DC taxes vacant buildings at 5% and blighted buildings at 10%, which is 6× to 12× the normal residential rate. We do the DOB work to restore the occupied classification: violations closed, occupancy verified, the vacant designation removed. Your tax bill drops dramatically. Most clients save $15,000–$50,000 every year they own the property.
Free initial review. No savings, no fee.
You've probably seen the bright green DOB notice. Here's its lifecycle, and what we do about it.
DOB has it in Class 3 (vacant, 5%) or Class 4 (blighted, 10%). That's 6× to 12× the normal residential rate. On a $500,000 building you're paying $25,000–$50,000 a year in property tax instead of about $4,250.
We do the DOB work end-to-end: close the violations, document the occupancy, file the petition that removes the vacant designation, and confirm with the Office of Tax and Revenue that you're reclassified to Class 1 (occupied).
Class 1 is about $0.85 per $100 of assessed value, vs $5 (vacant) or $10 (blighted). Same building. Same address. Most clients save $15,000–$50,000 every year they own the property.
Advice is the easy part. We do the paperwork itself, end to end, until DOB and OTR confirm your property is back in Class 1.
Within 24 hours we pull your full Department of Buildings file: current classification, every open violation, Vacant Building Registration history, and inspection record. You see exactly what's keeping you classified vacant.
We sequence the violation cures with licensed contractors, document occupancy (active utilities, lease, or owner-occupant), schedule re-inspection, and confirm each closure in DOB's system in writing. If a temporary exemption fits better, we file that instead.
We petition DOB to remove the vacant designation, then file the formal classification change with the Office of Tax and Revenue. We confirm the new Class 1 rate posts to your tax bill.
Class 3 is $5.00 per $100 of assessed value. Class 1 is roughly $0.85. Same building, very different bill. D.C. Code §47-813(d-1).
Most owners we work with save $15k–$50k a year. Class 4 (blighted) is 2× that.
The vacant-building rules are designed to push owners to act. With the right paperwork in the right order, you can get out from under them.
DOB keeps assessing the punitive vacant or blighted rate every year. You want it back to Class 1 (~0.85%). We build the case and file it under D.C. Code §47-813.
Every exemption (active sale, active rent, active permit, probate, fire) has specific documentation the Department of Buildings wants. We fix what was missing and refile.
You can’t get reclassified while DOB violations are open. We map every violation, sequence the cures with licensed contractors, and confirm closures with the inspector.
Annual VBR fees under D.C. Code §42-3131.05, missed renewals, registration disputes. We get the registration current, or removed once the building no longer qualifies as vacant.
DOB scheduled a status review hearing or your appeal is pending. We prepare the file, write the brief, and represent you through it.
Out-of-state heir, probate in progress, no idea what DC is charging or why. We do the full DOB / OTR audit and lay out your options.
When DCRA was split in 2022, vacant-building inspections, designations, and the Vacant Building Registration program all moved to the new Department of Buildings (DOB). DOB decides if your property is Class 3 or Class 4 under D.C. Code §47-813. DOB decides whether your exemption holds. DOB's inspector signs off (or doesn't) when violations get cured. Knowing how that office actually moves is the difference between a clean reclassification and another year of $25k tax bills.
Fixing the problem in real life isn't enough. Every one of these has to show as closed in DOB's system before reclassification will move. We confirm closures in writing.
Representative scenarios across the three most common situations we see. Numbers based on the actual DC tax rate × property assessment; details anonymized.
Owner inherited a 3-bedroom row home in Ward 5. Sat on Class 3 for two years while probate dragged. No permit, no listing.
Filed pending-probate exemption with court documentation, then transitioned to active-permit exemption once rehab broke ground.
DOB blighted designation with three open violations. Owner had been ignoring notices for 18 months.
Sequenced the violation cures with our licensed contractor network, photo-documented each, then filed for declassification and active-for-sale exemption in parallel.
Out-of-state heir never registered the property. Vacant Building Registration fees plus Class 3 stacking. No idea any of it was happening.
Brought VBR current, disputed back-fees where DOB had missed deadlines, then filed active-permit exemption once rehab plans were drawn.
Send the address. We'll pull your DOB record and email back what it would take to get you reclassified. No fee for the review.
Send the address. Within 24 hours we pull your DOB record, current tax class, open violations, and Vacant Building Registration history.
A clear plan: which exemption you qualify for under D.C. Code §47-813, which violations must close first, and the realistic timeline back to Class 1.
We file the exemption, manage the DOB inspector relationship, hit every deadline, and appear at the status review hearing. You sign and review.
Our fee is 35% of your first-year tax savings, paid only when the new Class 1 rate posts to your bill. The $1,500 retainer that starts the work is credited toward that fee, and refunded in full if we fail. You never pay more than 35% of what we save you.
We pull your DOB record and tell you what it'll take to get the property reclassified. No fee. No obligation. No hard sell if it's not a fit.
$1,500 to engage us and start the work: DOB audit, violation cures, occupancy documentation, petition prep. It's a deposit: credited toward the success fee on success, refunded in full if reclassification fails.
When the new Class 1 rate posts to your tax bill, our fee is 35% of your first-year tax savings, with the $1,500 retainer counted toward it, so 35% is all you ever pay. After year one, the full savings are yours for every year you own the property.
If we cannot get your property reclassified out of Class 3 or Class 4, the $1,500 retainer is refunded in full and you owe nothing. If we succeed, the retainer counts toward the 35% success fee, so you never pay more than 35% of what we save you. We engage in writing before any work begins, and these terms are part of every engagement letter.
Quick answers on DC's vacant and blighted property tax program, DOB, and how we work.
Class 3 is the District's tax classification for residential property designated vacant by the Department of Buildings (DOB). The rate is $5.00 per $100 of assessed value under D.C. Code §47-813(d-1), roughly 6× the Class 1 residential rate of $0.85.
Class 4 is the District's tax classification for property designated blighted by DOB. The rate is $10.00 per $100 of assessed value under D.C. Code §47-813(d-2), roughly 12× the Class 1 rate.
DOB is the agency that took over building inspection, vacant-building designation, and code enforcement when DCRA was split in 2022. DOB issues vacant and blighted designations, conducts inspections, manages the Vacant Building Registration program, and runs status-review hearings.
Two paths: qualify for a statutory exemption (active permit, active sale, active rent, probate, fire damage, etc.) or return the building to occupied or compliant status and request DOB reclassification. Open DOB violations generally block reclassification until they're cured.
Active construction (up to 3 tax years with a valid permit), active for-sale or for-rent listing (half a tax year for single-family, up to 2 for multifamily/commercial), probate or title litigation (up to 3), pending zoning/development approval (up to 2), and documented economic or personal hardship including fire (up to 2). The total is capped at 5 exemption years in any 12-year period under D.C. Code §42-3131.06a. Full details in our exemption form guide.
Most DOB exemption decisions come back within 60–120 days of a complete filing. Effective dates depend on filing timing relative to the assessment year, which is why getting it right the first time matters.
Yes. Owners have the right to appeal and to request a DOB status review hearing. The window is short and the evidentiary requirements are specific. We prepare the file, draft the brief, and represent you through it.
No. We are an independent private consultancy. We are not affiliated with the District of Columbia government, the Department of Buildings, the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, or the Office of Tax and Revenue.
The initial review is free, and our fee is 35% of your first-year tax savings. No savings, no fee. To engage us there's a $1,500 retainer, but it's credited toward the success fee (a deposit, not an extra charge) and refunded in full if reclassification fails. You never pay more than 35% of what we save you. No hourly billing, no surprise charges.
The $1,500 retainer is refunded in full. You owe nothing beyond that. The refund terms are written into every engagement letter, not buried in fine print.
Send the address and a sentence about what's going on. We'll pull the DOB record and email back what we find: what class you're in, what exemption you qualify for, and what it would take to fix it.
Prefer to call? 443-364-3676 · Email [email protected]