Can a Virginia city or county take over a derelict house as a receiver?
A locality with a derelict-building ordinance can ask the circuit court to appoint the locality, or a land bank, as receiver to repair a property that contains homes. The property has to have been declared both derelict and blighted, the owners must be out of compliance, and the locality must have made bona fide efforts to get them to comply.
The receiver can contract for the repairs needed to meet the building code, on a court-set schedule, and no receivership can last more than two years. The receivership costs and reasonable attorney fees become a lien on the property.
If the property is sold at auction, the former owner gets any surplus beyond the receiver's lien, taxes, costs and recorded liens. The owner can redeem before the two years run out or before a sale is confirmed by paying the receiver's lien in full; a partial payment doesn't stop the receivership.
Instead of appointing a receiver, the court must let the owner, or someone holding a recorded deed of trust on the property, make the repairs if the law's conditions are met.
What counts as a derelict building in Virginia, and what does the owner have to do?
A derelict building is one that might endanger public health, safety or welfare and, for more than six months in a row, has been vacant, boarded up, and not lawfully connected to electric service or to required water or sewer service. Under a local ordinance, the owner of a derelict building must submit a plan to demolish or renovate it within 90 days of the locality's notice.
An owner who doesn't submit a plan can face a civil penalty of up to $500 a month, capped at the cost of demolition.
Permits for a demolition plan are expedited, and permit fees are refunded if the owner finishes demolition within 90 days of the building permit. Real estate tax on the value added by the demolition or renovation is abated for at least 15 years, and the break transfers with the property.
An owner can also ask the locality to declare the owner's own building derelict.
Can a Virginia locality make owners register vacant buildings?
Yes, if it adopts an ordinance. It can require yearly registration of buildings vacant for 12 months or more that are derelict, have criminal blight, or have people living in them without the owner's permission. A locality may also require yearly registration of any building that has been vacant for three years or more.
The annual registration fee can't be more than $100. The registration form must include the owner's or registered agent's name and contact information, including a telephone number.
Failing to register carries a $200 civil penalty, or up to $400 in conservation and rehabilitation districts or areas designated as blighted, after at least 30 days' mailed notice.
How can a Virginia locality make an owner repair, secure or tear down an unsafe building?
Any Virginia locality can adopt an ordinance requiring owners to remove, repair or secure a building that might endanger public health or safety. If the owner and lienholder don't act after reasonable notice and time, the locality can do the work itself.
The locality generally must wait at least 30 days after notice, but it can act to block unauthorized entry within seven days when the notice states that the structure poses a significant threat to public safety. Unpaid charges become a lien on the property ranking equal with liens for unpaid local real estate taxes.
Under Virginia's spot blight law, the locality sends the owner a notice explaining why the property is blighted, and the owner has 30 days to answer with a plan to fix it. Without an acceptable plan, the governing body can declare the property blighted by ordinance, and a locality that repairs or acquires it under an approved plan gets a lien for its costs.
How soon can a Virginia house be sold for unpaid property taxes?
Usually once taxes are still delinquent on December 31 after the second anniversary of their due date, or after only the first anniversary if the property is condemned, a nuisance, derelict or blighted.
The tax collector's notice before a sale case is filed must tell the owner they can ask for a payment agreement of up to 72 months. The owner can redeem the property any time before the sale by paying all the taxes, penalties, fees, interest and costs.
After a tax sale, the former owner or heirs are entitled to the surplus beyond the taxes, costs and liens, and must claim it within two years of the sale's confirmation.
Holding a Virginia house no one lives in and slipping behind on the loan as well? See how foreclosure works in Virginia.
How do you report a vacant house in Richmond, Virginia?
To report a vacant building specifically, Richmond lists (804) 646-6398. Richmond takes code enforcement reports through RVA311 or at 804-646-6398.
Richmond's inspectors note vacant buildings in a tracking system and monitor them until they are reoccupied or removed. The city publishes its Vacant Building List twice a year.
You can also tell me where it is. I'll find out who owns it and reach out about buying it and fixing it up.