Source: https://development.code.dccouncil.us/dc/council/code/sections/42-3131.06.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 04:45:06+00:00

Document:
D.C. Law Library - § 42–3131.06. Registration of vacant buildings.
↪ Chapter 31A. Abatement of Nuisance Property.
↪ Subchapter II. Registration of Vacant Buildings.
↪ § 42–3131.06. Registration of vacant buildings.
§ 42–3131.05a. Notice by mail.
§ 42–3131.07. Registration and renewal procedure.
§ 42–3131.06. Registration of vacant buildings.
(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the owner of a vacant building shall maintain the building in compliance with the requirements of § 42-3131.12 and, within 30 days after it becomes a vacant building, register the building with the Mayor, and pay the registration fee. The Mayor, in his sole discretion, may extend the time for good cause.
(a-1)(1) After the initial designation of a property as vacant or blighted, the Mayor shall not be required to perform additional inspections or surveys to sustain that classification.
(2) After the Mayor has made a final determination that a building is a vacant building or blighted vacant building, that final designation shall remain in effect until the property owner submits information to the Mayor sufficient to warrant a change to that classification.
(a-2)(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, no person except the owner of record or an authorized agent of the owner of record, with proof of authorization from the owner of record, may register a building as vacant.
(B) The Mayor, upon a showing that the owner of record is physically unable to register the property, may allow a relative of the owner of record to register the building as vacant; provided, that the relative can show proof of being a relative and, to the satisfaction of the Mayor, that the owner of record is physically unable to register the property.
(2) This subsection shall not in any way limit the Mayor's authority to register as vacant or blighted any property whose owner fails to register it as required by this chapter.
(A) "Owner of record" means the person or persons named in the public record as the title holder of a real property.
(B) "Relative" means a spouse, domestic partner, sibling, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, or the sibling's child, spouse, or domestic partner.
(5)(A) Exempted by the Mayor in extraordinary circumstances and upon a showing of substantial undue economic hardship.
(B) The exemption may be granted for a period not to exceed 12 months from the required registration date, subject to renewal on the basis of continuing extraordinary circumstances and substantial undue economic hardship. The Mayor may withdraw the exemption at any time. Any exemption shall be published in the District of Columbia Register.
(9) Located on the Water Reed Redevelopment Site, for so long as the building and the land on which the building sits is subject to the ground lease to the Developer.
(c) If a vacant building is owned by the District of Columbia or its instrumentalities, it shall be subject to the registration requirements in subsection (a) of this section and the maintenance requirements in § 42-3131.12, but shall not be subject to the fee requirements under subsection (a) of this section or the fines and penalties collected under § 42-3131.10.
(d) If a present interest in a vacant building registered under this chapter is transferred or otherwise conveyed, a deed shall not be recorded by the Recorder of Deeds until a new registration is filed with the Mayor and the applicable fees and any unpaid taxes assessed against the property are paid.
(e) If the name or address of an owner of a vacant building changes for any reason other than by transfer or conveyance, the change shall be reported to the Mayor in writing within 30 days in the manner provided in § 42-405(b-1).
(f)(1) The cumulative time period for exemption from registration and fee requirements for a vacant building under the same, substantially similar, or related ownership shall not exceed 3 real property tax years.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subsection, any exemption shall be terminated at the end of the 2007 real property tax year if the building under the same, substantially similar, or related ownership benefited from an exemption under this section or under § 47-813(c-6) during 3 or more real property tax years.
(3) The limitations set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection shall not apply to vacant buildings that benefit from the exemption under subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section.
(4) A vacant building benefiting from an exemption under this section or § 47-813(c-6)(2)(C) or (c-6)(3)(C), on December 27, 2006, shall continue to benefit from the exemption and shall not be required to register or pay fees for the duration permitted under those provisions; provided, that the exemption shall not be valid after September 30, 2007; provided further, that the vacant building may qualify for an exemption in effect after December 28, 2006 and subject to the time restriction and exclusion set forth in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection.
(g) The total cumulative time for any exemption granted to any property shall not exceed 5 years in any 12-year period, excluding exemptions granted under subsections (b)(1) and (b)(2) of this section.
(h) The Mayor, pursuant to subchapter I of Chapter 5 of Title 2 [§ 2-501 et seq.], may issue rules to implement the provisions of this chapter. The rules may include a schedule of fines for violations of this chapter.
This section is referenced in § 42-3131.09, § 42-3131.10, § 42-3131.14, and § 47-813.
D.C. Law 16-23, in subsec. (b)(3), substituted “and if there is a valid building permit that was issued within 60 days of the required registration date;” for “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;”; and, in subsec. (b)(4), substituted “the owner or his agent has been actively seeking to rent or sell it;” for “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;”.
D.C. Law 17-216 rewrote the section.
D.C. Law 18-223 rewrote subsecs. (b) and (h).
Applicability of D.C. Law 22-254: § 5 of D.C. Law 22-254 provided that the change made to this section by § 2(a) of D.C. Law 22-254 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3(c) of Nuisance Properties Abatement Reform and Real Property Classification Emergency Amendment Act of 2006 (D.C. Act 16-586, December 28, 2006, 54 DCR 353).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3(c) of Nuisance Properties Abatement Reform and Real Property Classification Emergency Amendment Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-173, November 2, 2007, 54 DCR 11204).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3(c) of Nuisance Properties Abatement Reform and Real Property Classification Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2008 (D.C. Act 17-436, July 16, 2008, 55 DCR 8272).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2042(b) of Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2010 (D.C. Act 18-463, July 2, 2010, 57 DCR 6542).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 8 of the Walter Reed Development Omnibus Emergency Act of 2016 (D.C. Act 21-349, Mar. 23, 2016, 63 DCR 4628).
“(4) A vacant building benefitting from an exemption under this section or D.C. Official Code § 47-813(c-6)(2)(C) or (c-6)(3)(C), immediately preceding the effective date of the Nuisance Properties Abatement Reform and Real Property Classification Temporary Amendment Act of 2006, passed on 2nd reading on December 19, 2006 (Enrolled version of Bill 16-1036), shall continue to benefit from the exemption and shall not be required to register or pay fees for the duration permitted under those provisions; provided, that the exemption shall not be valid after September 30, 2007; provided further, that the vacant building may qualify for an exemption in effect after the effective date of the Nuisance Properties Abatement Reform and Real Property Classification Temporary Amendment Act of 2006, passed on 2nd reading on December 19, 2006 (Enrolled version of Bill 16-1036), and subject to the time restriction and exclusion set forth in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection.
“(5) For purposes of this subsection, ownership shall be related if a deduction for a loss from the sale or exchange of properties between taxpayers would be disallowed under section 267 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, approved August 16, 1954 (68A Stat. 78; 26 U.S.C. § 267); provided, that the exclusion under section 267(a)(1) for a loss in a distribution in a complete liquidation shall not apply.
“(f)(1) The cumulative time period for exemption from registration and fee requirements for a vacant building under the same, substantially similar, or related ownership shall not exceed 3 real property tax years.
“(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subsection, any exemption shall be terminated at the end of the 2007 real property tax year if the building under the same, substantially similar, or related ownership benefitted from an exemption under this section or under D.C. Official Code § 47-813(c-6) during 3 or more real property tax years.
“(3) The limitations set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection shall not apply to vacant buildings that benefit from the exemption under subsection (b)(1), (b)(2), or (b)(5) of this section.
“(4) A vacant building benefitting from an exemption under this section or D.C. Official Code § 47-813(c-6)(2)(C) or (c-6)(3)(C), immediately preceding March 8, 2007, shall continue to benefit from the exemption and shall not be required to register or pay fees for the duration permitted under those provisions; provided, that the exemption shall not be valid after September 30, 2007; provided further, that the vacant building may qualify for an exemption in effect after March 8, 2007, and subject to the time restriction and exclusion set forth in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection.
“(5) For the purposes of this subsection, ownership shall be related if a deduction for a loss from the sale or exchange of properties between taxpayers would be disallowed under section 267 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, approved August 16, 1954 (68A Stat. 78; 26 U.S.C. § 267); provided, that the exclusion under section 267(a)(1) for a loss in a distribution in a complete liquidation shall not apply.

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