Morning Spin: Owners Who Leave Chicago Properties Vacant Might Have to Pay More
Legislation Update
May 25, 2017
Owners of vacant Chicago properties would pay more to the city each year their parcels go unused, under a proposal made Wednesday by a Southwest Side alderman.
Currently, the city requires that owners register vacant properties at a cost of $250 a year. But the plan from Ald. George Cardenas would double that fee to $500 for the second year, $1,000 for the third and $2,000 for the fourth and fifth. Then it would jump to $3,500 for years six through 10. In year 11, the fees would jump to $5,000, plus $500 for each additional year.
Cardenas, 12th, said the changes would create a disincentive for allowing properties to stay empty for long periods of time.
Fees for mortgage lenders that hold title to properties that are abandoned also would escalate in a similar fashion. The fees they would end up paying after 10 years would hit $6,000, plus $500 for each additional year.
“There’s too much leeway given to building owners,” Cardenas said. “We need to get these buildings rehabbed and back in working condition so people can live in them.
“We have attempted to decrease the number of abandoned buildings, and the only way to do that is by pushing these owners,” added Cardenas, who said he’s also worried about vacant commercial properties. “Those people that just want to buy property and hang onto it, we’re against that.”
Source: Chicago Tribune
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