them for community development purposes working with communities. It is the best tool we have to eliminate blight through rehab or demolition, and today we are taking the next to expand the City’s capacity to utilize this tool.
During today's City Council meeting, I am introducing two of several pieces of legislation to address our vacant property crisis. This is based on the letter I sent to Mayor Scott during the 30 day examination. You can find that letter here. You can find the Mayor's recommendations here.
22-0207 increases the fine for not removing a vacant building notice (basically keeping the property vacant) to $1000, and each day is a separate violation. This will get the attention of the private owners who are paying taxes but sitting on the property, or will help stack the liens on a property to make it eligible for In Rem tax sale foreclosure.
22-0208 fixes the inconsistency between the City's law and the State's law for In Rem foreclosure allowing for more efficient filing of these cases in the courts.
In Rem is one of the several tools that the City has for addressing vacant and abandoned properties. It is something I worked on in my previous role with a large coalition of community development advocates, and I am thrilled to work with our city officials to ensure that the process works and that it becomes the most frequently used tool in our toolbox.