Baltimore City Council approves bill to hike property tax rate on vacant homes

The Baltimore City Council unanimously approved a bill Monday night that would hike the property tax rate on vacant homes.

The bill would triple the property tax rate on vacant homes on July 1, 2026. A year later, on July 1, 2027, the tax rate on the vacant homes would increase from three to four times the normal rate.

“This puts Baltimore in a different perspective of dealing with the vacancy that we’ve seen throughout East and West Baltimore for decades upon decades upon decades,” City Council President Nick Mosby said after the vote.

The rate would expire in 2029, and the bill which was sponsored by Mosby and all 14 council members, is awaiting Mayor Brandon Scott’s signature.

In a West Baltimore church last month, state housing Secretary Jacob Day pledged $1 billion over the next 15 years to the effort to acquire vacant homes. Mayor Brandon Scott has said the 15-year effort will take $3 billion.

The city has around 13,000 vacant homes, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore set a goal last month of transitioning at least 5,000 vacant properties into homeownership or other positive outcomes during the next five years.

Contact Dillon Mullan at [email protected], 302-842-3818 or @DillonMullan on X.