New Maryland bill gives Baltimore leaders new tool to fight vacant property crisis

BALTIMORE - Baltimore City has a new tool to fight the vacant property crisis by being allowed to foreclose on more vacant homes.

  A Maryland bill signed by Gov. Wes Moore allows local jurisdictions to tax vacant properties at a higher tax rate.

"It's dangerous for the community. It's dangerous for the kids," East Baltimore resident Rayshawn Davis said.

Davis showed WJZ a building on North Avenue that had been vacant for 12 years.

"You can see around us, there's a lot of vacants," Davis said. "I'm afraid for my home with this bad house sitting here, you know? And, there's a lot more of them around here just like it."

Lawmakers say they don't expect anyone will pay any increased tax, so instead, it will allow the city to take possession of more properties through the "in rem" foreclosure process, which allows the city to acquire properties where the value of the liens exceed the value of the property.

Currently, the city owns less than 900 vacant buildings.

Vacant properties still plague Baltimore, although we've seen a nearly 20% drop in vacant building notices in the past five years.

"It's better for someone to come and fix them up," East Baltimore resident Rock Benny said.

The bill goes into effect on June 1.

The city council is also weighing a series of bills that would increase fees and penalties on vacant property owners for things like nuisance abatement to emergency response calls.