Municipal Responses to Vacant Properties in the United States (original) (raw)
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Vacant Property Registration Ordinances
39 Real Estate Law Journal 6, 2010
The many cost to local governments associated with high levels of unoccupied buildings is an overlooked consequence of the foreclosure crisis. In response to the risk of these buildings deteriorating, an increasing number of local governments are enacting vacant property registration ordinances. These ordinances seek to discourage vacancy, maintain unoccupied buildings to an acceptable community standard, keep a database of contact information of the parties responsible for unoccupied buildings, or any combination of these goals. This article analyzes the prevalence of the two primary types of ordinances: ordinances based on length of vacancy or on foreclosure status. It also discusses emerging trends and the legal foundation for enforcement of these ordinances. Finally, the article concludes that local governments aiming for successful registration programs should tailor their ordinances to local needs and support vigorous code enforcement. In addition to this conclusion, this article sets out recommendations regarding local government involvement with the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, state-wide registration ordinances, and federal vacant property support.
Addressing the Vacant and Abandoned Property Problem
Journal of Urban Affairs, 2000
Vacant and abandoned property is increasingly recognized as a significant barrier to the revitalization of central cities. This study sheds some light on the nature of the property abandonment problem and on current city efforts to address it. It is based upon the findings of a survey of the 200 most populous central cities in the United States, conducted during the summer and fall of 1997, and on follow-up interviews with a portion of the survey population, conducted during the summer of 1998. The findings of the survey and interviews indicate that vacant and abandoned property is perceived as a significant problem by elected and appointed officials in the nation's largest central cities. This type of property affects many aspects of community life, including housing and neighborhood vitality, crime prevention efforts, and commercial district vitality. Single-and multi-family housing, retail properties and vacant land are the most problematic types of vacant and abandoned property for most cities. Cities use a variety of techniques to address this problem, including aggressive code enforcement, tax foreclosure, eminent domain, and cosmetic improvements. One-third of the cities surveyed use a variety of other innovative tools to combat the vacant and abandoned property problem. Nevertheless, current efforts to combat the problem suffer from a number of shortcomings that are described in the article.
Regional Studies, 2018
Thispaperprovidesadetailedaccountoftheauthor'sefforts,inarapidlyagingruralJapanese communityofapproximately700householdsand1200persons,toidentifyvacanthomes,tofind theirowners,toreceiveapprovalfromtheirownersfortheirrentalorsale,tocleanandrestore saidhomesandultimatelytofindsuitableoccupantsforthem.Duringthe2017calendaryear some forty potential homes were identified and the owners of seven of these homes were approachedwithvaryinglevelsofsuccess.Asaresultoftheseefforts,oneofthesevenhomes isnowoccupiedbyayoungmanwhohasmovedintothecommunity.
Sustainability, 2016
With the decrease in the demand for large-scale apartments as a result of an aging society and a decrease in population, there has been an increase in vacant houses due to a supply that exceeds the projected demands. As a method of urban regeneration in rural areas and activation of citizen communities, the utilization of vacant houses has become one of the ways to promote a new lifestyle, active movement for citizen participation, and business model for long-term revitalization. This study aims to uncover and examine the major causes and factors behind the upswing in vacant houses. We investigated the current state of vacant houses, the recent policies concerning them, and the types of vacant houses in Korea's Gyeonggi province. We then categorized and analyzed the causes of houses being vacant, their types, and the methods of utilizing them under different local conditions in order to understand the efficient processes and strategies for their utilization. The results showed that an excess of building construction (especially recent construction permits), the number of recipients of the national basic livelihood scheme, and the number of elderly people showed the strongest correlation with vacant houses.
Federalism and Municipal Innovation: Lessons from the Fight Against Vacant Properties
Cities possess a far greater ability to be trailblazers on a national scale than local officials may imagine. Realizing this, city advocates continue to call for renewed recognition by state and federal officials of the benefits of creative local problem-solving. The goal is admirable but warrants caution. The key to successful local initiatives lies not in woolgathering about cooperation with other levels of government but in identifying potential conflicts and using hard work and political savvy to build constituencies and head off objections. To demonstrate that point, this Article examines the legal status of local governments and recent efforts to regulate vacant property through land banking and registration ordinances.
DEFINITION OF 'ABANDONED HOUSING PROJECT': A LEGAL ANALYSIS
Malayan Law Journal , 2007
Abandoned housing projects are pathetic phenomena occurring in housing industry in Malaysia. Even though, housing industry has developed and permeated throughout the nation since Independence day, negative phenomenon that is kept recurring, is abandoned housing projects. As a result, considerable housing projects have been identified as being abandoned and have shuddered to a halt. Likewise, additional costs are required to complete the outstanding and remaining constructions of the abandoned housing units. Though housing, planning and construction laws and regulations have been passed by Parliament with the purpose of controlling and regulating the housing development industry in Malaysia, it is regretted that, this catastrophe — the abandoned housing projects are still common and persisting until today. The objective of this paper is to accentuate and discuss the meaning and definition of abandoned housing project, insofar as the situations in Peninsular Malaysia is concerned. The definition which would be mainly highlighted and legally analyzed would that of the Division of Enforcement and Supervision, Ministry of Housing and Local Government (‘MOH’).
Vacant houses in Denmark: Problems, localization and initiatives
2017
Vacant houses have become an international phenomenon, which in many countries has called for political intervention. However, housing vacancy is very differently distributed across housing types and regions, and the degree to which the vacancy is defined as a problem varies across countries, therefore the issue has called for various political responses. This paper presents a case of vacant single-family houses in Denmark, which has become a central political issue in recent years. The vacancy is closely related to an increasing urbanization, and a changing demography in peripheral areas, especially in smaller towns and villages. Since 2010 various national programs for addressing this issue was launched. The paper discuss how municipalities within these programs address strategical and operational issues, including identification of vacant houses, negotiations with owners, financing the demolition and the subsequent use of the plot. From this, central challenges for managing vacan...