Vacant City Houses Get Property Tax Break Meant For Owner-Occupied Homes

Sun analysis finds 465 vacants getting credits worth $325,000

Property tax breaks meant to encourage homeownership have been awarded to 465 vacant houses in Baltimore, depriving the city of uncollected revenue in a difficult budget year and calling into question past promises from city officials to crack down on tax scofflaws, a Baltimore Sun analysis has found.

Owners of the vacant homes received a total of $325,000 in tax breaks. That's enough money to run municipal swimming pools for more than two weeks, one of the many services that had been on the chopping block — stoking the ire of residents — as the city slashed its budget to address a $65 million shortfall. In the end, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake opened the pools on a staggered schedule to save money.

Thousands of vacant homes, a longtime scourge in the city, have contributed to creeping blight and sinking property values. To combat the problem, the city has levied fines against owners and tried many strategies to promote the rehabilitation of such properties. The fact that hundreds of those owners are getting undeserved tax breaks incenses homeowners and critics.

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