tl;dr
- Our neighborhood remains full of areas where the only capacity to build is single-family homes
- Many homes have reached end-of-life and require, at minimum, a full replacement of the pipes, wires, and walls
- Without the capacity to build additional homes, the likely action is rebuilding as larger single-family homes
- We have a few (maybe insufficient) methods to mitigate this lower market return and push owners/developers towards delivering occupiable homes
- Awareness and scrutiny are key to employing those methods
Vacant/Blighted Property Tax
DC OTR charges a different property tax rate depending on property use and condition categories determined by DC DOB. Here are the current property tax rates that would apply to a single-family home:
| type | rate | description |
|---|---|---|
| Homestead/Senior/ Disabled/Veteran | 0% on first $84k, $445k, or half of assessed value | This is property tax relief available to DC residents who occupy the subject property as their primary residence; see the link for more details |
| Standard/”Class 1” | .85% | This is the standard DC residential property tax rate (and would apply to the remaining value in the relief case above) |
| Vacant/”Class 3” | 5% | This is a property that is not occupied and not actively being prepared or offered for use |
| Blighted/”Class 4” | 10% | This is a property that is not only vacant, but an active safety/health hazard |
Inventory of these cases
If you’re aware of any vacant houses not cataloged here, please let me know. If you believe one of these is now occupied, please let me know so I can remove it. This isn’t meant for areas that are eligible for mixed-use/multifamily construction; see the Development Tracker for those.
| address | status | timeline | other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 2425 Girard Pl NE |
Blighted | 12/11/20: last sold ($530k) 10/20/2022: last dated permit issued in Scout tracker late April 2023: Property was partially razed, poorly secured, likely not properly permitted 6/8/2023: DOB abated excessive vegetation, trash, and debris 6/26/2023: A stop-work notice was posted |
property has a side yard on an adjacent lot that may also warrant Blighted classification, adjacent lot has a roadway curb cut that should be sealed |
| 2809 26th St NE | Blighted | 8/20/19: last sold ($333k) 3/21/20-6/12/20: listed for sale and for rent and removed 9/3/2022-present: listed for sale ($895k) |
|
| 3002 24th St NE | 10/9/18: last sold ($440.5k) | ||
| 1724 Franklin St NE | August 2023: Abatement in progress | ||
| 2810 18th St NE | May 2022: listed for sale ($595k) and removed November 2022: listed for sale ($575k) and removed |
