Roanoke, VA Local Taxes & Fees: Vacancy Tax (2026)

Roanoke does not levy a real estate vacancy tax; the closest local instrument is the vacant building registration program in Article IV of Chapter 7. Under § 7-49, on or before April 1 of each year, the owner, managing agent, or an authorized representative must register with the codes compliance administrator, on forms the code enforcement division develops, the address of any building that has been vacant for a continuous 12 months or more and meets the code's definition of 'derelict building': a residential or nonresidential structure that has been vacant, boarded up or secured under the building code, and disconnected from electric service or required water or sewer service, for more than six continuous months, in a way that might endanger public health, safety or welfare. Every owner who files pays an annual $100 registration fee to defray the city's processing cost.

Section 7-50 sets the penalty structure for missing the April 1 deadline: a flat $200 civil penalty for an unregistered vacant building generally, rising to as much as $400 per building if the property sits in a conservation and rehabilitation district or has been designated blighted under Va. Code § 36-49.1:1. Before assessing any civil penalty, § 7-51 requires the code enforcement division to mail written notice to the address where the owner's property tax bills are sent at least 30 days before the penalty takes effect, giving the owner time to register or contest the finding. The registration program is administered separately from, but coordinates with, the city's Article V derelict building program, which can require an owner to submit a demolition or renovation plan for the same property.