Vacant Building Ordinance: Know The Facts

For many years the city code allowed an owner to keep a residential building vacant and boarded as long as it was reasonably well maintained. But boarded houses send negative messages about a neighborhood, can attract negative activity, and can bring down the value of other homes in the area.

Two years ago the city enacted a housing preservation ordinance (275-32-7.5)
co-sponsored by Ald. Bauman that requires owners of residential properties left vacant and boarded for six months or more to take steps to repair, raze, sell or obtain a mothballing permit if the structure has a historical designation. The ordinance does not apply to commercial or mixed-use buildings.

After a residential building is boarded for more than six months, the Department of Neighborhood Services can issue an order that requires the owner to take one of the following steps:

• Remove the boards.
• Obtain a rehab permit and submit to DNS a plan to get the building rehabbed within six months.
• Obtain a valid "mothball" permit if the building is designated as a historic structure or in a historic district.
• Obtain a valid demolition permit.
• List the building for sale with a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) broker at a reasonable asking price and make the building available for viewing by potential buyers. The code states that assessed value is to be used by DNS to judge if the sale price is reasonable.
• Owners who do not comply can be prosecuted by DNS and may face a municipal court forfeiture ranging from $150 to $5,000. Fees can also be assessed to recoup inspection costs, and the city could also seek remedies in circuit court against the owner for maintaining a nuisance property.

For more information please call (414) 286-3441 or go to: www.milwaukee.gov./dns