Detroit imposes no vacancy tax on empty homes or commercial buildings. The Detroit Land Bank Authority instead acquires tax-foreclosed vacant properties and recycles them through auction, side-lot, and rehab programs.
Unlike Vancouver, San Francisco, or recent California ballot proposals, Detroit imposes no vacancy tax on residential or commercial vacancies. Michigan's General Property Tax Act, MCL 211.1 et seq., does not authorize a vacancy surcharge. Instead, Detroit confronts vacancy through the Detroit Land Bank Authority created under PA 258 of 2003 and DLBA agreements with Wayne County. After the 2013 bankruptcy, DLBA acquired tens of thousands of blighted parcels via tax foreclosure. Tools include auctions, the Side Lot Program for adjacent neighbors at $100, rehab incentives, and demolition coordination. Owners of blighted property face nuisance abatement and tax foreclosure rather than vacancy taxes.
Property owners do not face a vacancy tax but may incur Detroit blight tickets up to $10,000 per Code violation, demolition liens, and tax foreclosure leading to DLBA acquisition after three years of unpaid property taxes.
Detroit, MI
Detroit aggressively enforces property blight ordinances through BSEED and the Detroit Land Bank Authority. The city's blight elimination program is one of t...
Detroit, MI
Detroit has extensive vacant lot regulations due to its large inventory of vacant land. Owners of vacant lots must maintain them free of debris, overgrowth, ...
See how Detroit's vacancy tax rules stack up against other locations.
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