# District of Columbia B26-0053: Vacant to Vibrant to Amendment Act of 2025

District of Columbia B26-0053, Vacant to Vibrant to Amendment Act of 2025, is a Council Period 26 (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Phil Mendelson (Democratic); status signed, last action 2025-10-01 (Law Number L26-0041 Effective from Oct 01, 2025); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-04).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0053-26
- As of: 2026-11-04
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: District of Columbia B26-0053
- State: District of Columbia
- Session: Council Period 26 (2025-2026)
- Title: Vacant to Vibrant to Amendment Act of 2025
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-01-13
- Last action: 2025-10-01, Law Number L26-0041 Effective from Oct 01, 2025
- Sponsor: Phil Mendelson (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 2 (23 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 19

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Repair grants for lower-income homeowners: benefit, high. The housing department can pay contractors to repair eligible owner-occupied single-family homes. Covered work includes accessibility, roofs, code violations, lead reduction, structural repairs, electrical, plumbing, heating, cooling, and energy improvements. Household income must be at or below 80…
- Refundable credit for vacant-home rehabilitation: benefit, high. For tax years beginning after December 31, 2026, eligible taxpayers get a refundable credit worth 50% of eligible rehabilitation costs. Costs must be paid or incurred after that date and exceed $150,000. The property must be vacant or blighted Class 3 or Class 4, with no more than 4 residential uni…
- Limited tax relief for vacant owners: benefit, medium. Vacant owners can receive temporary relief from registration fees and higher tax rates for listed reasons. Good-faith marketing relief lasts up to half a tax year for single-family homes, or 2 tax years for other buildings. Marketing requires upkeep compliance and proper rental licensing. Probate o…
- Property-tax payment plans for eligible seniors: benefit, medium. Eligible homeowners can pay overdue and current property taxes in 12, 18, or 24 equal monthly installments without a down payment. They must receive the homestead deduction, show hardship, and meet age-65-or-older or qualifying disability requirements. Household adjusted gross income must be below…
- District residents can store original wills: benefit, low. Beginning January 1, 2028, District residents, their agents, or their attorneys can deposit original wills with the Register of Wills. The optional service requires a fee, whose amount is not stated here. Wills stay sealed, with lifetime return generally limited to the resident or someone authorize…
- Faster permits for vacant-property repairs: benefit, low. The buildings department must create expedited permit reviews within 180 days after this section's applicability date. The process covers registered vacant Class 3 and Class 4 properties. Eligible permits include demolition, raze, alteration, repair, sheeting and shoring, new-building, and trade pe…
- Owners can challenge vacancy decisions: benefit, low. Owners have 15 days to ask the Mayor to reconsider covered vacancy, blight, registration, or fee-payment decisions. The Mayor has 60 days to decide; silence counts as denial. Owners then have 45 days after the final decision or missed deadline to appeal to the Real Property Tax Appeals Commission.…
- Property-transfer guidance for surviving families: benefit, low. The department must publish an inheritance property-transfer guide within 180 days after the subtitle's effective date. Prepared with the court and legal providers, it explains property transfers and lists low-cost or free estate legal help. Funeral homes must give survivors the guide within 5 days…
- Tax-sale notices explain homeowner help: benefit, low. Property tax-sale delinquency notices must explain hardship forbearance, payment plans, free or reduced-cost legal help, and housing counseling. They must also point owners to the Real Property Tax Ombudsman. Later-stage notices must explain how to report a last-minute payment so the property can b…
- Tax breaks for commercial property redevelopment: benefit, low. The Mayor can approve tax breaks for commercial redevelopment of Class 3 or Class 4 properties vacant at least 12 months without exemption. Eligible development costs must exceed $1.5 million, excluding land purchases, and the project must need the break to proceed. Tax reductions cover 50% in year…
- Court receivers can take vacant properties: cost, high. The Attorney General can ask a court to appoint a receiver to repair, demolish, or sell a qualifying building. Grounds include nuisance status, a blighted-vacant designation with appeals exhausted, or a condemnation order. Nuisance status requires at least 24 months of registered or designated vaca…
- Vacant-property taxes rise with time: cost, high. Beginning with tax years starting October 1, 2027, combined property-tax rates increase with years of vacancy. Taxable vacant Class 3 properties pay $2, $3, $4, then $5 per $100 of assessed value in years 1–4 onward. Blighted-vacant Class 4 properties pay $4, $6, $8, then $10 per $100 over the same…
- Vacant owners face upkeep and fines: cost, medium. Vacant-building owners must secure openings, maintain exterior surfaces, structures and drainage, and remove debris, excess vegetation, and hazards. Initial and renewal registration require inspections, complete paperwork, and compliance with maintenance, safety, fire, building, housing, and occupa…
- Foreclosed owners can claim leftover proceeds: mixed, high. After required notice, service, classification, and nonpayment findings, the court transfers full ownership of qualifying foreclosed properties to the Mayor. The Mayor can transfer them to a land bank or sell them at public auction. Buyers must show repair funding and experience, or an agreement wi…
- Residential projects gain conditional tax treatment: mixed, high. Class 1A tax treatment covers qualifying permitted new construction mainly for long-term residential use and substantial rehabilitation exclusively for that use. Eligible permits include raze, demolition, sheeting and shoring, and building permits; owners must apply with complete documents. Classif…
- Vacant-property foreclosure with owner protections: mixed, high. The Attorney General must seek foreclosure of qualifying Class 3 or Class 4 properties after one year of unpaid taxes. Designation appeals must be exhausted, and the Mayor must give at least 90 days' notice stating the amount due. Paying taxes, interest, and penalties or entering a property-tax pay…
- Vacant owners face registration and fees: mixed, medium. Unless exempt, owners must register and pay within 90 days after a building becomes vacant; good-cause extensions are available. Initial registration costs $350 and renewal costs $500, and the Mayor can raise these fees through rules. Applications need ownership details, a local maintenance contact…
- Clearer vacancy rules and owner notices: mixed, low. A vacant building lacks regular, lawful occupancy; for homes, the Mayor must also find no resident clearly intends to return. Vacancy decisions consider complaints, utility use, piled-up mail, furnishings, and trespass access. Blight decisions consider illegal activity, condemnation proceedings, da…
- Public vacancy records support tax enforcement: mixed, low. The buildings department must keep a public online database or list of vacant buildings. It shows locations, vacancy dates, exemptions, time listed, last inspections, and current tax classifications. The Mayor must send finalized vacancy and blight lists to the tax office at least weekly after dete…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Phil Mendelson (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-07-01 | House | Final Reading | pass | 12 | 0 |   |
| 2025-06-03 | House | First Reading, CC | pass | 11 | 0 | 1 |

## Actions (12)

- 2025-10-01: Law Number L26-0041 Effective from Oct 01, 2025 (House)
- 2025-08-19: Transmitted to Congress (House)
- 2025-08-15: Act A26-0128 Published in DC Register Vol 72 and Page 008881 (House)
- 2025-08-12: Returned from Mayor (House)
- 2025-08-11: Signed by the Mayor and Enacted with Act Number A26-0128 (House)
- 2025-07-31: Transmitted to Mayor, Response Due on Aug 14, 2025 (House)
- 2025-07-01: Legislative Meeting (House)
- 2025-06-03: Legislative Meeting (House)
- 2025-06-03: Committee Mark-up of B26-0053 by the Committee of the Whole (House)
- 2025-01-24: Notice of Intent to Act on B26-0053 Published in the District of Columbia Register (House)
- 2025-01-21: Referred to Committee of the Whole with comments from the Committee on Executive Administration and Labor (House)
- 2025-01-13: B26-0053 Introduced by Chairman Mendelson at Office of the Secretary (House)

## Bill text

- Amendment, 2025-07-01: [PDF](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/56922/Meeting2/Amendment/B26-0053-Amendment1.pdf?Id=216291)
- Enrollment, 2025-07-01: [PDF](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/56922/Meeting2/Enrollment/B26-0053-Enrollment2.pdf?Id=218222)
- Amendment, 2025-06-03: [PDF](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/56922/Meeting1/Amendment/B26-0053-Amendment2.pdf?Id=213316)
- Engrossment, 2025-06-03: [PDF](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/56922/Meeting1/Engrossment/B26-0053-Engrossment1.pdf?Id=217097)
- Introduced, 2025-01-13: [PDF](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/56922/Introduction/B26-0053-Introduction.pdf?Id=204649)

## Related bills

- B26-0047: Funeral Directors Licensing Reform Amendment Act of 2025 (signed)
- B26-0785: Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Rental Vehicle Sales Tax Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2026 (signed)
- B26-0663: Fiscal Year 2026 Revised Local Budget Temporary Act of 2026 (signed)
- B26-0735: Special Education for Young Adults in the Custody of the Department of Corrections Temporary Amendment Act of 2026 (signed)
- B26-0760: Medical Cannabis Licensing and Unlicensed Establishment Enforcement Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2026 (signed)
- B26-0181: Short-Term Disability Insurance Benefit Protection Clarification Amendment Act of 2025 (signed)

## Sources
- [Amendment (PDF)](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/56922/Meeting2/Amendment/B26-0053-Amendment1.pdf?Id=216291)
- [Enrollment (PDF)](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/56922/Meeting2/Enrollment/B26-0053-Enrollment2.pdf?Id=218222)
- [Amendment (PDF)](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/56922/Meeting1/Amendment/B26-0053-Amendment2.pdf?Id=213316)
- [Engrossment (PDF)](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/56922/Meeting1/Engrossment/B26-0053-Engrossment1.pdf?Id=217097)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/56922/Introduction/B26-0053-Introduction.pdf?Id=204649)

## Related
- [B26-0047: Funeral Directors Licensing Reform Amendment Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0047-26)
- [B26-0785: Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Rental Vehicle Sales Tax Clarification Emergency Amend…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0785-26)
- [B26-0663: Fiscal Year 2026 Revised Local Budget Temporary Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0663-26)
- [B26-0735: Special Education for Young Adults in the Custody of the Department of Correcti…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0735-26)
- [B26-0760: Medical Cannabis Licensing and Unlicensed Establishment Enforcement Clarificati…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0760-26)
- [B26-0181: Short-Term Disability Insurance Benefit Protection Clarification Amendment Act…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0181-26)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0053-26 (as of 2026-11-04).