Using Vacant Property Registration Fee Ordinances to Fix Blight

Planners get involved with foreclosure by assisting residents threatened with foreclosure or addressing community impacts such as blight, vacancy, and property disinvestment. A look at vacant property fees as a tool for dealing with foreclosure.

1 minute read

August 28, 2015, 2:00 PM PDT

By CHorose


"Foreclosure" has become more common in planning conversations since the Great Recession. Two ways that planners tend to get involved is with assisting residents facing the threat of foreclosure, and addressing various community impacts, such as blight, vacancy, and property disinvestment.

Tools for addressing the community impacts of foreclosure include housing counseling services, digital property mapping (like Detroit's), and vacant property registration fees.

Nationwide, there are over 1,500 communities enforcing vacant property registration fee ordinances, but the efficacy of these ordinances is mixed. Many smaller municipalities struggle to allocate adequate staff time to maintain property databases, resulting in spotty fee collection. On the other hand, communities that have been diligent with collecting fees find that the most negligent property owners skirt fees and penalties.

The Maine Association of Planners looks at the success of vacant property fees in Maine municipalities.

Thursday, July 16, 2015 in Maine Association of Planners

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 25, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Person wearing mask walking through temporary outdoor dining setup lined with bistro lights at dusk in New York City.

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?

Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

June 19, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Western U.S. indicating public lands that would be for sale under a Senate plan in yellow and green.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands

For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

June 19, 2025 - Outdoor Life

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1 - Honolulu Civil Beat

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1 - KQED

Tents inhabited by unhoused people lined up on sidewalk in Los Angeles, California in front of industrial building.

California Homeless Arrests, Citations Spike After Ruling

An investigation reveals that anti-homeless actions increased up to 500% after Grants Pass v. Johnson — even in cities claiming no policy change.

July 1 - Times of San Diego

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.